Well, that was an unmitigated disaster.
One week after winning a shootout in New York and generating some buzz in the NFL landscape, the Pittsburgh Steelers came out and dropped an ugly one to the Seattle Seahawks in the home opener, 31-17, to fall to 1-1 on the season.
The Steelers gave up nearly 400 yards of total offense to the Seahawks, had a massive kickoff return gaffe that gifted Seattle a touchdown, and generally played poorly on both sides of the football throughout the game.
In the process, the Steelers got banged up as Patrick Queen injured his ribs, Alex Highsmith and Isaiahh Loudermilk exited with injuries, and Pittsburgh largely had no answers.
Let’s get to some grades before turning attention to Week 3 in New England.
QB — C+
A week after throwing four touchdown passes against the New York Jets, Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers’ offense came back to earth Sunday. Rodgers threw for just 203 yards and a touchdown in the loss. He added two interceptions, including one in garbage time on a desperation heave.
He was under duress a ton throughout the game as the offensive line really struggled against Seattle’s front, and he also made some really questionable decisions. Derion Kendrick almost intercepted his one throw over the middle on a third-and-long. It was unclear what in the world Rodgers was seeing.
His other interception that went to Kendrick in the end zone was a mistake by Calvin Austin III, which Rodgers let him know about on the field. Outside of that, though, there wasn’t much good from Rodgers. He looked mobile this week, moving around in the pocket well, buying time, and making some plays. He had an unreal throw on the run early in the game that he dropped into a bucket way downfield to Pat Freiermuth, which the tight end dropped.
But there just wasn’t much that Rodgers could do on the day. Things weren’t schemed well, and the Seahawks weren’t fooled.
RB — B-
A really nice day for Jaylen Warren. I wish he could have worked more in the loss.
Warren finished with 48 rushing yards on 14 carries and added another four receptions for 86 yards. This included an unreal 65-yard catch-and-run on a simple check-down in which he broke several tackles. The fact that he only touched the football 18 times on a day where he clearly had it rolling is a bit discouraging.
I know the game script got out of hand in the second half, but Warren should have been force-fed the rock.
Kenneth Gainwell played a lot, too, generating eight touches for 36 yards. He had five carries for 20 yards, though one was a 10-yarder in garbage time. He added three receptions or 16 yards, too. He’s playing a lot, and it’s a bit strange. He’s a sound player, but Arthur Smith shouldn’t feature him as much as he is right now.
WR — C-
Not the best day for the Steelers receivers, that’s for sure.
DK Metcalf, in his first matchup with the Seahawks after the offseason trade, hauled in a touchdown in the loss. He out-jumped Coby Bryant for the 3-yard score. But he had just three catches for 20 yards in the loss and had a pair of drops.
Calvin Austin III had just one catch for 22 yards, which came in garbage time. His biggest contribution came on a blunder, though, as he made a mistake on a scramble drill, tipping the football in the end zone and leading to an interception, ending a promising drive for the Steelers. He took ownership of it after the game, but it was a mess in the moment.
Roman Wilson had his first career catch, which was a 7-yarder. But that was about it for the Steelers receivers. Too many drops, and a mental mistake leading to a turnover.
TE — B-
A decent day for the Steelers’ tight ends. Pat Freiermuth finished with three receptions for 31 yards in the loss, though he did have a huge drop early on off a tremendous throw from Rodgers on the move. He’ll want that one back. He should have had a touchdown in the game if Austin hadn’t deflected the football, making the wrong play in the end zone on the scramble drill.
Jonnu Smith was involved heavily again, hauling in four passes for 27 yards. He’s not seeing much action down the field, but the Steelers are relying on him to create after the catch, and, for the most part, he’s doing his job.
Darnell Washington hauled in a nice 2-point conversion. He used his size to win a jump ball easily, though he may have gotten away with a push-off. You’d like to see more of that in the red zone, though, especially since it was previewed so much in training camp.
OL — D
Another week, another poor performance for the Steelers’ offensive line.
It’s not even a concern at this point. They’re a flat-out weakness that isn’t getting better. Broderick Jones had another rough day, allowing countless pressures. Troy Fautanu was equally as bad at right tackle, too.
There was no consistent push on the interior in the run game, either. The offensive line flashed at times in the run game early on, but Seattle adjusted, and Pittsburgh couldn’t run the football. And if you can’t protect the 41-year-old quarterback, leaving him battered the way he was Sunday, things could get ugly in a hurry.
DL — C-
After struggling a bit last week, Cameron Heyward looked more like himself Sunday, finishing with five tackles, playing the run pretty well, and batting a pass into the air that led to an interception. He can’t do it all himself, though.
Once again, the Steelers’ defensive line couldn’t stop the run. Isaiahh Loudermilk exited early, but when on the field, he struggled against the run again. Keeanu Benton had some good moments early on against the run, correcting some things from the season opener. But then he regressed and couldn’t play the run well.
Yahya Black had some decent moments defending the run, but he’s still adjusting to the NFL game. He wasn’t the impactful run defender the Steelers needed him to be with his size and strength.
Logan Lee and Daniel Ekuale had to play extended snaps, and they struggled defending the run, too. It’s all going poorly for the group up front. They generated very little pressure, too.
LB — C
Outside of Nick Herbig’s huge interception and subsequent 41-yard return, there wasn’t a ton to like from the linebacker group.
Alex Highsmith left with an ankle injury, leaving the Steelers shorthanded. Seattle took advantage. Herbig had two tackles for loss and a QB hit, and Watt had some pressures in the fourth quarter, but Seattle did a good job of limiting the pass rush.
Rookie Jack Sawyer recorded his first career sack in the fourth quarter and had some good moments as a rotational piece. He had six tackles, one sack, and two tackles for loss, and played relatively well.
Inside, though, it was a mess. Payton Wilson led the Steelers with 10 tackles and a sack, but he was poor against the run and was bullied at times in the run game. So was Patrick Queen, who was battling through an early rib injury. Queen had six tackles and one tackle for loss and played the run well at times. But he had a key miss on one pressure that resulted in a 19-yard gain, and he was picked on in coverage repeatedly as the Seahawks threw behind him over the middle of the field for chunk gains.
It wasn’t all his fault. They did a good job of running the football and taking advantage of play-action fakes.
DB — C
It was nice to see Jalen Ramsey get his first interception as a Steeler, but he had a rough game in coverage outside of that. He had another big hit to break up a completion, but Jackson Smith-Njigba beat him multiple times for key plays, including the 43-yarder late in the game to help set up the final Seattle touchdown.
Ramsey was also beaten for the game’s opening TD by rookie Tory Horton on a Yankee concept. This was the same concept that Garrett Wilson beat the Steelers for on a 33-yard touchdown in Week 1.
Darius Slay had some good moments in coverage, including a key click-and-close breakup. Still waiting for some splash from the veteran, though.
Juan Thornhill and Chuck Clark combined for 15 tackles in the loss, which is concerning. You never want your safeties making that many tackles, but that’s a good example of how poor the defense was on the day. They missed some tackles on the day, too, and looked rough in coverage at times, too. This team can’t get DeShon Elliott back fast enough.
Special Teams — D
The Kaleb Johnson blunder cost the Steelers the game, period. What a massive swing in the game, and it was due to a mental error. Tough to see from the rookie. Hopefully, he can bounce back, but it can’t be as a kick returner because he’s not a fit back there. In fact, he’s been a mess since the preseason.
Kicker Chris Boswell was great once again, drilling all three field goals. He’s the best in the business.
Punter Corliss Waitman had an up-and-down day. Though he averaged 55.1 yards per kick, he came up small in a big spot, failing to pin the Seahawks deep on one punt, and then not getting enough on another punt when the Steelers made the surprise decision to punt from near midfield. He did have a 64-yard punt on the day, but he out-kicked his coverage a few times, one of which resulted in a 22-yard punt return by Horton.
