This article was first published by Audacy and was syndicated with permission.
The 49ers put together a complete beatdown of the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, rolling to a 30-7 victory in the season opener.
With about four minutes left in the second quarter, the Niners held a 20-0 lead and were out gaining the Steelers by a margin of 213 yards to 1. That's domination on both sides of the ball.
On the latest 49ers Webzone 'No Huddle' podcast from Audacy Sports, hosts Al Sacco and Brian Renick shared their reactions to the lopsided win for the Niners.
"I couldn't believe they came out and did what they did," Sacco said. "I thought it was a statement. I didn't think it was a Week 1 fluke thing. Pittsburgh may be better than what they looked today, but I think the Niners are the Niners and that's the team you're gonna see. A team that I thought was gonna win 11 or 12 games, now, I wouldn't be surprised if they win even more than that. I was that impressed with them on what I saw from both sides of the ball."
The Super Bowl is still about five months away and there's a lot of football to be played between now and then, but Renick said the 49ers look like legit title contenders. The Dallas Cowboys walloped the New York Giants 40-0 on Sunday Night Football, but the Niners' 23-point win gave them the second-biggest margin of victory around the league.
"You look at the performances around the league in Week 1 and you think to yourself, 'OK, they've definitely established themselves as one of the Super Bowl favorites.'" Renick said. "I don't feel like that's an overstatement. I don't feel like that's an overreaction."
Depending on the sportsbook, the Niners have odds in the +650 to +800 range, ranking anywhere from the Super Bowl favorite to the team with the third-best chances to win it all. Judging from those numbers, it seems the oddsmakers are high on the 49ers too.
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