5 refreshing takeaways from 49ers' season-opening win over Steelers

The 49ers dominated the Steelers in Week 1, pulling off a 30-7 victory, which leads to these takeaways fans will want to know.

It appeared as if any concern about the San Francisco 49ers' historically slow starts under head coach Kyle Shanahan dissipated as soon as quarterback Brock Purdy found wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk in the end zone to wrap up the Niners' first offensive possession of the 2023 season in the Week 1 matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

That seemed to open up the floodgates, as San Francisco's offense kept rolling, while the 49ers defense smothered quarterback Kenny Pickett and the Steelers' own offense to the tune of a 30-7 finish.

About everything that could go right for the Niners went right, especially All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey dominating the action on the ground with 152 yards rushing and a 65-yard score that put a dagger in the dwindling hopes that Pittsburgh could stage a comeback.

While Aiyuk and McCaffrey dominated the show, what other takeaways emerge from this contest, and why should fans feel so good about what took place for a Super Bowl-hopeful San Francisco squad?

Let's take a look.

49ers takeaway No. 5: Brandon Aiyuk is going to 'take off'

Despite leading the 49ers in receiving yards a season ago, Aiyuk is still viewed as arguably the fourth most important skill player on his offense behind McCaffrey, tight end George Kittle and fellow wideout Deebo Samuel.

Heading into his fourth season, the former first-round NFL Draft pick should be highly motivated as he campaigns for a new contract. Earlier during the offseason, Aiyuk promised to "take off."

With eight catches and 129 yards, plus two touchdowns, it's safe to say Aiyuk did just that. It's also hard to knock down this particular contested catch over Steelers cornerback Patrick Peterson either:

It sure appears as if Aiyuk is going to be trending in the direction of a superstar this year, especially if he continues to have games like he did today.

49ers takeaway No. 4: Brandon Aiyuk, other players are selfless

One of the concerns about a stacked team, particularly on offense, is the reality that there are plenty of players who want to pad their stats but only so many snaps and touches to get in any one particular game.

That said, at no point during the Niners' recent stretch under Kyle Shanahan has any San Francisco player come out and said he's not getting the ball enough.

Selfless.

Beyond that, being selfless involves doing the dirty work on other players' top plays, which is precisely what Brandon Aiyuk and fellow wideout Ray-Ray McCloud did on Christian McCaffrey's 65-yard touchdown run:

Teamwork, right? It was on full display right there.

49ers takeaway No. 3: Drake Jackson might have taken that 2nd-year leap

San Francisco was hoping for big things from rookie defensive end Drake Jackson a year ago, its top pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.

After a promising start in which he recorded three sacks early, Jackson slowed up because of poor conditioning and ended up being a regular inactive down the stretch and into the playoffs.

Fully recommitted to getting stronger during the offseason, Jackson already appeared to be a wholly different player during training camp, and it appears as if that work paid off handsomely against the Steelers.

While All-Pro edge Nick Bosa is expected to lead the 49ers in sacks, Jackson currently holds that mark by grabbing three takedowns of Kenny Pickett on Sunday:

Don't expect Jackson to maintain that pace, of course. But it's a pretty solid sign that he and Bosa can be the lethal bookend pair of edge rushers the Niners have so long coveted.

49ers takeaway No. 2: Secondary is on point... might be a turnover-generating machine

It seems like a yearly thing, but arguably the only worry about San Francisco's defense entering 2023 was whether or not the defensive backfield would be a problem.

Sure, one week's worth of evidence isn't going to suggest much. But, so far, so good.

The 49ers secondary played very well on Sunday, frustrating Kenny Pickett's targets while also forcing two interceptions, the first of which came from cornerback Charvarius Ward on Pittsburgh's second possession of the game:

Pickett tested the Niners secondary 46 times. And while he completed 31 of those attempts for 232 yards, the combination of the defensive backfield and the pass rush led to five sacks and two interceptions, the other on a tip-drill play that landed in the hands of safety Talanoa Hufanga.

It sure seems as if San Francisco's secondary will be just fine this season, provided it can stay healthy.

49ers takeaway No. 1: Brock Purdy is back at it (and is just fine)

It'd be fair to worry about whether or not Brock Purdy would be at 100 percent after suffering a torn UCL in his throwing elbow during the NFC Championship game last January, then undergoing offseason surgery and also missing much of the 49ers' offseason workout program.

Perhaps Kyle Shanahan didn't ask Purdy to do too much in Week 1, essentially letting the remainder of the offensive stars do the heavy lifting.

But, it's hard to draw any conclusion other than Purdy is right back at where he was to close out last year's pre-championship game campaign, one in which he led the Niners to a seven-game win streak.

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Purdy's day wasn't dominant, per se. But he did go 19-of-29 for 220 yards with the two passing touchdowns to Brandon Aiyuk, zero interceptions and a 111.3 passer rating. The second-year signal-caller also rushed three times for 20 yards, showing his athleticism enough to get out of trouble while picking up more yards when needed.

Those who wanted to "see more" from Purdy to determine if he is the real deal just got another piece of evidence in the quarterback's favor.

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