PITTSBURGH — Aaron Rodgers scampered out of the pocket and looked toward the corner of the end zone, with a go-ahead touchdown and a milestone throw in sight.
The Steelers’ quarterback had already enjoyed a historic moment in the second quarter, when he connected with DK Metcalf for the 508th touchdown pass of his career. In doing so, Rodgers tied Brett Favre for fourth on the all-time list. With a chance to surpass the man he backed up two decades ago, Rodgers let the ball fly in tight end Pat Freiermuth’s direction.
As the ball approached Freiermuth, receiver Calvin Austin III dove to try to make a play. The ball deflected off Austin and was snatched out of the air by Seattle Seahawks defensive back Derion Kendrick.
“I was in the scramble rules,” Austin said. “I was in the wrong spot, just trying to make a play. But I gotta do what I’m coached and not, in the spur of the moment, do something to try to make a play… That’s most definitely on me. That interception wasn’t on (Rodgers) or on Pat (Freiermuth) or anything. If I had just stayed on the front pylon, it probably would have been a touchdown.”
Rodgers said after the game that a touchdown in that situation would have changed the “whole scope of the game,” as it would have given the Steelers’ a seven-point lead in the closing minutes of the third quarter. Instead, the interception became the first of several game-changing moments down the stretch of a 31-17 loss to the Seahawks. Just a few minutes after the interception, an even costlier blunder would doom them.
After the Seahawks took a 3-point lead on a field goal, Seattle kicker Jason Myers delivered a bouncing ball into the landing zone. The football hopped over rookie kicker returner Kaleb Johnson’s shoulder and sat lifelessly in the end zone as Johnson headed toward the sideline. Seattle raced down the field and recovered it for a stunning touchdown. The 10-point deficit was too much for the Steelers to overcome.
“I just made a mistake,” Johnson said after the game. “I’ve just got to get better every day. That’s all I have to say about this. I’ve just got to go in every day and work my hardest even more with a chip on my shoulder.”
Football is a funny game sometimes. In Week 1, the Steelers were in a tight game against the Jets that broke open in Pittsburgh’s favor when running back Kenneth Gainwell forced a fumble on a Jets kick return. In Week 2, the shoe was on the other foot after another pivotal special teams play.
In that way, it would be easy to chalk up the loss to one or two bounces that didn’t go in the Steelers’ direction. Coach Mike Tomlin saw it differently.
“I’ve got a desire for us to be cleaner so you can’t point to singular plays as pivotal points in the game,” Tomlin said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do, that’s just to put it succinctly.”
When you zoom out, Tomlin’s comments put the first two weeks of the season in proper perspective. In both games, similar issues plagued Pittsburgh. In both games, the offensive line struggled to create running lanes and was inconsistent in pass protection. In both games, the defense failed to stop the run and was gashed by chunk plays. The result was different. But when you take away Rodgers’ four-touchdown heroics in Week 1, it largely was the same product.
“It’s Week 2. It’s good for us,” Rodgers said. “Last week, probably there were some people who were feeling pretty good because everyone outside the building is talking about how great we were on offense and 34 points. That’s the league. You can’t ride the highs and ride the lows. You’ve got to refocus every single week and be a professional.”
The Seahawks defense largely kept a lid on the Steelers’ passing game by playing from a two-high safety shell. The way to make a defense pay for playing two safeties deep is to run the ball effectively. Pittsburgh never did. The top three backs — Jaylen Warren, Gainwell and Johnson — carried the ball 20 times for just 69 yards in the game. Even if you add in garbage-time stats, the Steelers managed just 3.4 yards per carry and 72 total rushing yards.
Without a running game to support Rodgers and keep the defense honest, moving the ball was an inconsistent endeavor. Rodgers completed 18 of 33 passes for 203 yards, one touchdowns and two interceptions. He was sacked three times and hit eight times in total. The one-dimensional nature of the offense made things especially challenging on third downs, where Pittsburgh went 5-for-15.
Asked what went wrong on third down, Rodgers said, “Everything.”
“I wasn’t on target,” Rodgers said. “We weren’t getting open effectively enough and they were getting some good pass rush.”
Defensively, it was even more disappointing. A defense full of Pro Bowl talent wasn’t bashful in the preseason about saying they could be the NFL’s best defense. Safety Juan Thornhill said they could be the “best of all-time,” and Tomlin said he felt they could be “historic.” While the defense was opportunistic on Sunday— a Jalen Ramsey interception set up a field goal and a Nick Herbig interception off of a Cameron Heyward deflection set up a touchdown — that unit has come nowhere close to living up to their own lofty expectations through two games.
The two biggest keys coming into Sunday’s game were to shut down running back Kenneth Walker III and to slow receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba. They fell short in both regards. Walker racked up 105 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries — it was the second consecutive game the Steelers allowed a running back to eclipse 100 yards rushing. Meanwhile, Smith-Njigba, the Seahawks’ main receiving threat, caught eight passes for 103 yards.
“I just don’t like people having their way,” inside linebacker Patrick Queen said. “We did that again today, let them have their way. It’s definitely aggravating.”
In many cases, the problems went hand-in-hand. Queen said that the Seahawks took advantage of their man coverage to complete a number of passes in the middle of the field for big gains. In the run game, the Steelers were often gashed by big runs. Overall, the Steelers gave up 18 plays of 10 yards or more, including four plays of 20-plus yards.
“The first note of every single week is smash the run,” outside linebacker T.J. Watt said. “You guys have heard me say for nine years, we’re always trying to smash the run. It’s not a lack of trying. Schematically. Effort. I don’t know. We’ll have to look at the film, but we have to be better.
“We need to look in the mirror, we need to turn over every stone that we possibly can, because this can’t continue to happen or else you’re going to continue to see what we saw today.”
That may be the truest statement of the day. Even after GM Omar Khan’s noisy offseason, repeated investments in the offensive line and a ton of money committed to the defense, the Steelers are a team that will be in tight games decided by a handful of plays. Until the Steelers eradicate the warts, the same shortcomings will continue to shape the outcome of games.
(Top photo: Barry Reeger / Imagn Images)
