Pittsburgh Steelers at San Francisco 49ers Matchup Preview 9/22/19: Analysis, Depth Charts, Betting Picks, Daily Fantasy

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Pittsburgh limps into this week with a backup quarterback that will be starting the rest of the way. Is this a possible changing of the tide for Pittsburgh? We shall see. James Conner looks to have escaped an injury that would keep him out. One of the bigger issues for Pittsburgh is just how bad their defense is playing at the moment. The 49ers offense has battled some injuries as well, but have averaged 36 points per game in the two weeks so far. The defense has also chipped in with a few touchdowns of their own. The 49ers are touchdown favorites this week, and we wouldn’t expect that if we were looking at this game before the season started, but at the moment it makes sense. For odds line movement, and full matchup history, see the Pittsburgh Steelers At San Francisco 49ers Matchup Page.

TV Schedule

Date: Sunday, September 22nd, 2019
Time: 4:25 ET
Location: Levi’s Stadium – Santa Clara, CA
Coverage: CBS

Injury Report

Pittsburgh Steelers: Ben Roethlisberger (O), James Conner (P),
San Francisco 49ers: Dee Ford (Q), Tevin Coleman (O), Joe Staley (O)

Pittsburgh Steelers Analysis

Pittsburgh will come into this week trying to slow down a 49ers team that has moved the ball well through the first two weeks. While you could say this was because of the defenses they faced, the Steelers have not exactly stopped anyone this season. They have allowed 30.5 points per game through the first two weeks, and will get a 49ers offense that has put up some strong numbers. Overall the secondary is the major concern for the Steelers, and they will have the task of slowing down a rotating wide receiver core of San Francisco. There is hope that the Steelers can capitalize on the 49ers losing Joe Staley for the next few weeks, as their offensive line certainly takes a hit with that news.

The Mason Rudolph era is upon us, at least for the rest of the season. He was decent last week given the circumstances, and will look to link up with his college teammate, James Washington. There have been talks about dropping Donte Moncrief again this week, as he went from 62 snaps in Week 1 to 18 in Week 2. It is Dionate Johnson who projects to get more run, and Pittsburgh drafted him this offseason. The targets have been scarce for names outside of JuJu Smith-Schuster, who sits with just 16 on the season. Overall things have been spread out, and the offense has suffered. I would not be surprised to see Pittsburgh force the ball a bit to their playmakers.

Pittsburgh Steelers Depth Chart

QB: Mason Rudolph
RB1: James Conner
RB2: Jaylen Samuels
WR1: JuJu Smith-Schuster
WR2: Donte Moncrief
WR3: James Washington
TE: Vance McDonald

San Francisco 49ers Analysis

The 49ers are off to a 2-0 start. The rushing attack and defense has paved the way for that. Despite the injury to Tevin Coleman, Matt Breida, Jeff Wilson, and Raheem Mostert all have chipped in with strong performances. In the first full week without Coleman, Mostert saw 34 snaps, to Breida’s 21. Wilson had 15, and was used more inside the red zone, hence the two touchdowns. The wide receiver snaps were divided almost even this past week. Nobody saw over 40, and Deebo Samuel dropped from 60 to 29, but his production went up with a big line. Goodwin also saw a drop from 50 to 37, where Kendrick Bourne, Dante Pettis, and Richie James all saw a rise from Week 1.

It is a good spot for the passing offense, as Pittsburgh currently ranks 30th against the pass, and 10th against the run. If the Steelers put a limit on this rushing attack that has been good through two weeks, we should see the 49ers air it out a bit. Despite the points, SF has averaged just 235 passing yards per game, which is on par with Buffalo, and Jacksonville.

San Francisco 49ers Depth Chart

QB: Jimmy Garoppolo
RB1: Matt Breida
RB2: Raheem Mostert
WR1: Dante Pettis
WR2: Marquise Goodwin
WR3: Deebo Samuel
TE: George Kittle

Betting Pick: 49ers -6.5

San Francisco are touchdown favorites at home, and that is a number they haven’t seen often over the last few seasons. Overall the 49ers were 9-7 ATS and 3-5 when at home. The over was slightly favored last year with a 9-7 record, but the Steelers had an under go 10-5-1. This is not a great betting game, as you have a ton of uncertainty on both sides. San Francisco has covered just 14% of the time as a favorite dating back to last year and 30% of the time when at home. They also just covered 13% of the time coming after a win.

Daily Fantasy: A Low Owned GPP Game, And Nothing More

There isn’t a lot to like, as the snap counts were not pretty for the wideouts and running backs. While there were big games last week, the issue still remains that these guys are not consistently on the field enough, and will need that big play to hit. On a full slate there are far better games to target, but if you are playing the 4PM only games, then you can take some shots on the 49ers wideouts like Goodwin and Samuel. Mostert and Breida are still in play, even with Wilson getting the two touchdowns last week. As for the Steelers side, James Conner is a fade in DFS, but JuJu Smith-Schuster is still worth a dart throw in GPPs.