Seahawks versus Steelers: Our staff predicts sad outcome for Seattle

The Seahawks take on the Steelers in week two of the 2019 regular season in Pittsburgh. The result won’t make 12s happy, says our staff.

Let me preface this by saying a lot of what we think will happen in week two against the Steelers has a lot to do with how poorly the Seahawks seemed to play in week one. Seattle could have easily lost at home to the Bengals. That would have been bad.

A loss in week two on the road against what should be a decent Steelers team would not be the end of creation, but a win would be most excellent. Seattle will hopefully get Ziggy Ansah back for week two and that should be a very good thing.

What will happen when the Seahawks play Pittsburgh? Here is some of our staffs best guesses.

Blake Waldron, contributor

I think Seattle’s offensive line play will be much improved from last week’s outing but unfortunately it will do little to make a true impact this weekend. While both teams are matched up pretty evenly talent wise, Seattle isn’t matched up schematically to beat Pittsburgh. In a Steeler offense that is focused on quick scores, the Seahawks will have trouble keeping pace on the scoreboard as they continue to plod down the field with halfback Chris Carson (who will put together a solid stat line of 84 yards and a touchdown). I believe coach Pete Carroll and defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. will continue to trot out exclusively in a base defense which the Steelers will take advantage of in three and four wide receiver sets. This paired with the uncertainty of who will be at the free safety spot when Seattle takes the field, ultimately spells doom for the blue and green.

Prediction for Seahawks versus Steelers: Pittsburgh 30 Seattle 20

Colby Patnode, contributor and host of the 12th Man Rising podcast

Pittsburgh really struggled in their opener but they are still a good team, at least on paper. Both teams got pretty banged up in their opener, so the final injury report will go a long way into deciding the winner.  Assuming everybody who is questionable plays, I think we have a bit of a shootout on our hands. Both teams have similar offensive personnel and defenses that are questionable. Games like this are often decided by turnovers. Since its a 10 am PT kick off and Seattle is going across the country, I’ll take Pittsburgh in a close one,

Prediction for Seahawks versus Steelers: Pittsburgh 34 Seattle 31

Lee Vowell, co-expert

I thought, for the first time in some time, that I was OK with picking Seattle to win in week one. Usually, I pick them to lose, feeling I would jinx them otherwise but hoping they would win. This week, however, I am legitimately picking them to lose. Every team in the NFL will see the film tape on Seattle from week one and know two things. One, a 5-2 front is the way to beat Seattle. Two, offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer is slow to react within a game. Russell Wilson will make plays. So will Ben Roethlisberger. At the end of the day, the home team wins.

Prediction for Seahawks versus Steelers: Pittsburgh 28 Seahawks 21