The 49ers’ season-opening victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers went about as well as coach Kyle Shanahan could have drawn it up.
The defense and offense got off to fast starts, and the two biggest offseason concerns are no longer worth worrying about.
Brock Purdy is healthy and looks just like he did last season after taking over and earning the starting job. And Nick Bosa is happy, healthy and wealthy — and making life better for those around him.
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Two other positive things for the 49ers came out of their 30-7 win over the Steelers: They emerged out of the game healthy and there are still plenty of elements from Week 1 for the coaching staff to address and clean up.
This is the first Tuesday of the regular season, which means Week 1 of 49ers Overreactions.
Our contributors showed they are in midseason form, so let’s get going:
Brock lacks zip, all his passes looked slow. (Héctor Cantú Alfaro)
San Francisco 49ers
Overreaction? Yes.
After the 49ers’ Week 1 victory, Bosa sized up the quarterback’s performance.
“Purdy shut some haters up,” Bosa said.
It is difficult to believe there are actually any Purdy “haters,” considering how productive he has been for the 49ers since becoming the team’s quarterback in Week 13 of his rookie season.
If there are truly any critics out there, it’s got to be lonely territory after Purdy’s NFL-record sixth consecutive career-opening start with at least two touchdown passes and a passer rating over 95.0.
Purdy’s arm looks just fine, especially considering he is only six months removed from elbow surgery.
The world knows he does not have the strongest arm in the world. That is part of the reason he lasted until the final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft.
But his timing, anticipation, accuracy and better-than-advertised arm strength give him huge advantages over quarterbacks who can generate greater velocity but might be lacking in other areas.
The Steelers’ Kenny Pickett was the first quarterback selected in last year’s draft. Purdy looked like a better quarterback on Sunday. Although Pickett can probably throw the ball faster, there is no way the 49ers would make that trade.
Purdy looks just fine.
We finally have a franchise QB along the lines of Montana and Young. (Paolo Soriano)
Overreaction? No.
Let’s make this point clear: We are not putting Purdy in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, yet.
But he is already well on his way to being the 49ers’ franchise quarterback. He has clearly won the trust and admiration of his teammates and coaches, and those are the most significant steps in that direction.
If Purdy were not so impressive after stepping onto the field last season, there is a good chance Trey Lance would still hold a prominent role with the team that traded up to select him at No. 3 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft. Instead, Lance is now a member of the Dallas Cowboys.
We completely understand the sample size with Purdy is small. He has played less than a full NFL season. But he has shown what has enabled him to be successful with this team is repeatable.
Right now, nobody is giving any thought to the possibility of the 49ers being in the market for another starting quarterback at any point down the road.
Therefore, Purdy is viewed as the 49ers’ long-term starter. And, by definition, that means he is the franchise quarterback.
And, while we’re at it, let’s re-address the first statement about Purdy’s arm strength.
Joe Montana and Steve Young are the best quarterbacks in franchise history. There are a lot of qualities that made them great. And it’s safe to say that “accuracy” and a handful of other attributes rank many spots ahead of “arm strength” for both of those Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks.
Drake Jackson will have more sacks than Nick Bosa this year. (Andrew Schmitz)
Overreaction? Yes.
Bosa is one of the best pass-rushers in the business. But this statement is not as outlandish as it might seem. Why? Because Bosa is so good at getting to the quarterback.
Let us explain: As everyone saw Sunday in the season-opener, Bosa will always be the focus of the opposition. There will be few times in passing situations in which an offensive tackle goes against Bosa in a one-on-one situation.
Bosa will get his sacks, but he will have to work hard for them.
Although the stat sheet did not reflect it, Bosa contributed to the 49ers’ dominating defensive performance in his 35 snaps of action against the Steelers.
Jackson is not nearly as refined as Bosa at this stage of his career, but he benefits from Bosa’s presence.
Jackson does not get anywhere near the attention opposing offenses pay to Bosa. And Jackson took advantage of the opportunities to roll up three sacks in Week 1.
In the past two seasons when Bosa was leading the way with 15.5 and 18.5 sacks, the second spots on the team were held by Arden Key (6.5) and Samson Ebukam (5).
While Jackson will be hard-pressed to top Bosa’s total over the 17-week regular season, he should be the most productive edge not named Bosa the team has had in a while.
Colton McKivitz must be replaced RIGHT NOW. (David J Ham)
Overreaction? Yes.
Patience, people. Patience and perspective, please.
McKivitz could not have drawn a more difficult opening assignment than going up against T.J. Watt in Pittsburgh. The 49ers showed confidence in McKivitz with their decisions to have him go one-on-one against Watt as much as they did.
And that should probably tell you all you need to know.
The 49ers are not going to replace McKivitz with an offensive lineman they deem to be a step-down. . . at least, not any time soon.
“There were a couple of situations we could have helped him out better with some shifts and stuff,” Shanahan said.
“He battled throughout it. But it was good enough for us to win. It was a huge challenge going against that player.”
McKivitz had a rough day, for sure. Watt picked up three sacks. Each sack was accomplished while going head-to-head with McKivitz, whom the 49ers tabbed in the offseason to replace Mike McGlinchey.
Look around the league. Offensive line play is difficult. Those units tend to get better the longer they play together.
The 49ers must see steady improvement from McKivitz in his first season as a full-time starter because he is the best option in that spot.
Trent Williams is the player the Niners can least afford to lose. (Darren Soby)
Overreaction? No.
There might be only a couple of teams in the NFL that can be entirely confident in their offensive lines. The 49ers figure to be better off than most teams, but there is one man who stands high above the rest.
Left tackle Trent Williams is generally regarded as the best offensive lineman in the game today.
There is probably no greater drop-off at an important position than from Williams to the 49ers’ backup. It is why the 49ers gave Williams the big bucks to remain with the club as a free agent.
While McKivitz is trying to find his way at right tackle, the 49ers do not have to devote one fiber of concern toward their situation at left tackle. Knowing that Williams is protecting the blind side gives Purdy every reason to feel secure.
When Williams left for a couple of plays on Sunday, third-year player Jaylon Moore replaced him. The 49ers like Moore as a backup, but nobody can provide the kind of protection that Williams gives the team.