Seattle Seahawks vs. Pittsburgh Steelers: Live Reaction to Game's Big Stories

UPDATE: Pittsburgh Steelers (1-1) beat the Seattle Seahawks (0-2) 24-0, rebounding from last week's defeat to the Baltimore Ravens.

The Seattle Seahawks will visit the Pittsburgh Steelers for the second straight meeting of these two teams. Seattle suffered an overwhelming defeat at Heinz Field in 2007; thanks to the NFL making considerations for East Coast teams not having to travel all the way to the West Coast twice in one season, Seattle is playing at Pittsburgh again instead of hosting the Steelers.

Perhaps, at some point, Roger Goodell will actually look at the difficulty of West Coast teams traveling East and at least grant them kickoff times no sooner than 4:00 ET. But that is another article.

On the face, this is a game that most assume the Steelers will dominate. They are the defending AFC Champions and are coming off a humiliating defeat. Seattle is a team that has regressed on offense since their impressive playoff showing last season, and they are a team that doesn't play well on the road.

However, there is a reason they play the games.

Pittsburgh could find it difficult to run the football on Seattle's defense. They are solid on the defensive line and their linebacker crew is much improved this season. 

This could put Ben Roethlisberger in a difficult position. He was not able to generate much on offense last week, and Seattle's secondary is also much improved. Earl Thomas has a year under his belt, and Kam Chancellor is filling in well for the retired Lawyer Milloy. 

Marcus Trufant is playing closer to his Pro Bowl-self than the injured version the Seahawks have seen the last few seasons, and CFL standout Brandon Browner has shown the ability to blanket receivers and to keep them from making catches—a marked difference from Kelly Jennings.

Hines Ward isn't likely to be matched up consistently with Trufant, as Seattle is prone to keeping their corners on the same side of the field. This makes their best option to keep Mike Wallace on Trufant's side of the field. 

The real story of this game is the Pittsburgh defense. They were unable to stop the Ravens last week and have been skewered by several national analysts.

The Seahawks offense is nowhere near the same level as Baltimore, leaving the Steelers an opportunity to extract some respect. The Seahawks receivers will have matchup advantages, even without Sidney Rice, who is inactive for this game. The concern is, will the Seahawks offensive line be able to open holes in the ground game and give Jackson time to throw?

This is where the game will likely be decided. If Seattle isn't able to move the chains, expect the Steelers to wear down the Seahawks defense and control the game. However, if Seattle can manage to move the ball and control the clock, the Steeler team that at least some fans thought could go 15-1 could start the season out at 0-2.