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Seattle Seahawks 28 Pittsburgh Steelers 26

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Ben Roethlisberger Looking down field for an open target against the Seattle Seahawks while his offensive line provides protection( Photo Credit Vince Butts-UMT Sports)

                                    Steelers Fall to Seahawks 28-26

(Pittsburgh,Pa) The Pittsburgh Steelers were hoping for a better performance after their seaons opening 33-3 debacle against the New England Patriots. Sunday, they welcomed the Seattle Seahawks to Heinz Field for their home opener, and although their performance slightly improved, the end result no different. This time the Steelrs fell  28-26 to the Seahawks, Thus  opening the season 0-2 for the first time since 2013.

“We had a number of injuries; I will outline those.” Said head coach Mike Tomlin “QB Ben Roethlisberger had an elbow injury to his right elbow and is being evaluated. He wasn’t able to return. LB Vince Williams had a hamstring injury, he wasn’t able to return. RB James Conner’s knee is being evaluated. LB Anthony Chickillo has planter fasciitis in his foot. Still needs to be evaluated. Sean Davis has a shoulder injury; it is being evaluated. We lost a number of guys in this game, but that wasn’t the reason we didn’t win this game.”

The Steelers fell to 0-2 for just the second time in Mike Tomlin’s 13-year tenure and could be without quarterback Ben Roethlisberger indefinitely. The 37-year-old watched the second half from the sideline in a baseball cap following a right elbow issue that popped up late in the second quarter when he grimaced several times after releasing passes.

Backup Mason Rudolph completed 12 of 19 passes for 112 yards with two touchdowns and an interception but couldn’t quite keep pace with Wilson and the Seahawks.

”I am completely confident in myself, being a leader of a team, and playing games,” Rudolph said. ”That’s what it all comes down to. If Roethlisberger is out a while, I’m ready to roll.”

 

Despite the injuries and a slow start, the Steelers clawed their way to a 7-0 lead when Conner plowed in from the 1-yard line, and after the Seahawks tied the game when Wilson found wide reciever Will Dissly for a 14-yard TD. The Steelers then took a 10-7 lead when kicker Chris Boswell kicked a 41-yard FG, but that was the last time the Steelers lead in the game as they eventually fell behind 14-10, but Boswell’s 33-yard FG closed the deficit to 14-13. But no matter how close the Steelers got; the Seahawks would just continue to pull away. Rudolph tossed 2 TDs to tight end Vance McDonald, but because of a failed 2-point conversion after the first TD, the Steelers would trail by 2.

The faces around Russell Wilson have changed as the Seattle Seahawks rebuild themselves on the fly. One thing, however, has not. Seattle goes as its ever-imaginative quarterback goes. And in the second half in a place where the franchise hadn’t scored let alone won in two decades, Wilson’s resilience propelled the Seahawks to their best start in six years.

Wilson threw for 300 yards and three touchdowns to give the Seahawks the lead, then used his legs and smarts to protect it in a 28-26 victory that pushed Seattle to 2-0 for the first time since 2013, the year Wilson guided the franchise to its only Super Bowl victory.

Sure, it’s early. Yet the Seahawks proved both opportunistic and aggressive, hallmarks of their dominant run behind Wilson and the ”Legion of Doom” defense earlier in the decade. ”Really fired up about this start,” Seattle coach Pete Carroll said after picking up his 100th victory with the Seahawks, including playoffs. ”We have so much improvement. We have so many areas and ways we can get better.”

Having Wilson certainly helps. His perfect 28-yard rainbow to rookie D.K. Metcalf midway through the fourth quarter put the Seahawks in front by nine, and three expertly timed scrambles on Seattle’s final drive helped drain the final 5:34 off the clock. ”We were battle tested today and we found a way to win a great game,” said Wilson, who completed 29 of 35 passes while becoming the fifth-fastest player in NFL history to reach 200 career touchdown tosses.

Pittsburgh trailed by two in the fourth quarter and appeared to have momentum with the Seahawks facing a third-and-20. Wilson threw a jump ball for Tyler Lockett and the pass fell incomplete. But Carroll challenged the play, claiming Steelers safety Terrell Edmunds interfered with Lockett. The 38-yard penalty was enforced after review. Three plays later, Wilson placed the ball perfectly into Metcalfe’s outstretched hands while Edmunds gave chase. The Seahawks then went for it on a 4th and 1 at the 2:00 warning, and got the first down, which helped seal the game.

Seahawks: Host New Orleans next Sunday. Seattle has won the last three home meetings with Saints. Steelers: Head west to face San Francisco next Sunday. Pittsburgh hasn’t beaten the 49ers on the road since 1999.

Please e-mail Ray at ray@urbanmediatoday.com

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