As we’ve been doing for many years now, we’ll break down the Pittsburgh Steelers’ opponent each week, telling you what to expect from a scheme and individual player standpoint. Like last year, Josh Carney and I will cover the opposing team’s offense. I will focus on the scheme, Josh on the players.
Today, our scouting report on the Seattle Seahawks’ offense ahead of Week 2.
Alex’s Scheme Report
Seahawks Run Game
Similar to the New York Jets, Seattle brings a two-headed attack at running back. Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet. The latter out-snapped Walker in the opener, 30 to 21, and had two more carries. Charbonnet was more effective but neither did well as Seattle’s running game struggled against the San Francisco 49ers. The team’s longest run was 9 yards.
The most common run scheme Seattle ran in Week 1 was outside zone. Overall, the Seahawks worked to get the ball on the perimeter, no surprise considering the team’s new OC is Klint Kubiak from the Kubiak/Shanahan tree. The offense also incorporated its “Zorro” toss with a blocker in motion to double the end.
Blockers in motion was a theme of the Seahawks’ run game. The team leaned on using a fullback in fifth-round rookie No. 40 Robbie Ouzts, who logged 19 snaps in Week 1. This was especially used on 1st and 10.
Rookie QB Jalen Milroe was used for one snap. It came early in the game on 2nd and 6 from the 49ers’ 44, a designed QB draw with the FB leading the way. The play-side DE was left unblocked as the RT immediately climbed to the second level.
On a 3rd and 1, Seattle used the “Tush Push” with 6-6, 251-pound TE AJ Barner, No. 88, the quarterback. And No. 74 Josh Jones logged one snap as a sixth offensive lineman on a goal-line score.
To begin a two-minute drill (57 seconds left in the half) on its own 20, Seattle ran the ball on the drive’s first play. Not something defenses would always expect in that situation. Later, starting QB Sam Darnold, despite being far less of a rushing threat than Milore, had a designed run to get out of bounds to get into more-makeable field goal range.
Overall, Seattle struggled to score in Week 1. The team punted on three of its first four possessions and scored points on just one of five second-half drives.
Seahawks Pass Game
Seattle’s passing game revolved around one man last Sunday: WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Darnold threw for just 150 yards with Smith-Njigba responsible for 124 of them, 82.7 percent. He accounted for 13 of Darnold’s 23 targets and nine of his 16 completions. New WR Cooper Kupp had two catches for 15 yards on three targets.
Smith-Njigba made plays on deep digs over the middle of the field. One of his downfield catches also came off a wheel from a reduced split while another was attempted but fell incomplete. He’s playing on the outside more this year. Last year, it was just 21.8-percent wide snaps. In Week 1, it was 72.5 percent.
It’s worth noting Smith-Njigba fumbled twice in the game, losing one, so prying the ball out of his hands again should be on Pittsburgh’s to-do list. Darnold also lost a fumble in the game.
Early in the game, the Seahawks used a hard count on 4th and 5 in an attempt to draw the 49ers offsides. Later on 4th and 2 from the plus-3, Seattle went for it on a wheel to Kupp from an RB alignment. An interesting wrinkle worth monitoring in “gotta have it” moments like these.
Seattle tight ends caught just two combined passes in Week 1. With a second-round pick invested in rookie TE Elijah Arroyo, a talented receiver who was oft-injured in college, it’s likely they’ll get those guys more involved this weekend.
Josh’s Individual Report
It’s Seahawks week, Steelers fans!
With it comes the home opener for the Pittsburgh Steelers, who return to the North Shore for the first time since their 2024 regular-season finale loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.
After a thrilling win on the road to open the season over the New York Jets, the Steelers are back in front of the home faithful looking to continue their winning ways.
Seattle enters at 0-1, having lost a tough game to the San Francisco 49ers at home in the season opener. There are a bunch of new faces in Seattle, too, particularly on offense under second-year head coach Mike Macdonald.
Quarterback Sam Darnold steps in as the starter after signing a three-year deal in free agency, shortly after Seattle traded starter Geno Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders. Darnold had an up-and-down first game with the Seahawks, throwing for just 150 yards. But he did have some good throws, particularly to standout wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
Coming off a tremendous season in Minnesota, Darnold was one of the biggest names on the QB market. He has a strong arm and easy accuracy, and he brings a good deal of mobility to the table, too.
But he’s a guy who can make mistakes and doesn’t have all that good of ball security in the pocket, as evidenced by his game-sealing fumble late in the fourth quarter. He had eight fumbles last season in Minnesota.
The Seattle offense is built around its two running backs in Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet.
Charbonnet out-snapped Walker in Week 1, but Walker is the guy the Seahawks have typically leaned on in the past as a physical, downhill runner.
He has good physical, contact balance, a mean stiff-arm and consistently falls forward in his runs. He’s a load to deal with.
As for Charbonnet, he’s come on strong in the last year or so for Seattle. He doesn’t have great long speed, but he has a knack for explosive plays. He’s quick, not fast, and runs with good patience and vision.
Seattle will use him as a pass-catching weapon, too. He can move around and has good hands. He’s a big back, too, and could be difficult to deal with throughout the game.
At receiver, Smith-Njigba is the headliner. He’s a dynamic weapon out of the slot, one who runs crisp routes, creates easy separation and has great hands.
He can make plays after the catch, too, particularly in space, so the Steelers will have to be sound tacklers Sunday.
Smith-Njigba doesn’t come off as a burner. In fact, he looks like he’s not really running full speed in his routes. But he consistently creates separation.
The Seahawks signed Cooper Kupp in the offseason as they underwent significant changes at receiver. DK Metcalf is now in Pittsburgh, and Tyler Lockett is in Tennessee. Kupp remains a good route runner, but it might take some time for him to develop chemistry with Darnold in offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak’s scheme.
Rookie Tory Horton is the No. 3 for Seattle right now with Jake Bobo injured. Horton played 28 snaps in the season opener but didn’t get much work in the passing game. The Colorado State product is a good route runner with some deep speed. We’ll see if Bobo can return this week from a concussion.
At tight end, AJ Barner led Seattle in snaps at the position in Week 1. Decent blocker and a big body who can handle some targets over the middle. They’re very high on rookie Elijah Arroyo in Seattle. He’s a true move TE, but he played just 16 snaps against the 49ers. We’ll see if he’s more involved this week.
Fullback Robbie Ouzts brings a good physical presence as the lead blocker. He’s a former TE with decent hands out of the backfield, and pairs well with blocking TE Eric Saubert.
Here’s how I expect the Seahawks to line up left to right on Sunday along the OL:
LT — Charles Cross
LG — Grey Zabel (rookie)
C — Jalen Sundell
RG — Anthony Bradford
RT — Abraham Lucas
Seattle’s pair of tackles are really good. Lucas just got a big extension from the Seahawks, and Cross is coming off a game in which he didn’t allow a single pressure against the 49ers. They’re facing a tough task with Alex Highsmith and T.J. Watt this week, but the Seahawks should feel good about the bookend tackles.
Zabel is their prized rookie, one who has stepped into the starting role immediately while making the adjustment from FCS-level football to the NFL.
On special teams, the Seahawks have a nice kicker-punter combination in kicker Jason Myers and punter Michael Dickson.
Dickson booms the ball and averaged 51.8 yards on five punts in Week 1 with two of them downed inside the 20. He averages 48.7 yards per punt in his career.
Myers drilled both field goals last week and is coming off a season in which he went 26-of-30 on field goal attempts and 37-of-40 on extra points. He’s a career 85.7% kicker across 11 NFL seasons.
Former Steelers WR Cody White handled kickoff return duties in Week 1 and nearly broke one loose for a huge gain in the second half against the 49ers. The Seahawks released him Thursday but re-signed him to their practice squad, and he could be elevated for the Steelers game. Horton handled punt return duties against the 49ers. If Bobo returns this week, he should step back into return duties for Seattle.
