The Pittsburgh Steelers will face the San Francisco 49ers at 1 p.m. ET at Acrisure Stadium on opening day. It will be the first home opener since 2014 and the first under the stadium’s newest moniker. The storylines dripping from this game make it a surprising choice as an afternoon vs primetime game on opening day by the NFL and the television networks.
The Arthur Moats Experience With Deke
Steelers' Kenny Pickett vs. 49ers Brock Purdy debate on The Arthur Moats Experience With Deke podcast
The most apparent storyline of newly minted offensive captain Kenny Pickett vs. Mr. now-very relevant Brock Purdy should be the lead story. The NFL may want to avoid admitting that the evaluation of the 2022 draft class of quarterbacks was a mistake, so they buried the best Week 1 game. If Pickett and Purdy ascend to stardom, the genuflections about the errors will be must-see TV for a decade.
One of the storylines dominating coverage for the opening game is the availability of the 49ers' great tight end, George Kittle. Kittle was in TJ Watt’s draft class in 2017. San Francisco selected him in the fifth round, and he has proven to be one of the better tight ends in football over the last six seasons. He has been a First Team All-Pro once and a Second Team All-Pro twice.
Sports Illustrated Graphic
Steelers' TJ Watt and his 2017 draft alumni, 49ers' George Kittle.
49ers' George Kittle Challenges Steelers' TJ Watt: "You Are Not Going Through Me"
Kittle was excited to challenge Watt in the opening week matchup. The 49ers tight end has a rambunctious personality and often dips into the Professional Wrestling world to channel some wild takes. In June, he challenged the former Defensive Player Of The Year on the Pardon My Take podcast.
"You're one-on-one vs. TJ Watt. Go for it," Kittle said. "He gets paid millions of dollars to rush the passer, but I look at it as an opportunity for me to be like, you are not going through me. I'm very excited about it. If it comes to blocking, I'll toot my own horn."
The bravado from a fellow All-Pro is admirable, but a little misplaced. If the 49ers use a tight end to block Watt, it will be a long day for Purdy and the offense. If Kittle can find a way to play on Sunday, he may get a chance to meet the Steelers outside linebacker on a running play to attempt to prove his point.
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Pittsburgh Steelers linebacking duo Alex Highsmith and TJ Watt.
Kittle has only played one full season in six tries. He posted back-to-back 1,000-yard receiving seasons in 2018 and 2019. After missing half of 2020 due to injury, he has missed just two games in 2021 and 2022. Kittle missed the 2022 season opener with a lingering groin injury and is battling the same issue in 2023.
According to The Athletic's 49ers reporter Matt Barrows, Kittle was held out of practice on Monday. Kittle is a top-rated player in fantasy football circles, so his health is national news. He is currently designated as questionable for the opening game, but Barrows shined a ray of sunshine down on the fantasy football owners who drafted him. Actual fans of the 49ers should be encouraged by the news as well.
“Attn: fantasy football owners, no George Kittle (adductor) at today’s bonus 49ers practice. He is, however, sprinting on a side field.”
The adductor is the fancy new word for the groin. It is medically accurate, but getting kicked in the adductor doesn’t roll off the tongue the same way. This type of injury severely hampers the explosion you need as a football player. Much of the recovery time is determined by the individual players' tolerance for the pain that comes from testing the injury's response to treatment.
Some players return in days, others take weeks, and some take months. All NFL players are tough. They would not be in the league if they were not. The injury has different degrees of severity. At tight end, the injury will severely test Kittle’s ability to hold blocks in the run game and explode in and out of routes in the passing game.
Kittle is a warrior, and the fact that he is sprinting on the sideline is a sure sign his return will be sooner rather than later for the 49ers, who are expected to contend for a Super Bowl berth. The game pitting the up-and-coming Steelers vs. one of the best NFC teams is an important bellwether game for Pittsburgh. It will either confirm what Steelers fans know is true about their very young offense and highly-paid defense, or demonstrate how much further they need to come by the end of 2023 to be a serious contender.
Unless you root for the Steelers or 49ers, Kittle's status is much more important than the actual game. It is one of those delicious times that fantasy football and the league's embrace of gambling will cause tension between the two sides. The league's injury report is sacred. There are severe penalties if you falsely report a player's status and get caught.
Footbahlin With Ben Roethlisberger
Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger and Mike Tomlin with Spencer T'eo on Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger.
The Steelers and Mike Tomlin were fined a combined $100,000 in 2019 for falsely reporting Ben Roethlisberger's injury status in the week leading up to his season-ending injury. It wasn't the first such fine and won't be the last. For decades, the injury report's accuracy was rumored to be an illicit nod to gambling interests. Now that the league has seemingly embraced sports gambling, it is less illicit, allegedly.
The Steelers and 49ers have 11 Super Bowl championships between them. They are both starting second-year quarterbacks who looked effective as rookies on what are thought to be two playoff-contending teams. Kittle's questionable status for Sunday might take the luster off for gamblers and, to a lesser extent, fantasy football owners who may have drafted him in the sixth round of a 12-man PPR league.
What do you think, Steeler Nation? Will it influence your attendance or viewership in any way if Kittle cannot play on Sunday? Please comment below or on my Twitter / X: @thebubbasq.
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