Mike Tomlin - Steelers 'got kicked in the teeth' by 49ers - ESPN

PITTSBURGH — Coach Mike Tomlin didn't mince words in the aftermath of the Pittsburgh Steelers' 30-7 dismantling at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers.

«You can't start games 0-5 on third down and think that you're going to have the type of day that you desire,» Tomlin said. «You got to win the weighty downs, and it's just more than just identifying that component, man. It was a failure on our part, in all areas. We got to coach better, we got to play better.

»… We got kicked in the teeth today in a lot of ways."

As an offense, the Steelers (0-1) converted on just 5 of 15 third downs, while the 49ers (1-0) converted on 6 of 13. The Steelers didn't even pick up a first down until less than two minutes remained in the first half. The Steelers lost the time of possession battle 37:23 to 22:37, and the lack of plays especially in the first half kept the offense from establishing any sort or rhythm or ground game.

«We just didn't execute, honestly,» quarterback Kenny Pickett said. «I think it was more us than them. I felt comfortable what I was seeing, what they were doing. We just didn't execute.»

That lack of execution was somewhat surprising after the Steelers' starting offense scored touchdowns on all five drives during the preseason. Through the first five drives against the 49ers, the Steelers had one net yard, no first downs, three punts and an interception.

«I think San Fran's starting defense is a little bit better than some teams in the preseason we played,» the second-year quarterback said, explaining the offensive discrepancy from the preseason to regular season. «They're a good team, but at the end of the day we didn't execute anywhere near at the level that we need to that we want to.»

Pickett, who completed 31