Pittsburgh Steelers HC Mile Tomlin on worst home loss of his career: 'We got kicked in the teeth'

The Pittsburgh Steelers had a perfect preseason, and everyone was hopeful and optimistic. But when they played their first regular-season game against the San Francisco 49ers, things didn't go well. The 49ers won 30-7, making it the biggest home loss in Coach Mike Tomlin's time with the team.

The Steelers' offense, led by Kenny Pickett, had been impressive in the preseason, scoring on every drive. However, in this game, they struggled. The 49ers looked like a team that could go to the Super Bowl, while the Steelers didn't live up to the preseason hype.

Coach Tomlin took responsibility for the loss and gave credit to the 49ers for their good performance. He knows the team needs to improve. He said, "We got kicked in the teeth today in a lot of ways."

The Steelers' defense had a tough time stopping Christian McCaffrey, who ran for 152 yards, the most he's had since 2019. The offense was also disappointing, gaining only 239 yards in the whole game. They fell behind 20-0 in the first half and couldn't score at all in the second half.

The team struggled on third downs, winning only 5 out of 15 attempts. Pickett threw two interceptions, which was unusual for him as he had only thrown one in his last eight games in 2022.

Coach Tomlin, who has been with the Steelers for a long time, had only experienced two home losses of 15 points or more before this game.

In the end, Week 1 was a wake-up call for the Steelers, and Coach Tomlin described it as a disappointing day. It was not the performance they had hoped for.