If you’ve been around the game of football awhile like Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Darius Slay has, you tend to expect some things to occur throughout matchups, especially as things transpire a certain way early in the game.
That was the case for Slay throughout the early portion of the game Sunday, especially as the Steelers defense forced turnovers and got pressure on Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold.
Two first-half interceptions and a lead at the half had Slay, who appeared on The Richard Sherman Podcast Monday evening, believing that things would go the Steelers’ way in the second half.
That didn’t happen. The Seahawks continued to run the football, protected Darnold better, took care of the football and rolled to a 31-17 win, bludgeoning the Steelers’ defense in the process.
“The most surprising part about that game is to me was the fact that I felt like the Seattle Seahawks did not like lose their composure. With us having two turnovers, with us getting to the quarterback good times, I think we sacked him like four or five times. They never abandoned the run game,” Slay said, according to video via the show’s YouTube page. “They still kept Sam Donald comfortable, as in making sure you still got play-actions, making sure he’s still not just sitting there just being a free target for us to go sack him ’cause of our pass rush.
“I feel like they did a great job with that.”
Early on it felt like the Steelers were getting plenty of pressure, scheming up blitzes and getting guys free rushes at Darnold. He stood in there and made some big throws, like the touchdown to rookie Tory Horton on the same Yankee concept that beat the Steelers in Week 1 with Garrett Wilson and the New York Jets for a touchdown.
Though Darnold made some mistakes, throwing an interception to Jalen Ramsey and later having a fourth-down pass tipped into the air by Cameron Heyward and picked off by Nick Herbig, the veteran quarterback never blinked on the road.
It helped that Seattle could do whatever it wanted to on the ground with Kenneth Walker III. And in a one-score game at the half, why would the Seahawks abandon the game plan? Seems like flawed thinking from Slay, and maybe he’s not alone in that defensive room.
After a quick punt by the Steelers to open the second half, Seattle marched right down the field and tied the game.
After that, things changed drastically for the Steelers.
“Definitely with us going in [to halftime] up 14-7, and then they coming out answering and still sticking to their game plan,” Slay added. “You know, a lot of teams kind of get away from their game plan when it’s time for the guys to kind of peel their ears back and get after that quarterback. They didn’t believe in that.
“They felt as in like, ‘Hey, we go establish this run, make sure we keep this run going.’ And it panned out for them.”
It certainly did. The Seahawks rolled in the second half, doing largely whatever they wanted offensively. The final nail in the coffin was the seven-play, 73-yard touchdown drive that saw Darnold convert a 3rd and 9 for 19 yards, spinning out of a Patrick Queen sack attempt. Then he found Jaxon Smith-Njigba downfield for a gain of 43 yards on Jalen Ramsey.
Finally, Walker cashed in on a 3rd and goal from the 19-yard line, racing largely untouched into the end zone for the game-sealing score. The Seahawks never wavered, stuck to their game plan and did what they wanted on a day where some veterans like Slay seemingly expected the Seahawks to fold after early turnovers and pressure on the QB.
