It was fourth-and-one from midfield with the game tied at 14. Aaron Rodgers clearly wanted to go for it. Mike Tomlin, doing what Mike Tomlin does best, lived in his fears and punted. That was where the game effectively ended.
Sure, we can point the finger at Kaleb Johnson for inexplicably not knowing to cover the ball on a kickoff that resulted in a Seahawks touchdown – the first time the kicking team has scored on a kickoff in over 40 years. And while that was a mess of a play, it’s a greater reflection
on the coaching issue the Steelers have – why is a rookie with a lack of explosiveness back there to begin with? That’s a Mike Tomlin problem.
The Tomlin problem has reared its ugly head for several years, but it usually doesn’t become a huge issue until late in the season. The cowardice, the playing with his tail between his legs and putting on a strong face, acting as if he didn’t – all of that took center stage, and the Steelers are now 1-1 in large part because of it.
Defensive struggles
The Steelers started the game on defense, and they picked up right where they left off against the Jets. The Seahawks hadn’t scored an opening-drive touchdown in 22 games. Never to fear, though – they’re playing the Steelers defense, who were sure to make sure that streak promptly ended on an eight-play drive with Sam Darnold throwing a touchdown to wide open Tory Hornton for his first career touchdown grab.
While Seattle wouldn’t score another point for the rest of the first half, the issues in the middle of the defense stayed evident throughout the course of the afternoon. Patrick Queen and Payton Wilson were black holes in the middle of the field, particularly on third down. The Seahawks had two lengthy completions on third downs on the opening drive alone, and went 6-of-14 on third down for the afternoon. The Seahawks ended up with 31 points, which marks the first time since 1989 the Steelers have opened the season allowing 31+ points in the first two weeks of the year.
In my Week 2 Keys to Victory, I wrote that Jaxson Smith-Njigba was the only player who could truly harm the Steelers in the passing game. Well, he had eight catches for 103 yards. The unquestioned No. 1 player on the offense was open all day, and you would have thought Pittsburgh didn’t know who he was with the amount of plays No. 11 was making.
The run defense was a problem, once again. Kenneth Walker had 13 carries for 105 yards and the back-breaking touchdown at the end of the fourth quarter. Over eight yards per carry for a rushing offense that looked rough against the San Francisco 49ers a week ago. It’s crystal clear that the Steelers’ run defense is just bad. The same New York Jets offense that put up 32 yards and almost 400 yards of offense against Pittsburgh didn’t score a touchdown against the Bills until garbage time and put up just 10 points. A dead Seahawks offense put up 24 points and was in position to score more. The defense is fundamentally bad, and that falls at the feet of the guy everyone proclaims Steelers fans should be grateful to have at the helm.
Offensive woes
The offense wasn’t much better. Aaron Rodgers and Co. couldn’t punch the ball into the end zone until the waning minutes of the first half, and even then, it was due to Nick Herbig getting a tip-ball interception and returning it to the Seahawks’ 21-yard line. The pressure was consistently getting to Rodgers, as well, forcing him to throw several balls into the ground to avoid sacks and causing obvious frustration.
That pressure, combined with predictable play-calling on first and second down, led to the Steelers being in third down and five yards or longer eight times. That’s the exact opposite of how any offense in the league wants to live, but when everyone in the stadium and at home knows it’s going to be a shotgun run on second down, what else is expected?
The Steelers had their chances. A long 65-yard catch and run from Jaylen Warren set them up inside the five, but that was all for not as a Rodgers pass was picked off after a clear miscommunication. It looked like Rodgers was throwing to Pat Freiermuth, but Calvin Austin dove in front of the pass, dropped it, and it went directly into the hands of Derion Kendrick.
Both sides of the ball have a lot to fix, but it feels like there will always be a low, Mike Tomlin-shaped ceiling on this team preventing them from taking that next step.
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