SANTA CLARA, Calif. — After a week of season — and potentially franchise — altering news and moves, the winless Pittsburgh Steelers took the field at Levi’s Stadium with two significant new faces.
The debuts of Minkah Fitzpatrick and Mason Rudolph were mixed bags, but each finished the Steelers’ 24-20 loss with a handful of positive signs.
Rudolph struggled in the first half, completing eight of 15 attempts for only 40 yards, and he opened the third quarter with an interception. Rudolph looked out of synch with his young receivers, including rookie Diontae Johnson, who made his first start. But he finished the game going 14-for-27 for 174 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
While Rudolph looked shaky in his opening half as a Steelers starter, Fitzpatrick immediately showed why the Steelers (0-3) traded away their first-round pick for the first time in more than half a century.
Primarily playing free safety, Fitzpatrick contributed to the Steelers’ victory in the turnover margin — a strong predictor of the final score most of the time — with a first-half interception and forced fumble. Pittsburgh finished the first half with a +4 turnover margin.
Eventually, Fitzpatrick will be a versatile weapon. But with just a couple days of practice under his belt before the trip to Santa Clara, Fitzpatrick mostly stayed deep.
Late in the first quarter, the former Miami Dolphin ran in to help cornerback Joe Haden, who was covering running back Matt Breida. Haden tipped Jimmy Garappolo’s pass, forcing it to go off Breida’s hands, and Fitzpatrick was there to collect the interception. He ran it back 14 yards, giving the new quarterback prime field position to start the drive. But instead of adding six to the board, the Steelers only managed a field goal.
Fitzpatrick ended the 49ers’ next drive, too, this time, tackling running back Raheem Mostert low to jar the ball loose. Rookie linebacker Devin Bush recovered it, diving to snap it up for the third takeaway of the game.
With Fitzpatrick’s help, the Steelers, for the second time in two seasons, racked up four takeaways in a half. Last year, they hit that mark against the Buccaneers, but prior to that, they hadn’t forced four turnovers in a half since 2010.
But after a first-half performance that kept the Steelers in the game, Fitzpatrick and the defense couldn’t keep pace in the second half as they stayed on the field for 73 plays. They allowed an eight-play, 38-yard scoring drive off Rudolph’s third-quarter interception and a 10-play, 75-yard scoring drive to close out the quarter.
That’s when the Steelers offense, dormant for so much of the game, came alive thanks to a couple of deep passes by Rudolph and a brief burst in the run game.
Rudolph hit wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster for a 76-yard catch-and-run touchdown to cap a three-play, 82-yard drive late in the third quarter.
The Steelers then opened the fourth quarter with a 10-yard run by James Conner, followed by a deep pass attempt to James Washington that drew a defensive pass interference flag and set up for Rudolph’s 39-yard touchdown to Johnson — the rookie’s first of his NFL career.
But even with Fitzpatrick’s immediate contributions and Rudolph’s second-half touchdown passes, the Steelers winless streak continued thanks to the 49ers’ fourth-quarter touchdown drive.