Patrick Peterson explains Steelers’ hidden advantage vs. the 49ers; Pro Bowl CB predicts a pick of Brock Purdy

When the Steelers defense lines up against the 49ers offense on Sunday, they’ll have a hidden advantage that was the byproduct of the unit’s film study over the past week. 

While the 49ers offense is potent, Patrick Peterson, an eight-time Pro Bowl cornerback who as a Cardinal played against San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense multiple times a year from 2017-20, and his teammates have found a cheat code of sorts that should allow the Steelers defense to win more than its share of plays in Sunday’s season opener. 

“There is some tell signs out there that tells us what plays we’re gonna get from those guys in certain situations,” Peterson 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. 

“When I get my pick Sunday, we’ll talk about it,” Peterson said. 

Sunday will be Peterson’s first game playing against 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, last year’s “Mr. Irrelevant” who won his first seven NFL starts. Purdy will start 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.”

Peterson alluded to the fact that the 49ers have three players who respectively led their positions in yards after the catch last year in running back Christian McCaffrey, wideout Deebo Samuel and tight end George Kittle, whose groin injury has left his status for Sunday in question. Instead of taking deep shots, Peterson knows that the 49ers are going to try to move the ball by quickly getting the ball to their playmakers and letting them do the work from there. 

“[Purdy is] just putting the ball schematically where it’s supposed to go,” Peterson said. “On the defensive side of the ball, we’re going to have to do a good job of communicating.” 

Tackling, Peterson said, is also going to be key if the Steelers are going to upset the favored 49ers. Specifically, Peterson knows that Pittsburgh will have to do a good job containing McCaffrey, who is arguably the league’s most versatile back. 

“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.”

While his first focus will be on the 49ers offense, Peterson is excited to see what Pittsburgh’s starting offense can do following a preseason that saw it score on each of its five possessions. Peterson has high hopes for Kenny Pickett, who generated a perfect passer rating during the preseason. 

“He needs to be phenomenal again,” Peterson said when asked what he expects to see Sunday from the Steelers’ second-year quarterback. “What we saw in the preseason is what I’ve seen since OTAs, minicamp and training camp. I’ve seen it since April. I expect to see nothing less.”