The San Francisco 49ers stormed into the 2023 regular season with a 30-7 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Now that the team is back in The Bay and head coach Kyle Shanahan has reviewed the tape, here are the three takeaways from Sunday's matchup:
Offensive lineman Colton McKivitz got one of his toughest tests of the year early, matching up with 2021 AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year T.J. Watt.
Week 1 of the season is a litmus test for everyone across the league, and after facing a force like Watt, McKivitz can continue to sharpen his skills as the team's new right tackle. He took over the spot left vacant by Mike McGlinchey, who signed with the Denver Broncos in free agency. Up until Sunday, McKivitz made five starts over the course of the previous three seasons, so these growing pains are to be expected. Quarterback Brock Purdy was sacked three times on Sunday, and the head coach expects to see improvement from McKivitz and the offensive line as a whole as they make their way through the season.
"He had the toughest matchup on the field," Shanahan said. "There was definitely a number in which Watt go him. There's a couple of situations in which we could help him out better with some shifts and stuff.
"He battled throughout it, but it was good enough for us to win. It was a huge challenge going against that player... Watt is as good as it gets on the edge and especially in a loud atmosphere especially early in that game, but he kept battling, and I think he'll do better next week."
The 49ers emerged from Sunday's contest injury free.
The only player evaluated on Sunday for an injury was cornerback Ambry Thomas. Thomas underwent testing for a possible concussion on Sunday and Monday and was cleared both times.
Meanwhile, there were three players who had been dealing with injuries that were able to see considerable action against the Steelers. Those players were tight end George Kittle (groin), cornerback Charvarius Ward (heel) and wide receiver Ray-Ray McCloud III (wrist).
Expect to see defensive lineman Nick Bosa at full go very soon.
After spending training camp away from his team and the facility amid contract negotiations, Bosa was on a 35-snap count versus Pittsburgh. Shanahan was satisfied with Bosa's first outing back, especially given that his practice week began with limited participation on Thursday afternoon. In Week 2, he'll continue to ramp up.
"I know he got 35 plays. He was full on those," Shanahan said. "He played like he was full go. We just wanted to take into account recovery. We're really happy to be able to get a win and play the way we did by reaching the play counter not exceeding the part that we had planned on.
"He'll spend these two days recovering. I'm sure he's going to be sore today and sore tomorrow from doing that. Hopefully, he'll be fresh enough to come out and start getting into practice Wednesday, Thursday and Friday."
