The Patriots left Week 1 with a mess on their hands, and the Steelers now have a pretty clear picture of how to attack it.
New England opened the 2026 NFL season with a 10-0 lead over a Seahawks team playing without Sam Darnold, then watched it slip away in ugly fashion. Drake Maye’s three fourth-quarter interceptions opened the door for Seattle to score 13 straight points and walk out with the win, while the Seahawks defense controlled New England’s offense throughout the night.
For Pittsburgh, that game offered a handy roadmap for Week 2. The most obvious takeaway: pressure doesn’t have to come in waves to wreck this offense.
Seattle did plenty of damage with its timing. Mike Macdonald kept New England guessing by showing one look and bringing another, including an early third-down snap where the Seahawks presented seven rushers at the line, dropped a linebacker into coverage, and sent Devon Witherspoon on a nickel blitz.
The result was the same as it had been in the Super Bowl: Maye had to get rid of the ball quickly, and the Patriots had no clean answer.
Seattle’s overall blitz rate was only 23.8 percent of snaps, according to Sumer Sports, which was more than 10 percent below last season’s league average. Even so, the Seahawks still finished with a tackle for loss rate more than 3.5 percent above that average.
That was the real problem for New England. Seattle was getting penetration out of base and nickel looks, and that constant heat made the occasional blitz much more effective.
Maye felt it all night.
The run game never gave the Patriots any relief, either. New England managed just 62 yards on 24 carries, and that total included Drake Maye’s scrambling.
That matters for the Steelers because the setup looks similar. The source material says it looks highly unlikely that A.J.
Brown will play, which would leave New England without its best weapon in the passing game. Pittsburgh could crowd the box and force the Patriots to throw, but Seattle showed that a sturdy front can handle this offense without living in blitz mode.
The Steelers have that kind of front. If they can win with four rushers, sprinkle in the right blitzes, and keep New England from finding any real rhythm on the ground, they should have the formula in place for Week 2.
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Aaron Rodgers Just Created Another Steelers Headache Off The Field
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The reaction has only widened the gap between the two sides, with Woodleys friends pushing back on his account and describing the remarks as out of line with the person they knew. For Pittsburgh, it is the kind of headline that has little to do with game plans and everything to do with the attention that follows Rodgers wherever he goes, even when the conversation is supposed to be about football. [Read more 🡒]