Seahawks at Steelers: 5 things to know about Week 2 matchup

It’s a matchup of teams that both finished 10-7 in 2024. The Seattle Seahawks won six of their final eight games to reach that mark, but were on the outside looking in come the postseason. The Pittsburgh Steelers prevailed in 10 of their first 13 contests, then closed out the season with five consecutive losses—including an embarrassing 28-14 playoff loss to the division-rival Ravens at Baltimore.

Last Sunday, Seattle hosted the San Francisco 49ers and their revamped attack struggled throughout the afternoon in a 17-13 setback. Earlier in the day, Mike Tomlin’s club rolled up 34 points, the final three courtesy of a 60-yard field goal by Chris Boswell with 1:03 to play, to edge the Jets at AT&T Stadium.

History

It was 20 seasons ago that these franchises clashed in Super Bowl XL at Ford Field in Detroit. The Steelers’ 21-10 victory is basically the difference in the all-time series standings between the clubs. Seattle and Pittsburgh have split their previous 20 regular-season encounters, the latter prevailing in the last two clashes—the most recent a 30-23 victory at Seattle in 2023. The clubs are meeting for the fourth time in seven seasons.

What’s in a Number(s)?

Seahawks: Mike Macdonald’s club had its problems at home during his first season at the helm in 2024. That continued last Sunday vs. the visiting 49ers as the Seahawks are now a very disappointing 3-7 in their own building dating back to the start of last season. Meanwhile, Macdonald’s ‘Hawks were an impressive 7-1 on the road in ’24. Only the NFC North champion Lions (8-0) had a better mark away from home.

Steelers: Pittsburgh’s run defense was abysmal during the team’s five-game overall losing streak to close out 2024, and permitted 182 yards rushing despite last Sunday’s win over the Jets. A year ago, Tomlin’s team limited eight of its first 12 opponents to fewer than 100 yards on the ground. In their last seven outings, including the playoff loss to the Ravens, the Steelers have allowed 153.3 yards per game rushing.