The Steelers (1-0) and Seahawks (0-1) enter Week 2 of the 2025 season as teams trying to prove that they’re a step above the NFL’s middle class. To preview how both squads match up, I chatted with John Gilbert, deputy editor at SB Nation’s Seahawks website Field Gulls, ahead of the game.
You can read my questions and his answers below:
1. The Seahawks are one game into the Sam Darnold experience. How’s it going?
There were a lot of fans who were extremely skeptical of the Darnold signing in the spring, and he likely didn’t win over any of the doubters with his Week 1 performance.
That’s not to say that he was bad or played poorly, just that he didn’t light the world on fire and put up a statline like one would expect of the most expensive outside free agent in franchise history.
Of course, as much as some may complain, Seahawks fans have been spoiled by thirteen seasons of quality quarterback play from Russell Wilson and Geno Smith, so the bar for Darnold to prove himself is higher than had he signed elsewhere.
2. Mike Macdonald is widely regarded as one of the better defensive minds in the NFL. Is this Seahawks defense a top-10 unit?
They were right on the edge of being a top ten unit last season, so a second season of experience in the system, along with a couple of key additions should give them the potential to be one of the top performing groups in the league.
Whether it actually plays out like that on the field remains to be seen, but so far there hasn’t been any sign of the defense regressing to anywhere near what it was prior to Macdonald’s arrival.
3. What’s up with the Zach Charbonnet/Kenneth Walker split in the Seahawks backfield? And what’s the level of confidence in that run game taking on a Steeler defense that gave up 182 rushing yards last week?
This is a question that everyone is asking, and I’m confused why it’s being asked by those who have watched the Seahawks play for the past several seasons.
New offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak runs a system that comes from the Shanahan family of offenses, meaning it is heavy on outside zone. Charbonnet has excelled running behind zone blocking so far in his NFL career, and at UCLA prior to that. In contrast, Walker has struggled to make the proper reads to run in a zone heavy system during his career, and that was on full display in Week 1, which I wrote about for Field Gulls earlier in the week.
Long story short, at this point the Seahawks coaching staff doesn’t seem to trust Walker to execute on zone calls, which is a significant issue in a zone-heavy system like that of Kubiak.
4. Who are some underrated names on the Seahawks roster who could impact Sunday’s outcome?
The interior of the offensive line — Grey Zabel, Jalen Sundell and Anthony Bradford — have a total of two dozen NFL starts between them, with Bradford laying claim to 22 of those 24 starts. That inexperience showed at times during Week 1 against the 49ers, and I’m certain Mike Tomlin and his staff will look to at least test the interior of the offensive line at some point in the game.
As for underrated names that may have an impact on the game, cornerback Josh Jobe has played well when given opportunities, and there are rumors and grumblings that he could be pushing to take Riq Woolen’s starting spot. I don’t expect him to start, but regardless of whether he does or not, he’ll see the field plenty, as the Seahawks spend a ton of time in nickel.
On the other side of the ball, the team will need to find a receiving threat other than Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who carried the group in Week 1. The most likely candidate is Cooper Kupp, but I’m assuming most Steelers fans are familiar with him, and underrated isn’t the word I’d use to describe Kupp at this point in his career. As for the underrated candidates who could step up are a pair of rookies in tight end Elijah Arroyo and receiver Tory Horton
5. The Steelers are currently three-point favorites via FanDuel. What’s your final score prediction, and why?
The Seahawks have one of the youngest rosters in the NFL, and while youth and upside comes with excitement and upside potential, it also comes with the risk of a young team starting slow in an early game after a cross country trip, so Steelers 20, Seahawks 17 is my prediction.
