To follow up their heartbreaking loss to the San Francisco 49ers in week one, Seattle has to travel coast to coast this week to face the 1-0 Pittsburgh Steelers. And they will be meeting some familiar faces when they arrive in the Steel City.
Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers was a nearly annual opponent for Seattle when he was playing for Green Bay, and helped author some incredible games over the years. He was also a victim of some of Seattle’s most stunning victories, none more critical than their win in the 2014 NFC Championship Game. Rodgers turns 42 this year, and while he may not have the mobility he once did in his younger days, his arm is still top-notch, and few can dissect a defense quite like he can.
Rodgers has only faced a Mike Macdonald defense once, and it took place during a game between the Jets and Seattle last season when Rodgers was playing for the Jets. Rodgers was in the middle of a vintage performance as he had just moved the Jets inside Seattle’s red zone, already up 21-7 late in the second quarter. Rodgers was looking for receiver Garret Wilson over the middle. What probably would have been a walk-in score, but Seattle CB Devon Witherspoon stopped his blitz short and tipped the ball, DE Leonard Williams caught the interception, then ran 92 yards for a touchdown to make the deficit a more manageable one-score game.
Seattle trailed 21-16 at the break, but their halftime adjustments worked as the defense kept the Jets scoreless the remainder of the game while putting up 10 points on offense to seal a 26-21 victory.
Even though he is a member of the Steelers this season, you can assume Rodgers will be tirelessly going over the film from that game and many others from last season to see what wrinkles to look for on Sunday, so Macdonald will need to make sure to disguise what he is calling against one of the most polished QBs of all time.
Working alongside Rodgers will be former Seattle receiver DK Metcalf, who was traded to the Steel City in the offseason after reports emerged that Metcalf was feeling like the odd man out in the Emerald City. The trade would reunite him with former QB Russell Wilson and pair him with emerging receiver George Pickens – or so we thought. Wilson was not invited back to Pittsburgh and instead signed with the Giants, and Pickens was traded to Dallas shortly after.
Metcalf and Rodgers seemed to develop a quick connection while training together this summer, and in their first game, they connected for a few plays that averaged 20 yards per catch. Not bad for two guys who just met. As they were facing the Jets, Metcalf was routinely matched up with all-pro corner Sauce Gardner, but DK won that battle and the Steelers won the war on a late field goal.
Pittsburgh wasn’t done just signing Rodgers and trading for DK; they also traded star safety Minkah Fitzpatrick to Miami, and in return, they got corner Jalen Ramsey. Ramsey and Metcalf had some fierce battles when Ramsey was a member of the LA Rams, and they appeared to have a genuine dislike for each other, but that could have just been because they were on opposite sides of the field. It doesn’t matter if they don’t like each other anyway, as they play for different units on the same team.
DK appeared to stick up for Ramsey after a play on Sunday, so it’s entirely possible that wearing the same uniform helped them get rid of any bad blood they had when they were playing against each other. If DK and Ramsey have found a way to bury the hatchet and are now cheering for each other, that could be trouble for everyone in the league, as they are two of the fiercest competitors and would only make more big plays if they truly found a way to get along. With so many big personalities in Pittsburgh, it’s more likely that any adversity could bring the whole thing crashing down. Still, we’ve seen a cast of characters like this win it all before, so don’t assume they will crack just because some teams have, but you can’t count on them holding things together either.
While Pittsburgh has some familiar faces for Seattle, the Seahawks are a very different team than the last time these two franchises faced each other at the end of the 2023 season.
Gone are QB Geno Smith and WR Tyler Lockett, and they have made upgrades on the offensive and defensive lines. Inside linebacker Ernest Jones IV was not playing for Seattle when they last played Pittsburgh; he wasn’t even playing for the Titans, who traded him to Seattle. Jones wasn’t on Seattle’s lineup yet when they played the Jets last season, so that film may not help Rodgers and the offense much, especially since it was very early in the Macdonald system, as he is only in his second season. Pete Carroll was coaching one of his last games for Seattle at the time, and is now coaching the Raiders.
Seattle receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba and RB Zach Charbonett were rookies, and Kenneth Walker was in just his second season. Pittsburgh was starting Mason Rudolph at QB last time these teams played, so nothing is going to look the same. Najee Harris was the Steelers’ RB, and Pickens and Diontae Johnson were the Steelers’ leading receivers. Let’s say other than Mike Tomlin and T.J. Watt, both teams are completely different.
Speaking of Tomlin, he faced Macdonald multiple times when Macdonald was the defensive coordinator of the Ravens from 2022-23, so he might have some insights to offer offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. Smith did not face Macdonald when he was with the Baltimore DC or last season when he was with Seattle, so he will need to tailor a game plan around the film he has, rather than anything he has experienced himself.
We don’t really have a lot to go on here in terms of accurately previewing this game. Both teams played really tough football last week and have plenty of firepower on both sides of the ball, but we really don’t know what to expect in the early stages of the season from either squad.
Seattle has a ton of young, unproven talent playing for new coordinators on both sides of the ball, while Pittsburgh has a lot of veteran players that know each other well and a scheme they know, as they mix new faces into the fold, so it’s tough to say what we should expect.
With the game being in the early time slot across the country, there is yet another wrench in the mix. That should benefit the Steelers as they get to sleep in their own beds and take their normal commute to work, while Seattle has to be out of their timezone, and out of town, and sleeping in a hotel. Yes, these guys get paid a fortune to do it, but that doesn’t make it easy.
The early time slot on a cross-country road trip used to be a big issue for Seattle, but they have not had much trouble with it in recent years, so don’t be surprised if they come out swinging in this one rather than waking up after game time.
Pittsburgh was more pass-happy than expected last week, and so was Seattle, but both teams prefer to run the ball and play hard-nosed defense, so expect more of a slow game and not an aerial showcase, as both teams found themselves in a week ago.
I think Seattle can and should win this game, but wouldn’t be surprised if Pittsburgh’s tough-as-nails defense and an above-average offense prove to be too much with so many other variables in play. Seattle QB Sam Darnold is still learning a new offense and getting to know new teammates, and the rest of the offense is learning a new scheme as well, and are only on their second week of doing so in game action. The defense should be more game-ready, as they were last week, but unlike playing a team they know well in the 49ers, they must now deal with the new-look Steelers and many question marks about what they will look like aside from one game of film from last Sunday.
If Seattle starts strong and plays the game their way, I see them winning a close one. If Seattle has some key issues and can’t convert drives into points, and lets the Steelers bully them, I can see the Steelers winning by a few points. It’s the definition of a coin toss game, but I’m going with Seattle.
Prediction: Seattle wins 20-17
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