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Pittsburgh Steelers: 3 Lessons learned vs. Seahawks in Week 2

By Samuel Teets

PITTSBURGH, PA - SEPTEMBER 15: Ben Roethlisberger #7 of the Pittsburgh Steelers walks onto the field in the first quarter during the game against the Seattle Seahawks at Heinz Field on September 15, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA - SEPTEMBER 15: Ben Roethlisberger #7 of the Pittsburgh Steelers walks onto the field in the first quarter during the game against the Seattle Seahawks at Heinz Field on September 15, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images) /
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FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS – SEPTEMBER 08: Donte Moncrief #11 of the Pittsburgh Steelers looks on during the game between the New England Patriots and the Pittsburgh Steelers at Gillette Stadium on September 08, 2019 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS – SEPTEMBER 08: Donte Moncrief #11 of the Pittsburgh Steelers looks on during the game between the New England Patriots and the Pittsburgh Steelers at Gillette Stadium on September 08, 2019 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /

After a disheartening loss to the Seattle Seahawks in Week 2, the Pittsburgh Steelers must face some harsh realities.

Despite pressuring Russell Wilson early in the game, the Pittsburgh Steelers started slow and were unable to fully recover. The Seattle Seahawks survived Pittsburgh’s late push to win 28-26. The Steelers have fallen to 0-2 and will travel to San Francisco next week to face the 2-0 49ers.

In light of this most recent loss, it’s time for the Steelers to face some of the realities in this young season. If the level of play doesn’t improve, then Pittsburgh will fall out of the playoff race early in the year. However, significant injuries may have already torpedoed the 2019 season.

So what did we learn from the Week 2 loss? Let’s take a look at the lessons to come away with from the Steelers’ second defeat in as many weeks.

3. Donte Moncrief should be benched

Going into the season, I thought Donte Moncrief could be a great contributor in a receiving corps that was trying to replace Antonio Brown. Moncrief signed a two-year, $9 million contract with the Steelers during the offseason. He recorded 48 receptions, 668 yards and three touchdowns with the Jacksonville Jaguars last season, but his best year came back in 2015 with the Indianapolis Colts and Andrew Luck.

Moncrief’s career in Pittsburgh didn’t start so well. He had four drops in Week 1 against the New England Patriots and only contributed to Pittsburgh’s one-sided, humiliating loss. However, no Steeler looked good in Week 1. It was easy to write that off as a mulligan and look forward to a better performance in Week 2.

However, Moncrief’s ineptness cost the Steelers against the Seahawks. On one of Mason Rudolph‘s first pass attempts, the ball sailed between Moncrief’s outstretched hands, bounced off of him and was intercepted. Ben Roethlisberger was already out of the game. The least Moncrief could do was help his young, second-year quarterback out. Instead, he botched a routine play.

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