PITTSBURGH — San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy waited six months to the day to return from his offseason elbow surgery. It took all of five and a half minutes for him to throw his first touchdown pass.
After the Niners defense got a three and out on the game’s opening possession, the Niners quickly marched to Pittsburgh’s 8. On first-and-goal, Purdy dropped back, scanned the field and found wideout Brandon Aiyuk wide open in the end zone for an 8-yard touchdown. The extra point made it 7-0 Niners with 9:29 left in the first quarter.
Purdy to Aiyuk! First TD on this Sunday
📺: #SFvsPIT on FOX
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/G4uoYVOqQn pic.twitter.com/0JVXDA4VQ5— NFL (@NFL) September 10, 2023
A fired-up Purdy bolted toward San Francisco’s sideline, pounding his chest and letting out a guttural scream. He was 3-of-3 for 25 yards and a score on the opening drive.
It was the first time since 2014 that the 49ers scored a touchdown on their opening drive of the first game of the regular season and the 19th career touchdown catch for Aiyuk, tied for most on the team in that span.
Brock Purdy & Brandon Aiyuk (8-yd TD)
On an in-breaking route, Aiyuk found an opening against the Steelers Cover 4 defense (4.1 yards of separation when the pass was thrown, 2.9 yards when the pass arrived).
The 49ers offense featured two-back sets on 4 of 7 plays on their… pic.twitter.com/qm0wvW2a3l
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) September 10, 2023
Aiyuk and Purdy connected again with 13:30 left in the second quarter as Purdy floated a pass down the right sideline to the front corner of the end zone. Aiyuk leaped over cornerback Patrick Peterson, pulled it in and got two feet down for the score. The extra point made it 17-0 San Francisco.
AIYUUUUUUUUUUUK AGAIN.
📺: #SFvsPIT on FOX
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/G4uoYVOqQn pic.twitter.com/oe2fa730Im— NFL (@NFL) September 10, 2023
