Seahawks vs Steelers NFL Pick: Seattle Needs to Corral Rodgers and Get Its Offense Going (Sep 14)

• For our NFL Week 2 Seahawks Steelers analysis, Aaron Rodgers tries to continue his renaissance while Sam Darnold hopes to rebound from a mediocre Week 1 performance
• Seattle lost to their NFC West rivals, the 49ers, on a late Brock Purdy TD pass
• Pittsburgh won a nail-biter over the Jets on a late 60-yard field goal by Chris Boswell
• The Steelers have won their last two matchups against the Seahawks after the Seahawks won the previous two

Aaron Rodgers Showed He’s Still Aaron Rodgers

Forty-one years old or not, Aaron Rodgers showed in Week 1 that he’s still got enough left in the tank to dominate. Against his former Jets teammates, he completed 22 of 30 passes for 244 yards and 4 TDs. His passer rating was an absurd 136.7. It was even more impressive given how the Jets smothered Pittsburgh’s rushing attack.

Still, the Steelers need to shore up their defensive line. The Jets’ Breece Hall rushed for 107 yards on 19 carries. New York put up 32 points, and Justin Fields was largely untouched. Pittsburgh would have lost were it not for Rodgers’ late-game heroics with 2 TD passes within a minute and Boswell’s long field goal.

Newcomer Jalen Ramsey was an intimidating and fiery force in the secondary. T.J. Watt was largely mitigated by New York’s offensive line.

If Pittsburgh is going to win this game, they cannot let Darnold stand unhurried in the pocket, nor can they let Zach Charbonnet and Kenneth Walker III run wild on them.

Obviously, they need Watt and Cameron Heyward to be the forces on defense the Steelers are accustomed to.

Darnold’s Seahawks Debut Was a Dud

Much like Sam Darnold’s time with the Jets, the on-paper poor performance in his Seahawks debut was not solely his fault. He was 16 for 23 for 150 yards.

Seattle has entered the season with a questionable receiving corps beyond Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Unless Cooper Kupp proves the Rams wrong for letting him go at 32, and tight ends Elijah Arroyo and AJ Barner are prime targets, teams are going to focus on stopping Smith-Njigba and the rushing attack and leave Darnold with nowhere to go with the ball.

Having a strong-armed QB is useless unless he has someone to throw it to. Right now, it’s an unknown for Seattle.

On defense, the Seahawks picked off Brock Purdy twice, one by Ernest Jones, the other by Josh Jobe. Safety Julian Love led the way with 10 combination tackles, including 8 solos. They were unable to effectively stop Christian McCaffrey.

Seahawks vs Steelers Pick

Even though the Steelers won and the Seahawks lost, both teams enter Week 2 with concerns.

For Pittsburgh, surrendering 32 points to Fields and the Jets while not being able to stop New York’s rushing attack does not bode well against a veteran pocket passer like Darnold with two good running backs in Charbonnet and Walker III.

Seattle could barely move the ball against the 49ers. They should fare better against Pittsburgh, but their lack of depth at receiver is an issue that might hinder Darnold throughout the season.

Expect a close game with Seattle keeping it within 3 points.