The 49ers face a tricky road opener against the Steelers on Sunday and go into that game with history against them.

San Francisco's trip to Acrisure Stadium marks the first time the Niners have opened the season against an AFC team on the road since the 1999 season, when they faced the Jaguars. That game could hardly have gone worse.

Jacksonville trounced the 49ers 41-3, the Jaguars scoring 35 unanswered points in the second half as San Francisco committed five turnovers. Though the Niners won their next three games, it proved a harbinger of a poor season as Steve Young suffered a career-ending concussion in Week 3 and the 49ers slumped to a 4-12 record.

The events of that last road opener with an AFC foe 24 years ago are unlikely to enter the thoughts of current 49ers squad, which has fared reasonably well in recent away openers.

Since that blowout in Jacksonville, the 49ers have played 11 road openers. They have won six and lost five. Under Kyle Shanahan, they have played four openers away from home, winning two and losing two, with their latest defeat coming in monsoon conditions in Chicago.

The 49ers washed away the memory of that upset loss to the Bears and went on to a 13-4 season and a trip to the NFC Championship Game for the second successive season.

Even if they succumb to defeat to a Pittsburgh team that has been the subject of plenty of hype following a strong preseason, the expectation is the Niners will be in the mix for a double-digit win campaign once again.

But the 49ers, favored by 2.5 points according to BetOnline.ag, can take inspiration from the franchise's last opener in Pittsburgh. San Francisco has lost two of its three Week 1 games away at the Steelers, but their last was a 24-13 victory in 1993.

So the omens are not all bad for the Niners going into what is expected to be a testing matchup. If the 49ers can replicate what 1993 vintage achieved in Week 1, it will only strengthen the perception of Kyle Shanahan's team as a Super Bowl contender once again.

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