Field Gulls
The Seattle Seahawks are on the road in search of their first victory of the 2025 season in Week 2, facing off against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Helping Field Gulls preview the matchup this week is Ryland Bickey, assistant editor at Behind the Steel Curtain, who took the time to answer the five questions posed. Without wasting any further time, here are the questions and answers.
1. It’s been a quarterback carousel in Pittsburgh the past few seasons, and Aaron Rodgers obviously isn’t likely to be a long-term solution. With that said, how did he look in Week 1 and what should Seahawks fans expect to see out of the former MVP?
It was a great Steelers debut for Rodgers last week, who completed over 70% of his passes with four touchdowns. His performance was even more impressive given the Steelers had no run game stability (just 53 team yards on the ground) and he was under constant pressure. The offensive line was a rough watch in both the run and pass game.
As a result, that’s also why there’s a lot of worry if Rodgers can keep that pace. The Steelers offense was extremely one dimensional against the Jets. It wasn’t just the lack of the run game – Rodgers had under 100 air yards and Pittsburgh hardly pushed the ball downfield at all.
Plus, there’s questions as to how well the 41-year-old quarterback will hold up over the course of the season. His mobility is clearly worse than it used to be, and his health might become a long term question as well.
I think Seattle will do a better job of clouding Rodgers’ signature pre-snap reads in the quick game (I think back to the pick six he threw against Leonard Williams last year), so if the Steelers continue to struggle in the other aspects of their offense, they could be in trouble.
But drawing conclusions from Week 1 is an impossible task. What we know is that Aaron Rodgers still looked incredibly sharp against the Jets despite a gameplan that solely found success in the play action game and short/intermediate passes.
But Steeler fans are far more worried about the offense supporting Rodgers than the quarterback himself entering Week 2.
2. What’s the feeling among fans about DK Metcalf, and how did his performance in Week 1 impact the opinions of any fans?
I can’t speak for everyone, but Metcalf looked exactly as advertised against the Jets. He’s a size-speed nightmare who’s still a tier below the best at his position in the NFL. I’m sure Seahawks fans don’t need a full rundown of his strengths and weaknesses.
Metcalf was still that receiver in Week 1 against the Jets. His first target ended in a clean drop, but he was an excellent weapon in the short passing game, opening up the Steelers offense with 73 yards after the catch per NFL Pro.
While we’ve yet to see what Metcalf and Rodgers can do downfield, the former...
