The Pittsburgh Steelers will play their second game of the 2025 season on Sunday at home against the Seattle Seahawks. They’re coming off a thrilling victory that saw a touchdown on the opening drive, four touchdown passes in total from new quarterback Aaron Rodgers and a game winner from 60 yards contributed by the ever-impressive Chris Boswell.
Below are five key things I believe the Steelers will need to do to come away with their first home victory of the season.
Detach From the Situation – Our hopes for improved run defense did not come to fruition in the Week 1 victory. The triple-headed monster of Breece Hall, Justin Fields and Braelon Allen pumped out 164 yards on the ground and three rushing touchdowns. It was ugly and they really attacked the right side of the Steelers defense.
Running away from T.J. Watt is a wise move, and until they stop the run, they will continue to attack that side. Alex Highsmith and Cam Heyward are usually lined up to that side, but they are not the only ones to blame.
Keeanu Benton added just two tackles. Isaiahh Loudermilk played 31 snaps and didn’t register a tackle. The linebackers were slow to react and couldn’t get off blocks, but there is optimism of improvement with more reps and quicker adjustments.
The Seattle tandem of Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet totaled 67 yards on 22 carries last week, but don’t let those numbers fool you. Both are explosive and very capable of putting up big numbers. Diagnosing the play more and detaching from blocks quicker will be a good step toward stopping the run.
Give Rodgers Some Time – For the entire game, the Jets had players in the backfield last week. Per Next Gen Stats, Rodgers’ time to throw averaged of 2.43 seconds. That was the third fastest in the league in Week 1. A lot of that had to do with him having to get the ball out quickly due to pressure.
None of the offensive linemen were great and the pressure came from all sides. Broderick Jones struggled the most and he owned up to it. He knows he needs to be better. But collectively, they all need to be better. A healthy Rodgers makes this team much more dangerous on the offensive side of the ball. And until the defense starts slowing down opposing offenses, they will need to score points.
Despite that pressure, Rodger threw for four scores. He was 8 for 10 on play action with three scores. There were also two sacks on play action, as well. The point being, if you give him time, he will find the open man downfield rather than relying on throws behind the line of scrimmage.
Lock Down JSN – Jackson Smith-Njigba is coming off a breakout season. Last year, he totaled 100 receptions on 137 targets with 1,130 receiving yards and six touchdowns. Each of those statistics led the team. And that was as part of a receiving group that included Tyler Lockett and current Steeler DK Metcalf. That performance earned him the spot as the No. 1 receiver in Seattle in 2025.
Week 1, he continued his excellence pulling in nine receptions for 124 yards. It looks even more impressive when you realize as a team, they only completed 16 passes for 150 yards. The only other wide receiver to be targeted was Cooper Kupp with three.
We are early into this season, and the Steelers defensive backs are banged up. Joey Porter Jr. is dealing with a hamstring issue and DeShon Elliot with a knee injury. Both will miss this game. The team should be able to mix up its coverage and possibly even bracket Smith-Njigba with two defenders and force Sam Darnold to beat you with Kupp, Jake Bobo and rookies Tory Horton and Elijah Arroyo.
Pressure From the Middle – Seattle has a young offensive line. Their tackles are both from the 2022 draft and they added one starting interior offensive linemen in each of the last three drafts. Highsmith and Watt provide most of the pressure, and it’s a good time for them to get some help.
The Seahawks center is Jalen Sundell, an undrafted free agent from 2024. Left guard Grey Zabel is a rookie. The right guard is Anthony Bradford, and he is the most experienced of the three. Combined they have 24 stars with Bradford owning 22 of those. Still, the Seahawks allowed just one sack and two quarterback hits to San Francisco in week one.
Regardless, Heyward, Benton and Loudermilk should be licking their chops. Add in Yahya Black as well. He should be getting more snaps in Week 2. After a subpar Week 1, they all should be playing angry this week. There were grand expectations for this defense coming into the season. They got to have their warmup last week. Time to get the pass rush train rolling.
Why Wait on Warren? – Despite the Steelers adding a running back in the draft, Jaylen Warren came into this season as the top dog. He earned his stripes splitting time last season and proved himself to be a productive player. So, what happened with the usage last week?
I understand the way the offense is designed that they are going to just everyone that is available. Every offensive skill player got snaps last week. Kenneth Gainwell out snapped him 30 to 25, which is fairly even. However, Warren had just four touches (for 9 yards) in the first half of the game while Gainwell had seven (17). Do you really want to get the ball into the hands of your best running back that infrequently?
In the second half, his opportunities more than doubled to nine while accumulating 50 total yards. Gainwell had just four touches after halftime for six yards. Warren is the most physical runner they have, and he gives them the best opportunity to be successful on the ground. The San Francisco running backs put up over 100 yards on Seattle in Week 1. Get him into the flow earlier and pound the rock inside.
Related Items:Aaron Rodgers, Alex Highsmith, Anthony Bradford, Braelon Allen, Breece Hall, Broderick Jones, Cam Heyward, Chris Boswell, Cooper Kupp, DeShon Elliott, DK Metcalf, Elijah Arroyo, Grey Zabel, Isaiahh Loudermilk, Jackson Smith-Njigba, Jake Bobo, Jalen Sundell, Jaylen Warren, Joey Porter Jr., Justin Fields, Keeanu Benton, Kenneth Gainwell, Kenneth Walker III, Sam Darnold, T.J. Watt, Tory Horton, Tyler Lockett, Yahya Black, Zach Charbonnet
Recommended for you