Seahawks Enemy Overview: Steelers Riding Wave of Momentum, Seeking Playoff Berth
Ever since first stepping foot in the Pacific Northwest over a decade ago, coach Pete Carroll has always taken pride in his Seattle Seahawks treating each week as a "championship opportunity."
Heading into Week 17, while Seattle won't be battling for an NFC or Super Bowl title, that mantra perfectly sums up a matchup versus Pittsburgh loaded with playoff implications. Both teams will enter Sunday's high stakes contest sporting 8-7 records and in the mix for one of the final wild card spots in their respective conferences, looking to bolster their postseason chances at Lumen Field.
In a game featuring two of the longest-tenured coaches in the NFL, on the heels of back-to-back comeback wins over the Eagles and Titans, Carroll's Seahawks will be facing off against a Steelers squad with plenty of momentum of their own. Closing in on yet another winning season under the leadership of Mike Tomlin, a blowout win over the Bengals led by backup quarterback Mason Rudolph re-ignited their playoff aspirations after a three-game losing streak.
Having faced Tomlin four times previously and holding the utmost respect for the job he has done for 16 years in Pittsburgh, Carroll isn't surprised the Steelers once again find themselves in the hunt late in the season and credits his counterpart for helping his team weather the storm in a roller coaster season. With much on the line for both teams on Sunday, he knows his Seahawks will receive a championship challenge on all fronts.
"They play tough, they’re aggressive, they don’t settle for just lining up and giving it to you, you just have to beat them," Carroll told reporters on Wednesday. "They’re going to come after you, they’re going to attack you. They’re always challenging with the defensive game plans, big backs run the football, the whole thing. Special teams is really good, they’ve blocked three punts this year already or something, so they’ve had a big factor in how they play and a fantastic turnover team."
As both teams pursue a ninth win and improved standing in the playoff race, here's a look at the Seahawks upcoming Week 17 opponent, including series history, additions/departures, a deep dive into scheme, and Carroll's evaluation of the resilient, physical Steelers.
*All stats courtesy of Pro Football Focus unless otherwise noted.
Series History
20th regular season meeting. The Seahawks hold a narrow 10-9 advantage in the series, though the Steelers defeated them in Super Bowl XL in Detroit back in 2006. Since Carroll arrived in 2010, the two franchises have split four regular season games with Pittsburgh winning the most recent matchup on Monday Night Football during the 2021 season. Neither team has won more than two games in a row in the series.
What's New?
Departures: With few notable veteran free agents hitting the market, the Steelers biggest loss came early in the new league year when cornerback Cameron Sutton signed a three-year deal with the Lions. Former first-round pick Devin Bush also left to sign with the Seahawks, though the team's decision to not pick up his fifth-year option signaled they planned to let him walk. Prior to the start of the regular season, the team traded a pair of young guards in separate deals, sending Kevin Dotson to the Rams and Kendrick Green to the Texans to acquire a trio of day three draft choices. On November 21, after weeks of speculation, Tomlin fired offensive coordinator Matt Canada aiming to spark a struggling offense, replacing him with Eddie Faulkner.
Additions: Setting in motion the eventual moves to deal away Dotson and Green, the Steelers made a rare free agency splash signing former Eagles guard Isaac Seumalo to a three-year, $24 million deal to upgrade their interior offensive line. They also brought veteran cornerback Patrick Peterson on board on a two-year deal and signed former Dolphins linebacker Elandon Roberts in free agency. Prior to the draft, Pittsburgh conducted a swap of seventh-round picks to acquire receiver Allen Robinson from the Los Angeles Rams, adding a proven veteran to the receiving corps. Looking to hit on several picks in April's draft, first-round pick Broderick Jones has now become the full-time starter at right tackle, while cornerback Joey Porter Jr. and defensive tackle Keeanu Benton have also impressed as rookies playing significant snaps.
Injury Report
Banged up on defense, the Steelers ruled out All-Pro safety Minkah Fitzpatrick (knee) and linebacker Elandon Roberts (pectoral), leaving them short-handed at both positions for Sunday's game. Listed as questionable coming back from ankle surgery, Kenny Pickett may or may not be active as Rudolph's backup. Veteran linebackers Kwon Alexander and Cole Holcomb will miss the rest of the season on injured reserve.
Inside The Scheme
Even with two different coordinators at the helm over the course of the 2023 season, the Steelers haven't altered things much using personnel groupings. Regardless of whether Canada or Faulkner called plays, the team has leaned heavily on 11 personnel groupings with three receivers, one running back, and one tight end on the field 75 percent of the time. Per Sumer Sports, that's the fifth-highest percentage in the NFL. Formation-wise, the team ranks in the top 12 in shotgun and single back usage at 64.5 percent and 25 percent respectively.
In the run game, the Steelers have been a bit more zone-centric, running zone concepts on nearly 60 percent of their run plays per PFF. But over the past two weeks, they have shifted more towards gap concepts, including 13 gap runs on 18 run plays in a Week 15 loss to the Colts. With Rudolph under center, Pittsburgh only ran four play action drop backs last Sunday for a net of seven yards, as most of his damage through the air came on traditional drop backs and out of shotgun formations.
Though Rudolph had hardly played before starting against the Bengals last week, he started 10 games in his first three NFL seasons, putting plenty of additional film out there for Carroll and his staff to evaluate game-planning this week.
"Big strong armed, good-looking kid," Carroll said of Rudolph. "Looked great the other night, dropped some dimes on them, and made some huge plays, and gave them a real spark where they jumped to 21 to zip right off the bat. It’s obvious that he lifted him. They got great play out of other guys too, turnovers and all of that helped, but he was right in the middle of all of that.”
On the defensive side of the ball, the Steelers continue to live up to their "Blitzburgh" moniker as one of the more aggressive teams in the league sending extra pressure. Per Pro Football Focus' data, defensive coordinator Teryl Austin has blitzed 37.5 percent of the time, the fourth-highest rate in the NFL. He also has dialed up stunts against close to 30 percent of pass plays, which ranks in the top 10.
Led by superstar edge rusher T.J. Watt, who leads the NFL with 17 sacks and has created three forced fumbles, Pittsburgh ranks in the top 12 both in sacks and pressure percentage. Carroll knows Seattle will have to deal with Watt as the featured rusher on a talented front line that thrives harassing quarterbacks.
“You have to do a little bit of everything. There’s no one way to stop him," Carroll said of Watt. "He’s such a volatile football player and it’s just really challenging. That’s why he’s got 17 sacks, and he’s doing it again. He’s having another great year. Everybody knows he’s there. He’s not hiding, so we have to do a nice job and keep him guessing a little bit the best we can and try to keep him from being a big part of this game.”
Coinciding with their willingness to bring pressure from all three levels of the defense, Pittsburgh has deployed Cover 1 with man coverage underneath 26.8 percent of the time, the fifth-highest rate behind only Cleveland, Dallas, New Orleans, and the New York Giants. Calling Cover 3 at a healthy 39.1 percent rate, Austin has dialed up middle of field closed schemes on nearly 70 percent of defensive snaps.
