The San Francisco 49ers defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 30-7 in their first road game of the season on Sunday. Here's what both teams had to say following the Week 1 contest:
Niners Liners
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan on the team's Week 1 win in Pittsburgh:
"It opened up as good as you could hope for. I thought it was about 28 minutes of really good football and then two minutes of really bad football... Them scoring at the end of the half put a little damper on it, but we got the ball back and answered on the first drive. It was pretty smooth sailing from there."
49ers quarterback Brock Purdy on the team's mindset following #SFvsPIT:
"We're here to win. This is how we're going to play."
49ers defensive lineman Nick Bosa on how he felt following the team's Week 1 win in Pittsburgh:
"I felt good. My body held up good. I played, pretty much, the exact amount of snaps we were hoping for."
49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk on the team's Week 1 win:
"We'll let this season play out, but it definitely feels good to be 1-0... Everybody is excited to come out here and play football again."
49ers running back Christian McCaffrey on his 65-yard touchdown:
"It was awesome blocking. The whole run game is an 11-man job and they made great blocks. I got a little spin in there, got sprung and then it was Brandon Aiyuk and Ray-Ray McCloud III downfield. When you have receivers that block like that, it's a special feeling for a running back because you truly feel like your guys have your back. That's an awesome feeling to have when you're out there."
49ers linebacker Fred Warner on defensive lineman Drake Jackson's three-sack performance:
"My coach Johnny Holland always says, 'the harder you work, the luckier you get.' That's to say that we don't believe in luck, I believe in hard work and reaping what you sow. I think that he's worked his tail off all offseason and for him to come out and have a game like that is such a big confidence boost to himself and we're going to need it all season. We need everybody to play a big role in this defense and I was so happy for him today."
Steelers Quotes
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin on the team's Week 1 loss:
"You've got to compliment those guys because it unfolded in a manner in which they desired for it to. Oftentimes in games like this, the teams that win, the game unfolds more to their personality than the opponent, and no question, the game unfolded in the manner in which we talked about the style of play that they like to play, as far back as I talked to you guys on Tuesday. I thought they did a really good job of staying on schedule on offense and being in manageable third downs that allowed them to win enough of those third downs. On the other side of the ball, we didn't win enough possession downs to be competitive. You can't start games 0 and 5 on third down and think you're going to have the type of day that you desire."
Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett on playing against the 49ers defensive line:
"I think we held up great. Obviously they're going to get some pass rush on me here and there, but I thought the guys protected really well. They were tasked with doing a lot, so I tried to get the ball out fast and guys need to get open fast. We've got to improve."
Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt on what the defense needs to change moving forward:
"You guys watched the preseason. We were able to start fast in all three phases of the game, and today was definitely not like that. Even to be able to stop the bleeding coming out at halftime and have them have a two-play 70-plus-yard drive is not acceptable at all. It's a matter of starting fast, not just in the first half but also coming out in the second half, going as hard as we can to give the offense the ball back, which we weren't able to do."
View game photos from the San Francisco 49ers matchup vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers.