Behind the Steel Curtain
The Pittsburgh Steelers and Seattle Seahawks are set to square off in Week 2. This will be Pittsburgh’s first home game of the 2025 season, and the first time DK Metcalf faces off against his former team. Our staff has made their picks, and here is how we see Week 2 playing out:
Mike Nicastro: The Steelers are riding high after a 1-0 start, but there are major reasons for concern, most notably defensively. Not only did they surrender 32 points to the Jets, but they lost S DeShon Elliott and potentially CB Joey Porter Jr in the process.
Fortunately, the Seahawks offense aren’t exactly the greatest show on turf, but they do have a few game breakers. Limiting WR Jaxson Smith-Njigba is the key to this game, and I anticipate Jalen Ramsey, who played hero in his Steelers debut, to shadow him.
The other is RB Ken Walker III. The Steelers had the worst run defense in the NFL last week, allowing 182 yards. If the Seahawks can control the game on the ground and take pressure off Sam Darnold, they could walk away with the win.
I’ll predict a bounce back for the Steelers defense, and another solid performance by the resurgent Aaron Rodgers. DK Metcalf will score the game-winning TD against his former squad.
Steelers 23 Seahawks 20
Alex Hanczar: Week 1 in the NFL was nothing short of absolute cinema. For the Steelers, they played one of the leading roles in that movie.
Aaron Rodgers immersed himself as an MVP candidate after scorching the Jets’ defense even with limited time to throw most of the afternoon. However, a lackluster effort plagued by numerous injuries on the defensive side kept Justin Fields and New York afloat all afternoon.
If Pittsburgh hopes to vanquish its playoff demons from years past, these same mistakes cannot occur.
For the second week in a row, the Steelers meet a prolific Ohio State receiver, this time in Jaxon Smith-Njigba. In Week One, JSN was the recently acquired Sam Darnold’s safety blanket, so to speak, as he saw 13 targets in the loss to San Francisco. A banged-up Pittsburgh secondary will need to ensure JSN does not take over this game even more than Garrett Wilson did a week ago.
I predict a better performance by the Steelers, but by no means perfect. Given it is still early in the season, both teams will look to work through some kinks in a tight yet eventful Sunday afternoon.
Steelers, 31, Seahawks, 27
Joey Bray: The Steelers were able to start hot and win a thriller at MetLife. This week, they find themselves back at home against a Seattle team that is still trying to find its identity offensively.
The Steelers’ defense should have a better day stopping the run than they did last week. The Seattle offense is much less run-heavy compared to New York. The Steelers’ secondary will have its work cut out for it against a quarterback in Sam Darnold who won’t...
