Brutal Mistakes Kill Steelers Chances Against Seahawks

PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers were unable to carry their momentum from the first week of the season, falling to the Seattle Seahawks 31-17 in the second game of 2025 Steelers season. The loss was chock-full of mistakes by the Steelers, many of which could have been avoided quite easily.

Pittsburgh won the coin toss and deferred, so the Seahawks started with the ball.

The Seahawks got their offense going early, as quarterback Sam Darnold hit Jaxon Smith-Njigba for a 15 yard gain. Chunk plays from running back Kenneth Walker III and Smith-Njigba once again put the Seahawks at the 21 yard line, where Darnold hit rookie wideout Tory Horton for his first receiving touchdown of his career on his first NFL catch.

Running back Jaylen Warren got the offense going for the Steelers, as he jumped out to a 12-yard gain on a screen pass on the first offensive snap for the Steelers. The drive continued with small gains until Jaylen Warren hurdled a defender for a gain of 8, setting up a third down on the Seahawks side of the field. Rodgers skied the ball over his receivers, so Chris Boswell came out to try to put points on the board, and he drained the 48-yard kick to make it a 7-3 game.

On the ensuing drive, Ramsey made up for a misstep on the touchdown coverage, causing his first interception of his Steelers career on a pass intended for wideout Cooper Kupp, giving the Steelers the ball back at the Seattle 44. The Steelers were unable to get anything open on their drive, and Boswell made a kick from the same spot he did on the previous drive, making the 48-yarder and making the score 7-6.

The Seahawks passing game moved down the field with ease, with a 17-yard pass to Kupp and a 24-yarder to Elijah Arroyo putting the Seahawks at the Steelers 34 at the end of the first quarter. The Seahawks got a bit closer, but were forced to kick after their drive stalled. Jalen Ramsey asserted his authority once again, intimidating Jason Myers and causing his first missed kick of the season.

Rodgers would then run into a sack on the third down of the next drive, and the Steelers had to punt. The next Seahawks drive brought fireworks, as second-year linebacker Payton Wilson arrived with authority, sacking Darnold 8 yards. A third down pass to Walker III was short, and the Seahawks punted back to the Steelers.

The ensuing offensive drive for the Steelers started slowly due to the fact that wideout DK Metcalf had his second drop of the game on second down. On third down, Rodgers and Roman Wilson could not connect, so the Steelers punted once again.

The Seahawks began to drive down the field, but stalled on a fourth and one. They decided to go for it, pressure came from Cam Heyward on the pass and deflected it to Nick Herbig for his first interception. Herbig also gained a lot on the ground, putting the Steelers at the Seahawks 21 after a 41 yard return.

Rodgers and Metcalf finally connected, as Metcalf high-pointed a ball on a free play for a first down after Rodgers baited the edge rusher offsides. A rush by Warren put the Steelers within five yards of the end zone, and Rodgers found Metcalf for a 3-yard touchdown to have Rodgers tie former teammate Brett Favre on the all time passing touchdown list at 4th all time with 508 touchdowns. He then passed to Darnell Washington for a successful two point conversion.

The Steelers entered the halftime break with a lead, with the score being 14-7 in the Steelers favor.

The Steelers began with the football to start the second half, and had to punt after an unsuccessful connection between Rodgers and wideout Calvin Austin III. When the Seahawks took over, Kupp had back to back big catches for 16 and 17 yards respectively. With the Seahawks in the redzone, Darnold found A.J. Barner in the end zone to tie the game at 14.

On the first play of the Steelers drive, Jaylen Warren made himself indispensible by running for 65 yards on the first snap of the drive. Rodgers than made his first major mistake of the season, as a pass intended for Austin was tipped into the arms of Derion Kendrick, and the Seahawks took over once again.

Both teams would trade punts on their next drives, and the Seahawks offense would come back alive on the next drive. Kupp and Walker both had plays for double-digit yards, and the Seahawks found themselves on the Steelers' 40 yard line 5 plays into the drive. After a short rush by Walker, the Seahawks offense stalled and Myers put the Seahawks in the lead with a 54 yard kick to make it 17-14.

The game continued to unravel for the Steelers as Kaleb Johnson muffed the kick, and the Seahawks recovered the football in the endzone to make it 24-14. When the Steelers got the ball back, Rodgers found tight end Pat Freiermuth for a twenty yard completion. Another first down came, but the next set of downs ended with Chris Boswell making his third field goal of the game, a 45-yarder to make it 24-17.

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Kaleb Johnson (20) gets ready to catch the Jets punt and run the ball, Sunday, September 7, 2025, in East Rutherford. | Kevin R. Wexler-NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Johnson was then taken off the kickoff return team for the remainder of the game.

The Seahawks offensive drive saw Barner catch a pass for 19 yards, then Smith-Njigba caught a pass for 43 yards to put the team at the Steelers' 10 yard line in just three plays. After a 0-yard rush, Jack Sawyer set up a third and 19 with a 9-yard sack. Walker erased Sawyer's tackle with a 19-yard reception in the endzone to make it 31-17.

Rodgers was sacked on the opening play of the following drive, and the Steelers would be faced with a third and 20. After a seven yard pass, Calvin Austin caught a 22-yarder on fourth and 13 to give the Steelers a first down at the two-minute warning down 14. The Steelers were unable to do anything with it and Rodgers threw his second interception of the game. The Seahawks gave the ball back to Pittsburgh to end the game, though it was far too late for a comeback as the clock ran out.

The Steelers moved to 1-1 on the season, and will take on the Patriots in New England next week.

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