3 pivotal questions Seahawks must answer in week 6 versus Steelers
By Lee Vowell
The Seahawks are on the verge of a lost season but a win in week 6 versus the Steelers could also change the course of the year. Both Pittsburgh and Seattle are 2-3 and both are last in their respective divisions.
(I guess technically, Seattle is third in the NFC West as they defeated the 49ers and San Francisco is also 2-3 but I digress.)
To earn victory number 3 in 2021, Seattle has to answer several questions and most of the questions cannot have assumed answers. A game without Russell Wilson? Hasn’t happened in 10 years. There is a lot of gray to Seattle’s week 6 matchup versus Pittsbirgh.
3 questions that the Seahawks must answer versus the Steelers
Can the bad Seahawks defense stop the bad Steelers offense?
The Steelers are 27th in the NFL in points per game at 18.8 per. Pittsburgh is 31st in yards per game rushing (73.6). Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is 27th in quarterback rating (84.3) and 26th in total QBT (41.7). The Steelers are terrible offensively and are now without receiver JuJu Smith-Shuster who would likely have been able to take full advantage of the Seahawks issues covering crossing patterns if Smith-Shuster was healthy.
But this could be the week that the Steelers offense gets better as the Seahawks are last in yards allowed per game (450.8), 31st in yards allowed passing per game (305.6) and while Seattle is 18th in passes defended in 2021, only three of those are from cornerbacks. That’s terrible.
The outcome of week 6 might simply come down to which bad unit does the best. If Pittsburgh is able to move the ball and control time of possession (like everyone seems to do against the Seahawks this year) then Pittsburgh will come close to 450 total yards and Seattle defensive coordinator Ken Norton, Jr. should immediately be terminated.