On paper, the Pittsburgh Steelers have quite a lot of talent in their front seven. Although they got the win in Week 1, that talent didn’t exactly shine through. Many have speculated that their Week 2 opponent, the Seattle Seahawks, could provide an opportunity to bounce back. Yahoo Sports’ Nate Tice isn’t so sure about that.
“I think the Seahawks match up perfectly against this Steelers defense,” Tice said on the Football 301 podcast this week. “The Steelers let the Jets run all over ’em… 31 attempts last week against the Steelers’ defense, just on zone runs. 139 yards, 4.5 yards per carry and a touchdown. It was the most zone runs of the week. And we know what [Klint] Kubiak’s all about, zone, zone, zone. And I thought the Seahawks’ o-line looked good.”
Seattle’s offensive line may have done a good job in Tice’s eyes, but they sure didn’t get the running game going in Week 1. Seattle did pick up a little over 80 yards, but it came with a lot of carries and not as much efficiency. Zach Charbonnet was alright, with 12 carries for 47 yards, but it was on just 3.9 yards per carry. His backfield mate, Kenneth Walker III, was much worse, taking his 10 carries for just 20 yards.
That said, no test can be declared easy for the Steelers until they prove they can stop the run. They were gashed by New York throughout last week’s game and were outrushed on the day by nearly 130 yards. They managed to win in spite of it, thanks to a terrific performance from Aaron Rodgers. However, winning games that way is not sustainable, and the Seahawks will give the Steelers a tough test. On paper, they have a talented running back duo and some quality young offensive lineman.
If it all comes together, Seattle could really hurt Pittsburgh on the ground. That said, the Steelers are capable of showing improvement as well. In the locker room, they already feel as if they’ve made some strides. Payton Wilson looked like he was a little slow in his first game as a starter, which is normal and should improve as the season goes on. Patrick Queen was unhappy with his own performance, but he did have some solid moments as well. Pittsburgh also just added a run-stopping safety this week in Jabrill Peppers. Finally, Nick Herbig remains on the cusp of playing, but we’re not sure if he’ll suit up yet.
Whether that’s enough to make a difference this week or not, we’ll have to wait and see. One thing we know is that it won’t be easy. If the defensive line can’t hold their gaps, the Seahawks could be next in line when it comes to gashing this Steelers defense.
