The Seattle Seahawks rallied for a 31-17 road win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday to rebound from their season-opening loss to the San Francisco 49ers last week.
Seattle Seahawks 31, Pittsburgh Steelers 17: Box score
What stood out from Seattle’s first win of the season? Here are five initial observations:
Darnold bounces back
Sam Darnold shook off a pair of first-half interceptions and helped the Seahawks pull in front by guiding them to three scoring drives on their first four possessions of the second half. Darnold finished 22-of-33 passing for 295 yards, two touchdowns and two picks – highlighted by several pivotal plays down the stretch.
On the Seahawks’ first possession of the third quarter, Darnold hit Cooper Kupp for a key third-down completion and later found tight end AJ Barner for a game-tying touchdown. On their next series, Darnold again found Kupp for a drive-extending third-down completion that helped set up a go-ahead field goal.
And in the fourth quarter, Darnold avoided a third-down sack with a nifty spin move on pass rusher Patrick Queen and then floated a pass to Barner that moved the chains. Then on the very next play, Darnold uncorked a 43-yard deep ball to Jaxon Smith-Njigba that helped set up Kenneth Walker III’s game-sealing touchdown run.
Made it look eaaasy. 😌
📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/6qojzb5VZf
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) September 14, 2025
Not just a one-man show
In last week’s loss to the 49ers, Seattle’s passing game was extremely one-dimensional, with Smith-Njigba accounting for 124 of the team’s 150 receiving yards.
On Sunday, Smith-Njigba had another big game, hauling in eight catches for a team-high 103 yards. But the Seahawks also showed that they have plenty of other capable receiving threats.
Most notably, Kupp had seven catches for 90 yards – including a pair of pivotal third-down receptions that extended scoring drives in the second half. Rookie wideout Tory Horton had two catches for 32 yards, including a 21-yard TD on the opening drive. Rookie tight end Elijah Arroyo added two catches for 31 yards, including a 24-yard catch-and-run. And the aforementioned Barner finished with two catches for 26 yards, including a game-tying TD grab.
Tory Horton’s 1st career catch is a touchdown!
SEAvsPIT on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/rCS74Ca0gA
— NFL (@NFL) September 14, 2025
Walker rebounds
Kenneth Walker III had a forgettable performance in Week 1, rushing for just 20 yards on 10 carries against the 49ers. But it was a much different story on Sunday.
Taking advantage of some good blocking in Seattle’s new offensive scheme, Walker showed off his burst and elusiveness by running for 105 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries. It was Walker’s first 100-yard rushing performance since Week 1 of 2024.
Walker was a major factor in the Seahawks’ second-half offensive success. He had four carries for 34 yards on their game-tying touchdown drive in the third quarter. He had a 20-yard gain on their go-ahead field-goal drive, keyed by a bulldozing block from rookie fullback Robbie Ouzts. And late in the fourth quarter, Walker turned a third-and-goal handoff into a 19-yard touchdown that sealed the victory.
LET’S GOOOOO
📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/dy9x8w7hhn
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) September 14, 2025
Shorthanded secondary holds strong
The Seahawks were down two key players in the secondary, with two-time All-Pro cornerback Devon Witherspoon and rookie safety Nick Emmanwori both sidelined with injuries. But the casual observer wouldn’t have known it from the way Seattle’s defense clamped down Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers all afternoon.
The Seahawks surrendered just 267 total yards and 17 points – the latter of which could have been even fewer if not for the two Darnold interceptions that set up Pittsburgh’s offense in Seattle territory. Rodgers finished just 18-of-33 passing for 203 yards, one TD and two interceptions — with 65 of those yards coming off some missed tackles by Seattle’s defense on a dump-off pass to running back Jaylen Warren. The Seahawks also bottled up Pittsburgh’s run game, yielding just 72 yards on 21 carries for a 3.4-yard average.
And in one of the game’s biggest plays, recent waiver-claim pickup Derion Kendrick snagged a deflected third-and-goal pass in the end zone for an interception.
That’s ours now.
📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/DD2rcF1ATe
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) September 14, 2025
Seahawks capitalize on crazy play
The Seahawks benefited from what will surely be one of the more bizarre plays across the entire NFL this season.
After taking a 17-14 lead early in the fourth quarter, Seattle kicker Jason Myers sent a short kickoff that landed just outside the 10-yard line. Pittsburgh returner Kaleb Johnson, a rookie running back out of Iowa, initially tried to field the ball off the second hop, but couldn’t corral it as it took high bounce that grazed off his hands.
As the ball bounced past him into the end zone, Johnson began jogging to the sideline, assuming it was a touchback and not realizing it was still a live ball. Seahawks special teamer George Holani never gave up on the play, sprinting downfield and falling on the ball in the end zone for a stunningly unconventional touchdown that gave the Seahawks a two-possession lead and some much-needed breathing room.
The Seahawks just recovered a kickoff in the end zone for a touchdown!
SEAvsPIT on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/0J1gEbqx4r
— NFL (@NFL) September 14, 2025
Tory Horton breaks Seahawks’ lengthy opening-drive TD drought