Seahawks vs. Steelers 2025 Week 2: Score, Highlights, and What Decided It

Seattle walked into Pittsburgh’s home opener, coughed up the ball twice in the first half, and still owned the second half. The Seahawks beat the Steelers 31-17 on September 14, 2025, turning a 14-7 halftime deficit into a statement win with a 24-3 surge after the break. If you were looking for a clear read on where each team stands in the Seahawks vs Steelers Week 2 matchup, the last 30 minutes told the story.

Seattle did not start clean. Two first-half turnovers handed the Steelers short fields and momentum, and the crowd fed off it. Pittsburgh, which thrived in the red zone a week ago, punched early and controlled the tempo. Then halftime hit, and everything flipped. Seattle’s adjustments—up front and in the secondary—changed the angles, changed the matchups, and changed the game.

Second-half swing and key sequences

The turning point came in a three-play burst that showed exactly what Seattle wanted to be. On third-and-9, Sam Darnold spun away from linebacker Patrick Queen—who had been a problem early—and found Barner for a 19-yard catch-and-run. One snap later, Darnold dropped a 43-yard strike to Jaxon Smith-Njigba, stretching a defense that had been loading up against the run. Kenneth Walker III finished the sequence with a 20-yard touchdown, slicing through a crease off the left side that the Seahawks kept finding after halftime.

Seattle leaned into heavier looks and smarter angles. Offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak used tackle Charles Cross and guard Grey Zabel to double at the point and release to the second level, turning Queen’s sideline-to-sideline speed into a chase game he couldn’t win. Outside zone flowed into cutbacks. Duo runs dented the A and B gaps. Boot-action froze the linebackers just long enough for the line to reset the edges. It wasn’t fancy—just precise.

Walker was the tone-setter. He ran through first contact, bounced off glancing blows, and forced safeties to tackle in space. The Steelers had eyes for him in the first half and still couldn’t land clean shots in the second. When Seattle got to even fronts, Walker pressed the hole and made Queen commit, then slipped where the help wasn’t. It’s the kind of back-and-blockers sync that wears a defense down over time, and it did.

Darnold’s management mattered too. After the early errors, he stopped giving Pittsburgh freebies. The ball came out on time. The shots came off play-action. When the pocket squeezed, he extended plays without forcing throws. That third-and-9 escape was the blueprint: avoid the negative, make the routine, and let the run game and defense do the heavy lifting.

Defense flips the script

Seattle’s defense took the Steelers out of rhythm and off schedule. Two takeaways told part of it: safety Coby Bryant and cornerback Derion Kendrick each picked off Aaron Rodgers, both plays born from disguised looks that baited throws late in the down. Bryant undercut a route from a two-high shell that spun post-snap. Kendrick’s came after a pressure look that forced Rodgers off his first read.

Up front, Leonard Williams and Byron Murphy II were the anchors. Williams collapsed pockets from the edge-to-tackle loop, and Murphy’s get-off from the interior kept the launch point muddy. The rush wasn’t always about sacks; it was about compressing Rodgers’ space, taking away his step-up lane, and forcing him to throw from tight platforms. Those small wins stacked up: batted balls, hurried checkdowns, and missed explosives that Pittsburgh needed to flip momentum back.

Pittsburgh’s red zone edge from Week 1 vanished. Drives that felt promising stalled inside the 25. One turned into a field goal. Another died on a third-down hurry when Seattle brought simulated pressure—bluffing one side and heating the other. The Seahawks tackled cleanly after the catch and closed space on perimeter screens that the Steelers used to wake up their offense early.

Queen was in the middle of everything early, but Seattle adjusted its angles on him. Instead of meeting him square, the Seahawks forced him to scrape over traffic. On the plays that mattered most, Cross and Zabel climbed at the right time, sealing lanes that sprung Walker into the secondary. When Pittsburgh widened to stop the edge, Kubiak hit inside. When they compressed, Darnold went play-action, and Smith-Njigba made them pay over the top.

The Steelers’ offense just never looked like the group from Week 1. Protection didn’t hold long enough for routes to develop, and when it did, Seattle’s coverage disguised leverage and squeezed windows. Rodgers forced a couple of throws he usually leaves alone. Drops and penalties hurt drives. And the third-down calls that worked a week ago felt a step slow against a defense that had the cadence timed and the splits diagnosed.

For Seattle head coach Mike Macdonald, this was the template: win the trenches, take the ball away, and let the run game grind down the clock. Kubiak’s willingness to go heavier—with extra help from Zabel and the tight ends—gave Walker the daylight he needed and kept the front fresh for the fourth quarter. On the road, with two early turnovers, that’s an identity win.

What does it mean going forward? For Seattle, it’s validation. They handled a hostile building and imposed their style after halftime. For Pittsburgh, it’s a reset. The home opener fizzled, the red zone magic faded, and the protection issues that popped late last week showed up earlier and louder here. There’s plenty of talent, but the margin for error isn’t big when the run game can’t keep you ahead of the sticks.

If you missed it live, the game was played Sunday, September 14, 2025, in Pittsburgh. Local replays and national highlight packages typically roll out within hours across standard broadcast and team channels. Check your TV provider’s on-demand listings and the league’s official platforms for condensed replays and extended highlights.

By the numbers and moments that mattered:

• Final: 31-17, Seattle.
• Halftime: Steelers led 14-7.
• Second-half swing: 24-3 in favor of Seattle.
• Takeaways: Two interceptions of Aaron Rodgers (Coby Bryant, Derion Kendrick).
• The spark: Sam Darnold’s third-and-9 escape from Patrick Queen for a 19-yard gain to Barner.
• The shot: 43-yard completion to Jaxon Smith-Njigba to flip field position.
• The closer: Kenneth Walker III’s 20-yard touchdown run.
• Trenches: Charles Cross and Grey Zabel set edges and climbed to the second level to spring Walker.
• Pressure points: Leonard Williams and Byron Murphy II kept the pocket tight and the reads late.

Seattle leaves with a road win that travels, the kind you point back to when the season tightens. Pittsburgh leaves with film that stings—but also answers. The fix starts on third down and in the red zone, where this one got away.