San Francisco 49ers: Three keys to victory in week three vs Steelers

We are finally on the doorstep of the week three matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the San Francisco 49ers. The red and gold have a primetime opportunity to improve to 3-0 entering their bye next week.

With Ben Roethlisberger out for the rest of the year, the Steelers feels significantly weakened. However, even with Roethlisberger the Steelers were not looking too good. This should be a game that the 49ers have no issues with closing out a win, though they must not be complacent.

Here are three keys to victory for tomorrow’s matchup for San Francisco 49ers to become 3-0.

Giving Justin Skule some help

An easy way for the 49ers to start to lose control of the game is by leaving rookie offensive tackle Justin Skule on an island. Skule is filling in for the injured Joe Staley, so he has some pretty big shoes to fill. The Steelers are more than likely going to throw everything at Skule since he is the weakest link on the offensive line. Kyle Shanahan has to give him some help in a variety of ways that includes George Kittle, an extra lineman, or Kyle Juszsczyk.

Luckily for Skule, the Steelers best pass rusher T.J. Watt has been rushing solely against the right tackle. Although, it would not surprise me if the Steelers swung Watt over to get his licks in against Skule. This game could get ugly fast if Skule is getting beat constantly. Without sufficient protection on Jimmy Garoppolo’s blindside, the 49ers offense could stall out on multiple drives. Most of the 49ers success on offense derives from the offensive line.

They've been on a tear through these first couple of games, which has made it easy for Shanahan to call the game. Now the offensive line is missing a key piece in Staley at left tackle, which the Steelers will try to expose. They need to give aid to the left side and see how Skule handles the pass rush from there. For all we know, he might have a good game, but that’s a lot to chance on with the risk of getting Garoppolo injured.

Disguise defensive coverages

Second year quarterback Mason Rudolph will be making his first career start on Sunday. Not much is known about Rudolph aside from what he showed in limited action as relief to Ben Roethlisberger in week two. Now unless Rudolph is the second coming of Patrick Mahomes, the 49ers defense should be able to spoil his first career start tomorrow.

One of the ways to do that is by disguising the coverage before the snap. Nowadays, plays are won pre-snap in the NFL. Rudolph can be tricked into thinking he has a receiver open pre-snap and try to hit him. Either he’ll attempt the pass and potentially be picked off or he’ll get confused from it and panic for reading the defensive coverage wrong that can lead to a sack.

It’s all about having him guessing the coverage and second guessing himself. That mindset will cause him to make horrible decisions and create turnovers for the defense. The 49ers pass rush should get their fast enough while Rudolph sits in the pocket confused about the coverage. He’ll have a frustrating game all day if the 49ers are constantly shifting formations.

Continue to run play-action and counter plays heavily

A huge reason as to why the 49ers were so successful offensively against the Bengals was because of their play-action and counter plays. So many times last week the 49ers had the majority of the Bengals defense on the opposite side of where the play was actually going. It’s just a phenomenal job of play-design by Kyle Shanahan and execution from the players.

The same needs to happen tomorrow against the Steelers. Not just because it was so successful against the Bengals, but because the Steeler's defense will be insanely vulnerable against it. This isn’t your typical Pittsburgh defense that we’re so accustomed to seeing. A lot of their players are young and undisciplined.

They’re going to fall for every single counter and play-fake the 49ers dial up. It’ll also be a great way for Jimmy Garoppolo to get out of the pocket in case Justin Skule is getting blown by. The 49ers should have no issue with reaching 30 points or more tomorrow if they’re able to execute counter and play-action.

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