Seahawks Stun Sloppy Steelers, Win 31-17 In Pittsburgh
By Jake Parr, edited by Charles Hamaker
Pittsburgh, PA - The Seattle Seahawks picked up their first win of the 2025 season with a two-score win on the road over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Powered by standout performances from quarterback Sam Darnold, wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and running back Kenneth Walker III, Seattle bounced back from a slow first half to crush Pittsburgh in the second half of the game. Aided by an extremely rare kickoff recovery touchdown, the Seahawks took a commanding lead late and prevented any heroics by Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Now 1-1 on the season, the Seahawks will return to Seattle next week to face off against offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak’s former team, the New Orleans Saints.
First Half Stumbles
The Seahawks finally broke their curse of failing to score on their first drive of the game, a streak dating back to the 2023 season, marching 65 yards down field in eight plays to open the game with a touchdown. That drive was a healthy mix of runs and passes, with Kenneth Walker III, Zack Charbonnet, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and Cooper Kupp all getting their hands on the ball. Despite that list of veterans getting involved to get down the field, it was NFL rookie Tory Horton who found the endzone, hauling in Darnold’s 21-yard pass for the score. The Seahawks will be pleased to see their fifth round pick producing early in his young career.
But unfortunately for Seattle, that drive was just about the only good thing about the first half. The Steelers answered back with a field goal before intercepting Darnold’s first pass on the next drive. That interception led to another Pittsburgh field goal, bringing the Steelers within a single point. The Seahawks started to get some momentum on their next series with a long 11-play drive, but it stalled out at the Pittsburgh 17 yard line, which necessitated a field goal attempt for Seattle. Jason “Money” Myers, typically one of the most reliable place kickers in the league, bounced his kick no-good off the left upright.
Both teams’ offensive units struggled to get anything going after that, with the next four drives only moving a handful of yards downfield. Sam Darnold was intercepted again, this time on a short pass over the middle intended for tight end AJ Barner. That turnover too would come back to haunt Seattle, as Aaron Rodgers led his team quickly downfield and into the endzone to take the lead. A successful two-point conversion gave the Steelers a 14-7 lead with just over a minute left in the half. Seattle couldn’t get any two-minute drill magic, however, and ended the half down by one score.
Second Half Smackdown
After forcing a quick punt from the Steelers to open the second half, the Seahawks repeated their first drive success by marching down field and finding paydirt. Kenneth Walker III picked up 34 yards on the ground, while Darnold and Kupp connected for 40 yards in the air. It was a simple matter for AJ Barner to haul in the seven-yard pass to score the touchdown and tie the game.
It looked for a long, dreadful moment like Pittsburgh was poised to break that tie. Rookie running back Kaleb Johnson made a great 21 yard kickoff return that set up veteran running back Jaylen Warren for a massive 65 yard gain all the way to the Seattle five. But, as we’ve seen time and time again with Mike Macdonald’s “bend, don’t break” defense, they made their stop in the red zone. The Steelers picked up one more yard before Rodgers tried to uncork one for the end zone. Pittsburgh tight end Pat Freiermuth had a flock of Seahawks around him, and cornerback Derion Kendrick flew through the air for the interception. In one move, the red zone crisis was averted and Aaron Rodgers was humbled. Not a bad defensive stand for Seattle.
Later, at the beginning of the fourth quarter, another Seahawks offensive drive petered out just before the red zone. But Mike Macdonald had faith in his kicker, and sent Myers out for the 54-yard try. Myers validated that faith by placing his kick precisely between the uprights, breaking the tie and giving the Seahawks a three point lead. He then did something that only one other NFL kicker has ever done, and no one has done within the new kickoff rules. He kicked a touchdown.
Pittsburgh rookie Kaleb Johnson, in just his second NFL game, was lined up as the kick returner. Myers’ kick took a weird bounce in the landing zone and bounced off of Johnson’s fingers. The rookie saw it roll into the end zone and, just like it has been for the entirety of his football career to this point, assumed it was a touchback. But in the NFL, a kick that lands in the landing zone is a live ball which both teams are entitled to. And it was just sitting there in the Pittsburgh end zone. Seahawks special teamer/running back George Holani, in just his seventh career game, knew the rules and fell on the ball, scoring his first career touchdown. It’s the first kickoff recovery touchdown since a Bills-Jets game on New Year’s Day 2016. J. Myers kicks off 65 yards. Touchdown.
Putting them in the Pitt
Now with a ten point lead, the Seahawks wasted no time rubbing Pittsburgh’s nose in it. The Steelers had to settle for a field goal in their answer-back drive after their embarrassing miss-play. Seahawk-turned-Steeler DK Metcalf made his longest pickup of the game during this drive (Nine yards) but was held to just 20 on the day with catches catches on six targets. After the Steelers got their field goal, Seattle seemed content to eat the clock and get just three points of their own. After getting down to the Pittsburgh ten yard line thanks to a massive 43-yard catch and run by JSN, the drive stalled. A huge sack by the Steelers meant that Seattle was staring at 3rd and goal from the 19 yard line. Looking to pick up a few more yards for Myers’ field goal try, Macdonald called a draw play for Kenneth Walker III. But K9 had other ideas, ducking and weaving up the left side for a touchdown. He made four Steelers miss, including breaking tackles from two of them, on his 19 yard jaunt. Now with a 31-17 lead in the 4th, it was a simple matter of patience to wait out the clock and end the game. Seattle inflicted one more indignity on Aaron Rodgers, picking him off for the third time as he overthrew the ball directly into Coby Bryant’s hands. Pittsburgh did get a moral victory in the final seconds of the game, though, as second-string quarterback Mason Rudolph picked up a single first down as the clock hit zero. Good for them.
What’s next?
With their first win of the season under their belt, the Seattle Seahawks will return home next week to face off against the New Orleans Saints. Klint Kubiak was their offensive coordinator last year when they got off to a hot 2-0 start before falling off on a seven-game losing streak. This year, however, the Saints are off to an 0-2 start, losing today 26-21 to the San Francisco 49ers today. Seattle will be looking for a big win to put to bed their Lumen Field struggles from last year and last week.
It’s an early afternoon game next week, with the kickoff scheduled for 1:05PM PDT. The game will be broadcast on CBS on TV and will be available over the radio waves at both Seattle Sports 710 AM and KIRO Newsradio 97.3 FM.
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Check out our previous Seattle Seahawks articles here.
Check out our previous articles written by Jake Parr here, and his Lookout Landing articles here.
Cover photo via the Seattle Seahawks website.
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