Each Friday during the 2023 NFL and fantasy football season, Eric Karabell will bring his always-reasonable perspective to highlight the biggest storylines heading into the weekend's games.
The Pittsburgh Steelers produced 239 yards of offense in their 30-7 home loss to the San Francisco 49ers. That was not the worst Week 1 total, not even among the five worst (check out the Cincinnati Bengals), but it was disappointing because expectations are rather high for the Steelers. Yeah, the 49ers play great defense, but this game was not competitive. QB Kenny Pickett looked overwhelmed. RB Najee Harris looked bored. WR George Pickens looked disappointed. WR Diontae Johnson and TE Pat Freiermuth looked hurt.
Impatient fantasy football managers already have Pickett among the three most dropped quarterbacks, which is saying something because Aaron Rodgers is the obvious top drop there. Johnson, likely out several weeks because of a hamstring injury, is among the most dropped wide receivers, and useful Freiermuth, a solid performer his first two NFL seasons, is also on the list at his position. The Steelers D/ST, formidable but still a somewhat surprising second to the 49ers in ESPN average live drafts, is quickly the third-most-dropped unit.
Why is everyone already giving up on the Steelers?