Considering both the Steelers latest game and the Seahawks unexpected struggles, will Pittsburgh win by as much as it looks like they should?
Normally, this game would be a brutal one for the Steelers. Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll has an incredible football IQ, quarterback Russell Wilson is always a threat to any defense, and Seattle typically plays some physical ball.
However, none of those statements appear to hold an abundance of water so far this season, as the Seahawks are sitting at a subpar record of 2-3. Especially when participating in the NFC’s West division, you really don’t want to be caught lacking in Seattle’s shoes.
Now yes, the Steelers are also guilty of possessing a 2-3 record on the season up to now. But when looking at how good they looked against the Denver Broncos last weekend, I would say that greener pastures could be on the horizon if they were to just keep it up.
Make no mistake, I would be bringing up the competitiveness of this matchup regardless of how good or bad each team looked heading into it. But what should really help give Pittsburgh any needed life are the issues that the Seahawks are suffering from right now.
For starters, their physical play has not done an overly great job of playing physical, most namely on defense. They have allowed 21 points or more in four of their first five games; if the Steelers offense is clicking like it was last Sunday, then hitting that threshold should not be too difficult to capitalize with.
Seattle’s quarterback situation
But what appears to be even worse than that for Seattle is their current quarterback situation, as Russell Wilson is reportedly expected to miss no less than a month of games due to having required surgery on his finger. With that said, former West Virginia star Geno Smith is the one being looked upon to take over in his absence.
Nothing against Geno Smith, but he is not exactly as iconic on the NFL gridiron as he was on the collegiate one back in his Mountaineer days; a Steelers defense that is striving for improvement should be able to contain him rather well.
Ultimately, it is seeming as this game is Pittsburgh’s to lose. Now, something like that can technically be said in every game that they play. However, considering that what should be this game’s most prominent deciding factors are the underwhelming Seahawks defense and QB dilemma, combined with the Steelers riding on the come-up, the win is seemingly already in the grasp of the latter.
If Pittsburgh takes this win, they will be an even 3-3 on the season heading into their bye week, while Seattle will fall to 2-4 and consequently hold the worst record in their division until further notice. Boy, how the mighty have fallen.