The NFL schedule makers know what they’re doing, huh?
Fresh off a victory against the Jets, where both Aaron Rodgers and former Steeler Justin Fields squared off against their former teams, Pittsburgh will play host to the Seattle Seahawks.
It’s another reunion game for one of the splash acquisitions of the Steelers’ offseason, this time DK Metcalf. Frankly, it’s shocking the schedule makers didn’t make the Steelers face the Dolphins in Week 3. Instead, we’ll get that game for Jalen Ramsey, Jonnu Smith, and former Steeler Minkah Fitzpatrick on December 15.
The Steelers will be facing off against another familiar face, as the Seahawks are led by Mike Macdonald who previously served as the defensive coordinator for the rival Ravens. The Seahawks are 0-1 and hungry for a win after dropping their season opener.
Here’s what you need to know ahead of the Steelers’ home opener:
What to expect from the Seahawks’ offense
Sep 7, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) runs the ball during the first half against San Francisco 49ers at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images
Sep 7, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) runs the ball during the first half against San Francisco 49ers at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images
Steven Bisig-Imagn Images
RP: Much like the Steelers this past offseason, the Seahawks were a team of change. This offseason, the Seahawks entered phase two of their transition from Pete Carroll, jettisoning both their starting quarterback, Geno Smith, and the expensive wideout with whom their relationship had cooled, and they no longer wished to pay. Thanks for DK Metcalf, Seattle!
They also hit the redo button on Macdonald’s first offensive coordinator hire, firing Ryan Grubb and bringing in Klint Kubiak. Kubiak is the eldest son of former coach Gary Kubiak, one of the co-creators of the West Coast-Outside Zone system of offense that was first introduced by the Denver Broncos in the mid-90s. Those Broncos would win back-to-back Super Bowls, and that system of offense became popular in the NFL and has been passed down and evolved ever since.
The core of the offense merges some of the quick passing game concepts that came from Bill Walsh’s West Coast offense — i.e., a lot of short, horizontal routes designed to create space for receivers to get open and create yards after the catch — with outside zone concepts developed by Alex Gibbs, plus the addition of bootlegs and designed runs for the quarterback that were developed by Mike Shanahan and Kubiak.
To oversimplify, the offense revolves around creating easy throws for the quarterback that can lead to explosive gains, and then balancing that with a running game that can also create explosive gains by getting their running backs to space outside of the tackles. The addition of bootlegs and designed quarterbacks then helps keep defenses guessing.
The two most prominent descendants of this Shanahan offense are Kyle Shanahan, naturally, and Sean McVay. In recent years, hiring a “Shanahan guy” or a “McVay guy” has become a bit of a fad and meme during hiring cycles. We’ve seen some of those coaches find success — Green Bay’s Matt LaFleur, Minnesota’s Kevin O’Connell — and others not as much.
Klint Kubiak has previously been the offensive coordinator for the Vikings during Mike Zimmer’s final season with the team, as well as with the Saints last season.
Klint Kubiak offenses
In Week 1, the Seahawks’ rushing attack resembles what you would expect: a lot of outside zone, with a few inside zone concepts for variety.
The Seahawks feature two high-draft pedigree running backs with Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet, both selected in Round 2.
Kenneth Walker III has battled injuries during his career, including this summer, and the San Francisco defense did a good job of bottling him up in the opener. Walker was given the ball 10 times but only managed 20 yards. He never seemed to get going in Week 1, and in his career, Walker has been prone to trying to bounce runs outside in search of an explosive play, whether or not the situation calls for it. It’s a double-edged sword that could help the Steelers, but could also burn them if they are caught sleeping.
The back that looked best for the Seahawks last week was Charbonnet. Charbonnet isn’t incredibly elusive, and he doesn’t possess game-breaking speed, but he resembled a battering ram against the 49ers and did a good job of taking what was given to him. He had 12 rushes for 47 yards (3.9 YPC), and a score. A series of goalline runs weighed down Charbonnet’s yards per carry and gives him a misleading box score. While there weren’t any explosive runs, nine of Charbonnet’s rushes eclipsed his YPC for the game, and six of those rushes went for five yards or better.
Setting the edge will be important for the Steelers’ run defense this week. On inside runs, right guard Anthony Bradford has been an inconsistent player over the years and appears to be the weak link in the Seahawks’ line. Rookie Jalen Sundell is also a possible point of emphasis for the Steelers. Sundell was a tackle at North Dakota State, but has transitioned to center for the Seahawks and is still incredibly green at the position. This could be a chance for Keeanu Benton to have a bounce-back week after he was bullied by the Jets’ line.
As for the passing attack, the Seahawks have a new quarterback this year in Sam Darnold. Darnold had a revival year in 2024 playing for O’Connell and the Vikings. This is an opportunity that should have the Steelers licking their chops. While the sack numbers weren’t there against New York, the Steelers managed to generate pressure on 44% of Justin Fields’ dropbacks. Darnold has infamously struggled with pressure throughout his career, and it reared its ugly head again last week, including a fumble on the last Seahawks possession of the game.
The Seahawks’ primary weapon in the passing game is Jaxon Smith-Njigba. In 2024, Smith-Njigba surpassed Metcalf for the Seattle lead in targets, yards, and receiving touchdowns. Now with Metcalf on the Steelers sideline, the former Buckeye seems to be the only receiver Darnold has eyes for. Darnold attempted 23 passes against San Francisco, and 13 of those went to Smith-Njigba’s way. Like most modern receivers, Smith-Njigba is moved around the formation, sometimes playing outside, sometimes in the slot, and sometimes in a bunch that will allow him an easy release. He’s best attacking the middle of the field on crossers, digs, posts, and other in-breaking routes, but he’s effect on slot fades as well.
The Seahawks also signed former triple crown winner Cooper Kupp this offseason. He did not make a huge impact in Week 1, as he managed to turn three targets into two receptions for just 15 yards. The Seahawks’ third receiver is rookie receiver Tory Horton — one of my draft gems this cycle — but he didn’t manage a target in the game. Seattle will also deploy plenty of 12 and 13 personnel, but that’s primarily for the run. Second-year tight end AJ Barner received most the snaps a week ago, and caught one ball for zero yards. Rookies Elijah Arroyo and Robbie Outz also got some run, with Arroyo securing one catch for seven yards and Outz filling a fullback/tight end hybrid role.
I expect to see Darnold attempt to distribute the targets a little more evenly this week, but it’s hard to know how effective they’ll be in that after just one week. With the Steelers running a heavy dose of Cover-3, the Steelers should be wary of the Seahawks attacking the seams, as well as running crossing routes.
What to expect from the Seahawks’ defense
RB: As Ryan mentioned in the intro, this is a team led by Mike Macdonald, a familiar face to Steeler fans and one of the brightest defensive minds in the NFL.
I mean, he was calling plays like this in the preseason:
Entering 2025, the Seattle defense has widely been considered a fringe top-10 unit in the NFL. But it’s not just because of the scheme. The Seahawks might not have the same number of household names on defense as Pittsburgh, but there’s a good collection of talent, including star nickel corner Devon Witherspoon and Pro Bowl defensive end Leonard Williams.
Against the 49ers last week in a 17-13 loss, the Seahawks’ first priority was loading the box in an attempt to slow down Christian McCaffrey. McCaffrey still found some success – because, of course he did – but the Steelers are going to have a tougher time moving the ball on the ground.
The Jets’ front seven was a major challenge for the Steelers’ O-line last week, and Seattle’s defensive line is another talented group. The aforementioned Leonard Williams is one of the better interior linemen in the league. He’s joined by an up-and-coming talent in Byron Murphy II and names such as Jarran Reed, DeMarcus Lawrence, Derick Hall, and Boye Mafe. Lawrence’s power especially stood out defending the run.
The group had a tremendous game up front last week even if McCaffrey still found ways to sneak into daylight. But he had just 3.1 yards per carry on the day.
What about defending the passing game?
Under Macdonald, as well as current defensive coordinator Aden Durde, the Seahawks have unveiled some really creative looks, especially on blitz calls.
Expect a lot of simulated pressures from Seattle on Sunday. As Richard Sherman alludes to in the video above, that means only rushing four defenders on a play, but not the traditional four. Oftentimes, that means a safety or linebacker suddenly blitzing while a D-lineman drops into coverage. It also allows defenses to line up pre-snap in a way where it isn’t obvious who’s coming and going.
It’ll be a mental battle for the Steelers’ young offensive line and veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers to handle what the Seattle defense throws at them. Against the Seahawks last year, Rodgers tossed two touchdown passes but he also got fooled into throwing an interception (first clip below).
Seattle crowded the line of scrimmage but only rushed three; Rodgers didn’t see the defensive tackle dropping back into coverage and the result was a pick six. Where Rodgers’ pre-snap processing in the quick game could backfire last year was when the look he expected changed after the snap and he didn’t have time to react.
But while the Seattle front is a concern, the secondary looks a bit weaker. Devon Witherspoon is one of the NFL’s better slot defenders, but there’s just not as much depth behind him.
Brock Purdy threw for 277 yards versus Seattle in Week 1 with Ricky Pearsall logging 108 yards. Seahawks starting cornerback Tariq Woolen had an especially rough game, giving up several big plays.
Macdonald, for his part, answered with a vague “we’ll see” when asked if Woolen would start in Week 2. If not, his replacement would be fourth-year cornerback Josh Jobe, a former Alabama undrafted free agent. Jobe recorded an interception on Sunday.
So did linebacker Ernest Jones IV, who remains one of the league’s more underrated names at his position.
Although Seattle sacked Purdy just once on Sunday, they constantly generated pressure and were able to force some mistakes.
In the Steelers’ case, however, Aaron Rodgers is going to have a harder time escaping the pocket to gain yardage than the 25-year-old Purdy.
The Seahawks only gave up 17 points – it wasn’t a bad showing by any means – but they just gave up too many plays in critical moments to secure the victory.
Heading into Week 2, they’re still a formidable group. And especially with limited 2025 tape, Seattle is remarkably tough to gameplan for. As mentioned above, this is a defense unafraid to throw a lot of looks at you – they had a nearly equal number of single- and two-high coverages last week.
Where the 49ers had some success last week was in the play action passing game, where they took advantage of the Seahawks’ aggression up front and Purdy was a capable distributor. That aligns with what the Steelers did to win on offense against the Jets, but again, a lot can change from Week 1 to 2.
The last thing I’ll point out regarding the Seattle defense is that the secondary is already banged up early in the season. Witherspoon and first-round safety Nick Emmanwori missed Wednesday’s practice with injury, while safety Julian Love was limited.
I think it’ll be another tough week for establishing the run. The Steelers’ success against the Seahawks will hinge on whether or not Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh passing game can repeat their magic from last week’s shootout win against the Jets.
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