The Pittsburgh Steelers are coming off an embarrassing loss to the New England Patriots in Week 1. Just over 24 hours after the news broke that Antonio Brown signed a one-year deal with New England, Pittsburgh barely showed up in a 33-3 loss that was more of an indictment against their team than a showcase for the Patriots. Now the Steelers head back home for another tough test against the Seattle Seahawks this Sunday. Can they rebound or will they fall to 0-2?

NFL Point Spread and Betting Analysis

The biggest question for Seattle is whether Russell Wilson and company can finally win another game on the road in September. The Seahawks are just 1-8 straight up and 0-8-1 against the spread in their last nine September road games. Seattle also didn’t look great in Week 1 when they barely pulled out a 21-20 win over the Cincinnati Bengals at home.

Meanwhile, Pittsburgh has started 0-2 straight up only once since 2007. The last time that the Steelers lost each of their first two games outright was in 2013. Pittsburgh was an absolute disaster in its Week 1 loss to New England. Now they are 3.5-point favorites at home for this matchup and they are 13-5 straight up in their last 18 as a favorite of 3.5 to 9.5 points.

Seattle Seahawks

While the Seahawks managed to extend their league-leading streak of season-opening wins to 11 against Cincinnati, it certainly wasn’t pretty. Wilson completed 14-of-20 passes for 196 yards and two touchdowns in the win. The team had just 12 first downs while Wilson was also sacked four times. If Seattle is going to have a shot at an outright win after travelling across the country to play a 1 PM game on the east coast, they will need to protect their quarterback and have a more consistent offense.

That starts with doing a better job establishing the run as well. Chris Carson ran for 46 yards and a touchdown against the Bengals. Seattle’s running backs averaged less than three yards per carry in Week 1, which can’t happen against the Steelers. The good news for the Seahawks is that their defense sacked Andy Dalton five times. If Seattle’s defense can consistently generate pressure up front, they could have a chance to steal a win on the road.

Pittsburgh Steelers

There isn’t anything on the tape from the game against the Patriots that is even worth looking back at for head coach Mike Tomlin and his players. Pittsburgh couldn’t get anything going in the loss. At times, they looked like they had given up. Whether it was a blown coverage for a long touchdown pass or three straight chances to punch the ball in beginning with a first and goal and ending with a field goal attempt, Tomlin looked furious with his team’s performance. After ripping in to his players, there is a good chance the Steelers come out with a much better effort in Week 2.

Running back James Conner will need to lead the way on the ground after being held to 21 rushing yards on 10 carries. Ben Roethlisberger completed 27-of-47 pass attempts for 276 yards with an interception. The good news is that’s likely to happen against a Seahawks defense and secondary that looks like they’re in disarray. They gave up a career-high 418 passing yards to Andy Dalton and the A.J. Green-less Bengals last week. Pittsburgh should do much better through the air and get the win.

Who Will Win Seahawks vs. Steelers?