It's safe to say that Patrick Peterson's Steelers debut did not go as planned. In fact, Peterson's afternoon was the complete opposite of what he predicted several days before Pittsburgh's 30-7 loss to the 49ers in Week 1.
The eight-time Pro Bowl cornerback thought the Steelers' defense would fare well against 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy and an offense he felt was somewhat predictable. But instead of a Steelers romp, it was the 49ers who coasted to victory behind Purdy's two touchdown passes to Brandon Aiyuk, both of which came at Peterson's expense.
"There is some tell signs out there that tells us what plays we're gonna get from those guys in certain situations," Peterson had said on the latest edition of the All Things Covered podcast featuring himself and CBS Sports NFL analyst and former Steelers cornerback Bryant McFadden.
Peterson didn't get into specifics regarding the 49ers' tells, but he did offer a prediction for Sunday's game, a predicting that obviously didn't pan out.
"When I get my pick Sunday, we'll talk about it," Peterson said.
Purdy, who went 19 of 29 for 220 yards on Sunday, was diplomatic when asked to respond to Peterson's comments on Thursday.
"I don't really know what to say about that," he said, via NBC Sports. "I mean, he's a good player. Patrick Peterson's a great player. I grew up watching him and everything. I was obviously from Arizona, he was playing for the Cardinals.
"It's the competitive nature, I guess, of football. So we'll see."
Sunday was Peterson's first game playing against 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, last year's "Mr. Irrelevant" who won his first seven NFL starts. Purdy started Sunday's game less than a month after he was fully cleared to practice after undergoing elbow surgery in March.
"He's able to put the football where it needs to go," Peterson said of Purdy, whose success last year compelled the 49ers to trade former first-round pick Trey Lance to the Cowboys last month. "He's a guy that's not going to make many mistakes. He's a guy who's going to take what the defense gives him and allow his defense to put him in a better position.
"If you look at film, and you look at him play and how Coach Shanahan calls the game, that's their formula. They're going to run the football, a ton of misdirection plays to get that defensive player's eyes all over the place and let their guys make hay after they catch the ball."
Brock to BA ‼️
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) September 10, 2023
📺 #SFvsPIT on FOX
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While Peterson's prediction didn't come to fruition, he was accurate when detailing what the Steelers' defense needed to do to have success against the 49ers. Unfortunately for him, the Steelers were unable to execute their game plan of not allowing big plays, especially against Christian McCaffrey, who blew the game open on a 65-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter.
"This guy's very shifty," Peterson said of McCaffrey. "The jump cut ability, the vision he has on the field. It's going to be very prominent that everybody has all hands on deck when it comes to tackling."
