Two of the best franchises in the NFL over the last decade have struggled to start the 2021 campaign. The Pittsburgh Steelers and Seattle Seahawks are both 2-3, and one of those teams will fall two games under .500 on Sunday night. Pittsburgh is coming off a win over Denver last week, breaking a three-game losing streak with the victory, while Seattle fell to the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night and will be without Russell Wilson for the foreseeable future.
NFL Betting Odds at BookMaker.eu
Seattle Seahawks+4.5
Pittsburgh Steelers-4.5
Total 42.5
This is a tough situation for Seattle. The Seahawks won’t have their perennial Pro Bowl quarterback against one of the best defenses in the NFL. Instead, Geno Smith will end up getting the start on Sunday Night.
Smith played well off the bench against the Los Angeles Rams last week. He completed 10 of 17 passes for 131 yards with a touchdown and an interception, but he will be making his first start in four years this week. The West Virginia product has bounced around the league the last five years, and he has a rather limited skillset.
The good news for Smith and Seattle is that this offense has a lot of weapons that will help the backup quarterback. Chris Carson and Alex Collins are both averaging 4.3 YPC, and Smith will bolster the ground game with his mobility. There are a lot of great options in the passing game too.
D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett are one of the best receiving tandems in the NFL. Whereas the duo had pretty defined roles last year with Metcalf being the deep ball threat and Lockett being the underneath receiver, they have been used interchangeably this season. Both players have 25 receptions with Lockett having just seven yards more than Metcalf. They have teamed up for eight receiving touchdowns and will likely see a lot of looks in this game since Pittsburgh has a front seven that can shut down the run.
Ben Roethlisberger is on his last legs as a viable NFL quarterback. Roethlisberger was not good through the first month of the season, but he looked much better last week against Denver. He averaged 10.1 YPA with two touchdowns and no interceptions in easily his best performance of the year. Unfortunately, he will no longer have JuJu Smith-Schuster though, as Smith-Schuster underwent season-ending shoulder surgery.
The Steelers have two good receivers left in Chase Claypool and Diontae Johnson. Claypool is a deep ball threat that can catch 50/50 balls better than most receivers with his size and leaping ability, while Johnson has caught at least one 40-yard pass in each of his last three games.
Rookie running back Najee Harris had his best game of the year last week against Denver. Harris has had trouble getting going behind a shaky offensive line, but he has run well with plenty of yards after contact. He can punish linebackers and safeties at the second level, really opening up this offense if the offensive line can block their counterparts well up front.
Seattle’s defense has not been as strong as we saw in 2020. The Seahawks did a good job shutting down the run last year, but they are allowing 4.5 YPC and rank dead last in total defense through five games.
Prediction
Pittsburgh is a flawed team, but the Steelers should be able to knock off the Seahawks at home on Sunday night. They will establish the run early against this front seven, and Geno Smith won’t be able to beat this secondary often enough to keep it within the number.
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