Like the stock market, past performance for NFL teams in the preseason isn’t indicative of future results once September arrives.

For the Pittsburgh Steelers, that means the anticipation of a market correction after the first-team offense produced five touchdowns on five series over the three-game exhibition schedule.

The Steelers exited the preseason bullish about their offense, yet they will face a bear of an opponent Sunday in the season opener when San Francisco comes to Acrisure Stadium with a defense that allowed the fewest points and yards in the NFL in 2022.

“It’s going to happen,” said quarterback Kenny Pickett, who had a perfect passer rating in the preseason. “It’s the National Football League, and you’re going against the best defense in the league. I don’t think anyone will bat an eye on this team. Just continue to put your best foot forward, work hard and give everything you have Sunday.”

The 49ers learned Wednesday that they will have NFL Defensive Player of the Year Nick Bosa available for the opener after he agreed to a five-year, $170 million contract that will make him the league highest-paid player on defense. Bosa held out of training camp and preseason while awaiting a new deal.

The 49ers also have two other Pro Bowl players on defense in linebacker Fred Warner and safety Talanoa Hufanga — essentially mirroring the Steelers’ star trio of T.J. Watt, Cameron Heyward and Minkah Fitzpatrick.

“They have good experience,” Pickett said. “They play with a lot of aggressiveness and intensity. No. 29 (Hufanga) comes up in the run game and hits you. They’ve got great cover guys on the corner, and a vet safety who has been there for a while. It’s a really good team from the top down.”

The Steelers will try to show their preseason efficiency on offense — at least when the first unit was in the game — was not an aberration. Wide receiver Diontae Johnson said that from the moment the Steelers reported to training camp, the goal for the offense was to start fast in games — a trait that eluded the offense in Matt Canada’s first two years as coordinator.

“It’s working with a sense of urgency,” Johnson said. “It’s just knowing what you’re doing, knowing your assignment, making sure you’re doing your job. If we do that, we’ll be fine.”

The Steelers’ slow start last season — they totaled four offensive touchdowns in the first 15 quarters — led to quarterback Mitch Trubisky being benched in favor of Pickett. The Steelers didn’t score a touchdown in the first quarter until the sixth game of the season, and they ranked No. 23 in first-quarter scoring by averaging 3.5 points in the opening 15 minutes. A year earlier, the Steelers tied for last in first-quarter points with a 2.1 average.

Johnson, who didn’t score a touchdown the entire 2022 season, said the Steelers gained enough confidence in the preseason that the offense won’t be rattled if it begins the game Sunday with a three-and-out or falls behind early against San Francisco.

“When it comes, you just can’t fold in the moment,” he said. “You have to push through. Dig deep and fight through it. Everything isn’t going to be perfect, but it’s how you respond to it.”

Second-year receiver George Pickens agreed.

“Just keep going,” he said. “That’s the best way to handle adversity, don’t let it bring you down. Adversity is probably one of the least things we worry about.”

Pickett viewed the preseason success on offense as an extension of what was accomplished on the fields daily in training camp at Saint Vincent College.

“It was the work that led up to the preseason,” he said. “We start over in the regular season, but it’s good to see the things we worked on have some success. But going against the best defense in the league, we’re got to be ready to go.”

Note: The only player to miss any practice time Wednesday was defensive lineman Larry Ogunjobi, who is still recovering from a foot injury and was listed as a limited participant on the NFL-mandated official injury report. Defensive lineman Cameron Heyward also was limited Wednesday, but that was not because of injury. The 34-year-old regularly is held out of drills during the season in an effort to preserve his body.

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