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Seattle Seahawks: 3 Toughest games of 2019 season

By Samuel Teets

LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 14: Seattle Seahawks Head Coach, Pete Carroll speaks to Russell Wilson of Seattle Seahawks during the NFL International series match between Seattle Seahawks and Oakland Raiders at Wembley Stadium on October 14, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 14: Seattle Seahawks Head Coach, Pete Carroll speaks to Russell Wilson of Seattle Seahawks during the NFL International series match between Seattle Seahawks and Oakland Raiders at Wembley Stadium on October 14, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images) /
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BALTIMORE, MD – NOVEMBER 04: Head coach Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers talks to Ben Roethlisberger #7 of the Pittsburgh Steelers during the first half against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on November 4, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Will Newton/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD – NOVEMBER 04: Head coach Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers talks to Ben Roethlisberger #7 of the Pittsburgh Steelers during the first half against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on November 4, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Will Newton/Getty Images) /

3. Pittsburgh Steelers – Week 2

The Steelers might have missed the playoffs last season, but the team was literally waiting to the last minute to find out if they would get in. Also, the Steelers suffered an uncharacteristic late-season collapse. It’s unlikely Mike Tomlin‘s team will allow a similar issue to hamper then in 2019.

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On the Seahawks side, we saw them lose to a team that has a similar composition to the Steelers last season. Seattle lost to the Los Angeles Chargers, 25-17, in Week 9 of last season. Offensively, the Chargers and Steelers have more weapons than they know what to do with. Pittsburgh boasts the league’s reigning passing yardage king in Ben Roethlisberger.

The team also has Pro Bowl running back James Conner and Pro Bowl wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster. Three of the Steelers offensive linemen also went to the Pro Bowl last season.

Defensively, the Chargers certainly had more star players. However, Los Angeles finished ninth in run defense last season while Pittsburgh finished sixth. In pass defense, the Chargers finished ninth while the Steelers finished right behind them in tenth.

The Steelers also tied for the league lead in sacks last season with 52. Wilson was the third most sacked quarterback in 2018, being dropped 51 times. Derek Carr was also sacked 51 times. When Carr and the Raiders faced the Steelers last season, he was sacked four times.

The Steelers are an up and down team that can fall flat some weeks, but the team is also capable of going on offensive rampages. When that happens, Roethlisberger and the passing game are usually responsible. Seattle finished 17th in pass defense last season, which isn’t bad, but that might cause issues against a quarterback who threw for 5,129 yards last season.

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