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Pittsburgh Steelers dominate the San Francisco 49ers in every facet in their home opener

The Pittsburgh Steelers were able to defeat the San Francisco 49ers in their season opener at Heinz Field in dominating fashion. See what happened which lead to the Steelers' 43-18 win over the 49ers.

Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

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It was a beautiful day in the city of Pittsburgh as the 0-1 Steelers prepared to face off against the 1-0 San Francisco 49ers. The Steelers were looking to even their record in this inter-conference battle, and at the same time put the Week 1 loss to the New England Patriots behind them.

The Steelers put their best unit on the field to start the game, and despite some big pass plays from Ben Roethlisberger to Antonio Brown and Markus Wheaton, the drive stalled after a penalty-riddled drive. The Steelers would punt the ball to the 49ers and Colin Kaepernick, but after just one first down the ball was punted back to the Steelers with 7:46 left in the first quarter.

The Steelers wouldn't waste another opportunity to put points on the board as the team would drive down the field, aided by a 41-yard pass play to Darrius Heyward-Bey. Another reception for Antonio Brown combined with a quality run by DeAngelo Williams would have the Steelers facing 2nd a goal from the 3-yard line. It would be a pass from Roethlisberger to Heath Miller which would put Pittsburgh up 6-0. The Steelers would go for the two-point conversion, and a pass to Antonio Brown would make the score 8-0 with 4:15 left in the first quarter.

The 49ers would take the ensuing kickoff and start a 16-play drive which would have them get inside the Steelers' 10-yard line, only to start a series of negative penalties which would result in a 3rd and goal from the 22-yard line. The 49ers would surrender a sack on Colin Kaepernick which resulted in a 47-yard field goal attempt for Phil Dawson. Dawson would make the kick to make the score 8-3 Steelers with 10:27 left in the second quarter.

Not to be outdone, the Steelers would take the football and waste little time moving down the field, and it was the Ben Roethlisberger to Antonio Brown show again. After a key 3rd down conversion to Brown to extend the drive, it was a 59-yard pass to Brown which would put the Steelers at the 3-yard line. The next play was a DeAngelo Williams run for a touchdown. The Steelers lined up for the 33-yard point after touchdown kick by Josh Scobee, but an encroachment penalty on San Francisco saw the Steelers change their mind and go for the two-point conversion, and it was a Roethlisberger to Miller conversion to give the Steelers a 16-3 lead with 8 minutes remaining in the half.

The Steelers defense would stymie the 49ers offense on the ensuing drive, and after just one first down would force a punt. After a short Antonio Brown punt return, it would take just one Ben Roethlisberger pass to Darrius Heyward-Bey to put another touchdown on the board. Josh Scobee would come on to attempt the 33-yard extra point, and his kick would hit the upright making it no good. The Steelers would lead 22-3 with 5:45 left in the first half.

The 49ers would take the ball, and after passing for a first down on the second play of the drive, would see Carlos Hyde fumble the football and it would be recovered by Ryan Shazier to give the Steelers another possession with 4:30 left in the 2nd quarter. The Steelers would take their time moving the ball into the red-zone, and a 3-yard DeAngelo Williams run would make the score 29-3 with 1:58 left in the first half after Scobee's successful PAT.

After a short series for the 49ers, they would eventually punt the football away to the Steelers to end the first half. The 49ers would receive the kickoff to start the second half looking to get themselves back in the football game, but it would be a Steelers defense lead by Ryan Shazier which would make San Francisco think twice about any potential comeback. The Steelers would force a 49ers punt with 10:37 left in the third quarter.

The Steelers would respond with their first 3 and out of the game and would have to punt the ball back to San Francisco for just the second time in the game. The 49ers would drive into the Steelers red-zone. After taking nearly the entire third quarter on a 17-play drive to get to a 4th and goal situation from the 1-yard line, the 49ers would throw an incomplete pass to turn the ball over to the Steelers with 1:51 left in the third quarter.

The Steelers would start their possession at their own 1-yard line, and despite not gaining a first down, Jordan Berry would help flip the field with a huge punt, giving the 49ers the ball on their 36-yard line to start the 4th quarter. A huge pass from Kaepernick to Vernon Davis would get the 49ers deep into Steelers territory. After converting on several fourth down plays, Kaepernick would throw a touchdown pass to Anquan Boldin. After a Dawson extra point, the 49ers continued to trail 29-10 with 13:00 left in the fourth quarter.

The following drive would be very similar to the other Steelers scoring drives as Roethlisberger would watch Markus Wheaton get behind the defense for a big play downfield. On the next series it would be DeAngelo Williams 2-yard run, his third touchdown of the game. The first Steelers player to do so since 2008. A Josh Scobee extra point would make the score 36-10 with 10:25 left in the game.

As the 49ers would start their next drive on the 20-yard line it would be the first play from scrimmage which would result in a touchdown pass to Torrey Smith, and a two-point conversion would cut the Steelers' lead to 36-18 with 9:43 left in the game. To not be outdone at home, Ben Roethlisberger would hit Antonio Brown for a huge gain down the sidelines, and two plays later Brown would be Roethlisberger's target for a touchdown. A Scobee extra point would make the score 43-18 Steelers.

The 49ers would take to the air in an attempt to get back in the football game, and they would again find themselves in a red-zone situation with a 4th and goal situation. A Colin Kaepernick scramble would have him tripped up just short of the first down and a turnover on downs.

The Steelers Jordan Todman would get a first down on the team's first play from scrimmage, and with the 49ers out of timeouts resulted in the Steelers being able to kneel out the clock for a 43-18 victory to improve their record to 1-1 heading into a road game against the St. Louis Rams in Week 3.