Key Matchups to Watch as Seahawks Visit Steelers For Road Opener
Looking to bounce back from a disappointing result in their season opener, the Seattle Seahawks will take their show on the road for the first time in 2025 by heading to the Steel City to square off with Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
While it’s still very early in the schedule, after falling short in a 17-13 loss to San Francisco, Seattle sits in last place in the NFC West as the only team in the division to lose in Week 1, and dropping a second straight game would dig a bit of a hole for coach Mike Macdonald’s squad to climb out of in the first month of the season. As for Pittsburgh, Rodgers and company will look to show a 34-32 win over New York last weekend wasn’t a fluke and that they will be a factor in the AFC North race.
Battling for the first time in Pittsburgh since 2022, here are six pivotal matchups to watch as the Seahawks and Steelers meet up at Acrisure Stadium:
Seahawks edge defenders Uchenna Nwosu, Demarcus Lawrence, Boye Mafe, and Derick Hall versus Steelers tackles Broderick Jones and Troy Fautanu: While Rodgers sliced and diced his former team’s secondary to a tune of four touchdowns, including three of them on play action passes, it wasn’t without taking a bit of a beating in the process. The Steelers’ offensive line allowed four sacks to the Jets, with Jones surrendering three of those during a rough afternoon in the blind side protector role, including two to twitchy outside linebacker Will McDonald. This isn’t a surprising development considering the former first-round pick out of Georgia yielded 11 sacks last season. Fautanu, a former Washington Husky standout, didn’t allow a sack in the opener, but he still gave up two pressures and a quarterback hit with both bookends having some issues protecting the quarterback.
The Jets have a quality edge group led by McDonald and Jermaine Johnson, but with Nwosu returning from a knee injury to make his 2025 debut, the Seahawks have arguably a better one with four starter-caliber defenders offering different skill sets. It has been three years since Nwosu played more than a partial season, but his blend of explosiveness and power could create significant issues for Jones and Fautanu. Meanwhile, Lawrence turned in a stellar debut last weekend with two tackles for loss and a pair of pressures and his physicality and ability to turn speed into power gave the 49ers’ tackles fits, so he has a chance to reap the benefits against a struggling pair of blockers. Stylistically, Mafe offers the most similarities to McDonald with an explosive first step and the upfield speed necessary to quickly bend around the corner, so Seattle would be wise to set up several opportunities for him to cash in against Jones.
Seahawks guards Grey Zabel, Anthony Bradford and center Jalen Sundell versus Steelers defensive tackles Cam Heyward and Keeanu Benton: In the opener, Zabel and Sundell, who were each making their first career NFL starts, received a somewhat favorable draw against a San Francisco defensive line lacking experience and playing several rookies as well. Doing their jobs keeping Sam Darnold clean, Zabel yielded just one pressure and no quarterback hits or sacks in his professional debut, while Sundell was equally effective allowing only a single hurry on 28 pass protection reps. Run blocking proved to be a bit trickier against a well-coached 49ers’ front, but overall, the former North Dakota State roommates did well in their first extended NFL action together.
But while they benefited from the lack of experience for the Niners last week, that won’t be the case in Pittsburgh, particularly for Zabel, who will undoubtedly see a lot of snaps against a future Hall of Famer in Heyward, who continues to be a disruptive force as he enters the twilight of his illustrious career. Though he didn’t have any sacks against the Jets, he did produce a pair of pressures, and as he showed last season, he’s still got plenty of bite as a pass rusher with eight sacks in 2024 to go with his stout presence as a run defender. Next to him, Benton had a challenging opener as a run defender, receiving a dismal 47.8 grade from Pro Football Focus, but he also had 20-plus pressures in his first two seasons and can be a nuisance penetrating the pocket in his own right.
Seahawks cornerbacks Riq Woolen, Josh Jobe, and slot cornerback TBN later versus Steelers receivers DK Metcalf and Calvin Austin: Early in the week, Woolen’s status as a starter stood out as the biggest storyline coming out of the VMAC with Macdonald being non-committal on whether or not he would be in the lineup after he gave up two killer completions on the 49ers’ game-winning drive. However, the option of benching the talented, yet enigmatic corner no longer appears to be on the table due to Devon Witherspoon being doubtful to play on Sunday with a knee injury and Nick Emmanwori being sidelined by a high ankle sprain. He should be back in the lineup with Jobe, who had a phenomenal opener allowing just one catch for one yard with an interception, opposite of him at the two boundary spots, while it remains a mystery how Macdonald will handle the slot role in nickel/dime sets.
Set to partake in a potential revenge game against his former team, Metcalf and Woolen will revive their friendly rivalry that used to draw a ton of eyeballs during training camp one-on-ones over the past three years. Woolen has held his own in many of those matchups possessing rare size and speed to be able to match up well with Metcalf, but a game setting will be a different animal than the practice field and he will have his work cut out for him not only trying to lock him down as a vertical threat, but after the catch as well. Jobe held up well against Ricky Pearsall and San Francisco’s banged up receiving corps last week, but Austin has legit 4.3 speed and averaged north of 20 yards per catch last week, so he will face a different kind of challenge on Sunday. Whoever mans the slot will see Austin a fair amount in that role, while big-bodied wideout Ben Skowronek and veteran Scotty Miller will also see time there.
Seahawks running backs Zach Charbonnet and Ken Walker III versus Steelers linebackers Patrick Queen and Payton Wilson: The duo of Charbonnet and Walker didn’t find a ton of traction against the 49ers, particularly the latter averaging just two yards per carry while frequently getting swarmed behind the line of scrimmage, though they had a few drives where they found a bit more running room and were able to key scoring possessions. Charbonnet seems to be more comfortable with Klint Kubiak’s offense at this stage, which could be in part due to Walker missing quite a bit of training camp for precautionary maintenance reasons, but both will be expected to play significant roles in the game plan against an opponent that allowed nearly five yards per carry to the Jets.
Away from the defensive line struggling to control the line of scrimmage for most of the opener in New York, the Steelers received inconsistent play from their linebackers. Queen received a steady 78.0 grade with six tackles and two run stops, though his average depth of tackle was north of four yards, so he was frequently making stops well downfield. As for Wilson, the second-year linebacker whiffed on a tackle and found himself out of position a few times on plays that resulted in big gains for the Jets’ rushing attack, so he may be vulnerable to some misdirection and adding gaps with motion. Both players had rough days in coverage as well, combining to allow six catches on six targets for 96 yards, providing an opportunity for Kubiak to get his running backs matched up against them in the passing game.
Seahawks safeties Julian Love and Coby Bryant versus Steelers tight ends Pat Freiermuth, Jonnu Smith, and Darnell Washington: Even considering the presence of Metcalf and Austin on the outside, tight ends may hold the key for the Steelers finding success moving the ball through the air against the Seahawks on Sunday. Rodgers completed eight total passes to Freiermuth and Smith last Sunday, with the latter scoring one of the team’s four touchdowns, and they will see a ton of action of the field together in two tight end groupings. Coordinator Arthur Smith also mixed in a handful of plays with Washington on the field as a third tight end and won’t be afraid to dish out 13 personnel as a means to both help get their run game going and attack a safety group without Emmanwori and with Love at less than 100 percent.
Historically, Love has been rock solid in coverage against tight ends, and he didn’t give up a single catch last weekend against the 49ers. Bryant did give up one catch apiece to George Kittle and Jake Tonges, but he has generally been reliable against tight ends as well in the past, so either one of those veterans matching up with Freiermuth or Smith should be part of the game plan. Where things could get tricky, however, is when the Seahawks go to nickel or dime sets. If Ty Okada or D’Anthony Bell plays at all, the Steelers could follow the 49ers game plan and immediately attack the third safety, which resulted in Kittle’s touchdown in the first quarter last week picking on Okada. Because of Emmanwori’s absence and Seattle’s preference to play three safeties, countering with tight end heavy formations could be a big part of Smith’s game planning menu.
Seahawks receivers Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Cooper Kupp, and Tory Horton versus Steelers cornerbacks Darius Slay, Jalen Ramsey, and Brandin Echols: Away from Smith-Njigba, who reeled in nine catches for 124 yards, the Seahawks received minimal contributions from the rest of their receiving corps in the season opener. Along with making an uncharacteristic third down drop, Kupp only caught two passes for 15 yards, while Horton wasn’t even targeted in his NFL debut as the unit did not provide much help for Darnold. Such results can’t happen again in Pittsburgh, as the Steelers will surely utilize some bracket coverage to take away Smith-Njigba. If there’s a silver lining, however, Kubiak didn’t have Jake Bobo or Dareke Young available with both players sidelined by injuries and they will be back in action on Sunday, giving him more options to rotate into the lineup with different strengths.
Additionally, the Seahawks aren’t the only team entering this game with injuries in the secondary, as the Steelers will be without their top corner in Joey Porter Jr. as well as safety Deshon Elliott. Pittsburgh has a lot of experience on the back end with veterans in Slay and Ramsey, but both of them have lost a step well into their 30s. Slay surrendered two catches for 41 yards and a touchdown to Garrett Wilson in the opener, showing susceptibility to the deep ball. On the flip side, Ramsey has settled in quite well as a nickel back, producing two pass breakups in his team debut. Without any speedsters in their cornerback group, this could be a good chance for the Seahawks to be able to scheme up separation for their receivers against a group that doesn’t have a ton of athletic juice and will be playing at least one backup, if not more, at cornerback. Look for the speedy Horton to be an X-factor after being shut out last week.
