First Call: Brock Purdy responds to Patrick Peterson's suggestion his offense has 'tells;' Ravens' costly injury; Browns' big win

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy played it cool after beating Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Patrick Peterson for two touchdowns during Sunday’s dominating win at Acrisure Stadium.

We look at what the Steelers may be getting from the Cleveland Browns next week. The Baltimore Ravens suffered a tough injury loss.

And we have the early gambling line on the Backyard Brawl. All that in Monday’s “First Call.”

Brock rocked

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy was really good against the Steelers Sunday. He posted a 111.3 passer rating with two touchdowns and no interceptions en route to a 30-7 win in the season opener.

He did that after Steelers cornerback Patrick Peterson promised an interception against him and suggested that the 49ers offense had some “tell signs.”

If those “tells” were still there Sunday, the Steelers did nothing with them. In fact, Purdy and receiver Brandon Aiyuk burned Peterson for two touchdowns. But Purdy claims he wasn’t thinking about targeting Peterson on either throw.

“Honestly, at first, no. I wasn’t thinking about any of that. B.A. was open, did a great job on the route and I got him the ball and (he) scored a touchdown. And then, the second touchdown on the right side? The deep ball. Was that on Patrick Peterson?” Purdy asked with a smile, “Yeah, that one, I was like, ‘That felt good.’”

Yeah. I’m sure it did.

“He’s a competitor. I have nothing but respect for Patrick Peterson and everything that he does,” Purdy added.

We’ll see if the Los Angeles Rams can capitalize on those “tells” next week.

Related:

• Airing of Grievances: Steelers look outmatched, ill-prepared vs. 49ers during regular season reality check
• Madden Monday: In opener, Steelers QB Kenny Pickett was less like 'Big Ken,' more like 'Bubby Pickett'
• 49ers clobber Steelers as perfect preseason is quickly forgotten

On the horizon

After a 24-3 beatdown of the reigning AFC North champion Cincinnati Bengals, the Cleveland Browns will head to Pittsburgh Monday night for Week 2.

They’ll do so with these numbers in their back pockets after the Week 1 win.

• The Browns held Cincy to 2 of 15 on third-down conversion attempts.

• Cleveland held the ball for almost 36 minutes of game action.

• Cleveland outgained Cincinnati 350 yards to 142 yards.

• The Bengals’ average yards per play was just 2.6. Want a comp? The hapless Steelers offense was at 3.9 yards per play against the 49ers Sunday. Individually, Bengals starting quarterback Joe Burrow managed just 2.6 yards per pass.

• Cincinnati totaled only six first downs the entire game. The Browns had 21.

• All-Pro receiver Ja’Marr Chase put up just 39 yards and the Bengals averaged only 3.8 yards per rush.

So that’s what the Steelers are going up against Monday night at Acrisure Stadium. That said, the Steelers have just one loss to the Browns in Pittsburgh since 2003. That was the 2020 playoff game Cleveland won 48-37.

Dobbins done

We’ve seen this before — the Baltimore Ravens suffering another early-season injury to a running back.

Specifically J.K. Dobbins.

The fourth-year product from Ohio State tore an ACL in the final preseason game of 2021 and missed the entire regular season. He came back in Week 3 of the next season but was only able to play in seven games thanks to another knee injury.

On Sunday, he left Game 1 of the 2023 season with an Achilles tear.

Ravens coach John Harbaugh said RB J.K. Dobbins tore his Achilles.

Dobbins’ season is over.

— Jamison Hensley (@jamisonhensley) September 10, 2023

Dobbins had eight carries for 22 yards and a touchdown before leaving with the injury. Justice Hill got eight carries for nine yards and two touchdowns. Gus Edwards had 32 yards on eight carries. The Ravens’ leading rusher was quarterback Lamar Jackson with 38 yards, en route to a 25-9 victory over Houston.

“[Dobbins is] a special guy, both football-wise and personality-wise. He helps keep his team moving and all that. So, an absolute gut punch and heartbreaking,” Ravens guard Kevin Zeitler said via ESPN.com.

The Ravens also had to play without standout tight end Mark Andrews. The Ravens totaled 110 yards on the ground. They led the AFC with 160 yards per game on the ground last year.

Where the line is leaning

The early line is out for the Backyard Brawl.

Despite their loss at home to Cincinnati on Saturday night, the Pitt Panthers are one-point favorites on the road in Morgantown.

That’s according to Oddsshark.com. The over/under game total is 50.5. The money line has Pitt as a minus-121 favorite.

West Virginia is coming off a 56-17 win over Duquesne. West Virginia won the last two games at Milan Puskar Stadium 21-20 in 2011 and 16-13 in 2009.