Despite the stark imbalance in time of possession—the Pittsburgh Steelers only controlled the football for 22:37 against the San Francisco 49ers—they still managed to execute 61 total offensive plays, just five fewer than their opponent.
Only 10 of those were running plays, and that includes one scramble by QB Kenny Pickett. Najee Harris rushed six times. Jaylen Warren added three. Pickett attempted 46 passes. So why so imbalanced? Even Pickett wasn’t happy about it.
49ers ILB Fred Warner has a theory. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk spoke to him briefly at the game.