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Dissecting 49ers Week 2 Offensive Efforts in Pittsburgh

By Nicholas McGee

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The San Francisco 49ers came back down to earth with a thud on Sunday courtesy of a 43-18 defeat at the hands of the Pittsburgh Steelers, who outplayed Jim Tomsula’s team on both sides of the ball. However, an offensive performance that was much better than the scoreboard suggests was one of few positives the Niners can take from Heinz Field.

In Week 1, the 49ers crushed the Minnesota Vikings through a concerted and extremely successful ground game, with Carlos Hyde the star in a 20-3 success.

With Hyde taking a shot to the leg that seemed to affect his explosiveness and then later being evaluated for a concussion and San Francisco falling behind 29-3 at half-time, the Niners’ rushing attack never had the chance to be as effective in Pittsburgh.

As a result the emphasis was placed on quarterback Colin Kaepernick to try to engineer an unlikely comeback and, although his efforts were ultimately unsuccessful, the 49ers can afford to have more confidence in a signal-caller who was undoubtedly their best player against the Steelers.

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Kaepernick completed 33 of his 46 pass attempts – a completion percentage of 71 – for 335 yards and two touchdowns.

He also had nine rushes for 51 yards but, before getting into what he and the offense did well, let’s look at the deficiencies that prevented the unit from keeping pace with Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers.

The most glaring problem that was evident during Sunday’s loss was the poor play of the 49er offensive line.

Exits such as those of Mike Iupati and Anthony Davis were not exposed in Week 1, but the impact of the absences of those former first-round picks was particularly clear as a Pittsburgh defense that struggled mightily in a season-opening loss in New England consistently pressured Kaepernick.

Indeed it was a nightmarish showing from those on the revamped right side of the O-line. Right tackle Erik Pears finished the game with a grade of negative 6.3 from Pro Football Focus, allowing three quarterback hurries and a sack, while right guard Jordan Devey had a grade of negative 3.1 after permitting six hurries and a sack.

Center Marcus Martin was similarly ineffective, but the real worry for the Niners must be the two sacks, two quarterback hits and four hurries allowed by Pro Bowl left tackle Joe Staley and the hurry and a sack given up by left guard Alex Boone, according to PFF.

San Francisco needs the left-hand side of the line to be the strength of the group. If Staley and Boone fail to perform, then more red zone difficulties like those endured in Week 2 are inevitable.

The Niners left 18 points – or potentially 20 points if you factor in prospective two-point conversions – on the board against the Steelers, failing to punch the ball into the endzone on three occasions.

A 17-play drive in the second quarter ended in a field goal, an 18-play drive finished without points after Bruce Miller dropped a touchdown pass in the endzone and Kaepernick had a rushing score overturned in the fourth quarter as his knee was ruled to have hit the turf before the ball crossed the plane.

The 49ers, per Football Outsiders, rank at No. 22 in the league in points per red zone appearance and at No. 20 in touchdowns per red zone appearance.

And yet, for all the frustration of leaving points on the board, the Niners have to take some solace in the way Kaepernick was able to move the ball.

Even before Hyde was pulled from the game, the Steelers were having a good amount of success keeping the running back bottled up, fulfilling a promise Pittsburgh linebacker Ryan Shazier had made to his former Ohio State teammate, per Taylor Price of 49ers.com.

Ryan actually told me, ‘Yeah, we’re going to lock in on you’. They did that, but you have to get used to that, though. We have to get ready for next week. Have good practice this week and get better, we’ll be all right.

But the Steelers could not do as much to stop Kaepernick who, through two games, is looking like a much improved player from 2014.

Kaepernick is not making mistakes, is tied for No. 11 in the NFL in accuracy percentage according to PFF and displayed a rapport with almost all of his targets and ability to make a variety of throws in Week 2.

In Week 1 Kaepernick benefited from an offensive gameplan that focused on the use of play action and getting him out of the pocket and on the move. What was impressive about his display in Week 2 was it featured Kaepernick largely throwing from the pocket and having success.

Given a lot of easy reads with pass-catchers running short crossing routes and slant patterns, Kaepernick was able to pick apart the Steelers’ secondary.

It can be argued that the scoreboard enabled Pittsburgh to play soft coverage, but that doesn’t take away from the way in which Kaepernick made predominantly the right decisions and put the ball where only his receivers could get it.

It wasn’t just on short routes where Kaepernick was able to make gains, he connected on a deep passes to Vernon Davis and Torrey Smith – who he hit for a 75-yard touchdown throw in which he showcased impressive arm strength and accuracy to fire the ball beyond several defenders – and also displayed the touch to find Anquan Boldin in the corner of the end zone for a score.

Kaepernick’s ability to find his two major deep threats in Davis and Smith is one of few pleasing aspects of this defeat for the Niners, but going forward San Francisco will obviously be seeking greater balance and a return to proficiency in a zone-running game that was shut down by the Steelers.

Pass protection and red zone efficiency remain big problems that need fixing for this unit to enjoy long-term success, however, after one of his best displays for some time, the 49ers can have added faith in Kaepernick’s ability to move the ball through the air.