Despite the Pittsburgh Steelers' 34-point performance in Week 1, there are still some doubters voicing their concerns about if that is sustainable or not. Aaron Rodgers still has plenty of arm talent, but his lack of mobility in the pocket was apparent. On top of that, Mike Macdonald is not a rookie head coach, and he is known for his high-end defensive schemes. This is a good way to see if Pittsburgh's offense is for real or not, as the Seattle Seahawks are no slouch.
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Steelers' Aaron Rodgers during a game against the New York Jets in 2025.
The Seahawks' defense does have a lot of issues currently. Tim Benz of TribLive detailed everything that has been going on with their secondary in the past week leading up to their Week 2 game in Pittsburgh.
"The Seahawks have had an eventful few days in the secondary since their 17-13 loss to the 49ers," Benz said. "Safety Nick Emmanwori is dealing with a high ankle sprain. According to Seattle Times writer Bob Condotta, cornerback Devon Witherspoon has a knee injury and didn’t practice Wednesday or Thursday. ESPN.com’s Brady Henderson says safety Julian Love was limited on Wednesday and didn’t participate Thursday. And Riq Woolen had a really rough performance covering Pearsall and may be benched in favor of Josh Jobe."
Injuries happen to every team, and they have to find ways to get through them as the season progresses. When nearly the entire starting secondary is dealing with something, though, pressing the panic button is a justified decision. The Seahawks may have to get creative with how they deploy their defense. Even if many of the listed players suit up, that does not mean that they will be at full strength by kickoff.
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Former South Carolina Safety Nick Emmanwori Returning An Interception For A Touchdown
Nick Emmanwori's injury takes a lot of time to heal up from, so he most likely will not be available on the back end. The fact that Julian Love went from limited to not practicing at all is a major concern, especially with how finicky groin injuries can be. That's half of the safety core wiped out there, so they will be relying a lot on their practice squad to take up snaps as the game progresses.
Devon Witherspoon has been an absolute hit of a draft pick for the Seahawks, so losing his zone coverage abilities would be a big hit to this team. It hurts even more that his partner in crime, Tariq Woolen, is about to lose his job. If Witherspoon does not play, then Woolen may get one more chance, and the Steelers will try to make sure that he rides the bench for the rest of the season.
Steelers Are Perfectly Set Up For Another Revenge Game
After getting traded from the Seahawks to the Steelers, wide receiver DK Metcalf will now get his chance to go against the team that he felt slighted him in recent years. With Witherspoon's injury, he will likely see a lot of time against Woolen. If the fourth-year cornerback had issues stopping Ricky Pearsall, then Metcalf will be a nightmare for him.
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Steelers wide receiver DK Metcalf catches the football during a joint practice against Tampa Bay.
It might take a double-team for the Seahawks to slow Metcalf down. They do know his strengths and weaknesses, but he also knows theirs. It is also hard to get an effective double-team going when half of your safety core is out due to injury. Limiting Metcalf's production will be a lot easier said than done with the insane number of injuries in Seattle's back end.
If they do manage to slow him down, then they will just free up Calvin Austin III to burn them with his electric speed on the other side of the field. You can't just leave him in soft coverage and expect him to not be a factor. He did have 70 yards and a touchdown in Week 1, and he can do it again. it looks like the Steelers do have a WR2, and he can annihilate this defense if they put all of their focus on Metcalf.
What do you think about the Seahawks' issues in the secondary? Let us know in the comments or on X at @Steelers_ChrisB.
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