2. Jimmy Garoppolo sacked five times
One of the reasons why the 49ers are 2-0 is that Jimmy Garoppolo has only been sacked one time so far, and that was back in Week 1. However, he’s going to be much more vulnerable in Week 3. Six-time Pro Bowl left tackle, Joe Staley left San Francisco’s Week 2 game with a broken left fibula. That means Justin Skule will shift over to left tackle. Skule is a rookie sixth-round pick from Vanderbilt.
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Admittedly, I was hoping for more from Pittsburgh’s pass rush over the last two weeks. Against the Patriots and Tom Brady, the Steelers only tallied one sack. They did get to Russell Wilson four times in Week 2, but three of those sacks occurred early in the game. Pittsburgh struggled to pressure Wilson in the second half.
Even without Staley, the 49ers’ offensive line will still be a challenging test. In a year where seemingly everything else has gone wrong, can Pittsburgh’s defensive front be a stabilizing agent? Let’s hope so because the offense has looked horrible and there’s no guarantee how many points the Steelers will put up week in and week out. That puts pressure on the defense to hold opponents to low scoring totals.
Stephon Tuitt stepped up last week when he sacked Wilson 2.5 times. I’m still waiting on Cameron Heyward and T.J. Watt to show up though. Watt did have a sack in Week 2, but he needs to be more of a dominant force. Heyward getting pressure from the interior would be clutch. It’s a contract year for Bud Dupree. He needs to up his game.