PITTSBURGH -- Trailing the San Francisco 49ers 20-0 with less than two minutes until halftime Sunday, the Pittsburgh Steelers were staring down historic futility.
Coming off a preseason in which the first-team offense scored five touchdowns in five drives, the Steelers had just 1 net yard of offense in five drives. They were also on the precipice of the largest halftime home deficit under Mike Tomlin.
But in the final minutes of the first half, quarterback Kenny Pickett orchestrated a 12-play, 95-yard drive capped by a 3-yard touchdown to tight end Pat Freiermuth to cut the deficit to 13.
Pickett to Freiermuth! @Steelers are on the board
— NFL (@NFL) September 10, 2023
📺: #SFvsPIT on FOX
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/G4uoYVOqQn pic.twitter.com/bJjoul0An3
Before that drive, the Steelers didn't have a first down before picking up six.
Pickett completed 7 of 10 attempts on the drive, including a 15-yard gain to Diontae Johnson. Najee Harris also ripped off a 24-yard run, aided even further by an unnecessary roughness penalty against the 49ers at the end of the run.