The Steelers welcome back All-Pro halfback Le’Veon Bell, who finished his two-game suspension and rejoined the Steelers on Monday. Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports
PITTSBURGH — The Steelers showed just what they can do on offense Sunday by riddling the San Francisco 49ers defense that held the Minnesota Vikings to three points in their season opener six days earlier. Ben Roethlisberger hit passes of 59, 56, 48, 41 and 35 yards as the Steelers ran out to a 29-3 halftime lead and cruised to 43-28 to even their record at 1-1 after two games.
And now, they welcome back All-Pro halfback Le’Veon Bell, who finished his two-game suspension and rejoined the Steelers on Monday. Bell led the AFC with 1,361 yards rushing in 2014. Ironically, he will replace the AFC’s current rushing leader, DeAngelo Williams (204 yards through two games), in the starting lineup.
“DeAngelo played great but that didn’t surprise me at all,” Bell said. “I’ve been watching him since I was growing up. He did everything plus more than I expected. He did his thing and I’m just glad to come in and help him out a little bit.”
Williams, in his 10th NFL season, tied a franchise record with three rushing touchdowns against San Francisco. He was signed after Carolina released him to back up Bell and serve as the team’s starter during Bell’s two-game suspension. His performance prompted coach Mike Tomlin to consider spelling Bell a little bit more than planned.
“He obviously showed in the first two games he can come in and the offense doesn’t slow down at all,” Bell said. “And obviously, last year with what I did, we’re both excited. We both do different things. We’re different style of runners. They’ll use us both, I’m pretty sure.”
Tomlin did not commit to how he might use his two backs.
The Steelers must make a move by 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday to make room for Bell on their 53-man roster. The most likely would be to release 5-foot-8, 175-pound Dri Archer, a halfback/wide receiver who has not been able to find a role in his second year since the Steelers drafted him in the third round in 2014 from Kent.
Archer has been the deep man on kickoffs but averaged just 17.9 yards before losing that job midway through his rookie season. He did not play on offense Sunday and just three snaps on offense with no stats in the opener.
NOTES: LB Ryan Shazier is expected to be fine after leaving Sunday’s game with a minor shoulder injury. He led the Steelers with 15 tackles to go with a sack, three tackles for losses, a forced fumble and fumble recovery. … WR Antonio Brown extended his NFL record of catching at least five passes for 50 yards in 34 consecutive games, 15 more than any other player.
REPORT CARD VS. 49ERS:
PASSING OFFENSE: A — Ben Roethlisberger had a near-perfect passer rating of 155.8 as he completed 21 of 27 for 369 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. He was neither sacked nor touched and one of his best throws came when he scrambled out of the pocket and threw deep on the run to Markus Wheaton for a 48-yard pickup. Antonio Brown again performed at a high level with 9 catches for 195 yards and his second TD of the season.
RUSHING OFFENSE: B — Although they only rushed for 84 yards on 25 carries (3.4), they did it when it counted – near the goal-line. DeAngelo Williams (20 for 77) tied a franchise record with three rushing touchdowns of 2, 2 and 1 yard. The two quarterbacks had four kneel-downs for minus-four yards.
PASS DEFENSE: B — Some late-game big passes by Colin Kaepernick made it look as though the Steelers did not defend well, but they sacked Kaepernick five times. He completed 33 of 46 passes for 335 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions and a 106.7 passer rating. But when the game was won when the Steelers ran out to a 29-3 halftime lead, Kaepernick had only 61 yards passing and was sacked three times.
RUSH DEFENSE: B-plus — San Francisco managed 111 yards, but Kaepernick had 51 of those and Carlos Hyde, who ran for 168 in the opener, was limited to 43 on 14 carries. Also, the Steelers stuffed the 49ers twice at the 1-yard line to keep them from scoring – on one drive San Francisco had six cracks from the 3-and-in and did not make it beyond the 1.
SPECIAL TEAMS: B – Josh Scobee missed one of his four PATs, but the Steelers also were 2-for-2 on two-point conversions. The 49ers averaged just 19.3 yards on three kickoff returns and 5.5 on two punt returns. Jordan Berry punted three times for 47.3 gross, 43.7 net and dropped two inside the 20. Antonio Brown returned the only punt for Pittsburgh for 16 yards.
COACHING: A – After being dazed and confused in Foxborough, the Steelers hit on nearly all gears. The infamous communication problems they had on defense in the opener vanished at home. Defensive coordinator Keith Butler’s new scheme of having the linemen more active paid big dividends as ends Cam Heyward and Stephon Tuitt disrupted the 49ers’ flow and made plays. Coordinator Todd Haley let Ben Roethlisberger call many of his own plays in the no-huddle and they worked like a charm.
