A look back at the Steelers' 39-30 loss to the Seahawks via the magic of the DVR:**
Check out the highlight photos from the Steelers vs Seahawks game. The Seahawks defeated the Steelers 39-30 on November 29th 2015.
DUAL-THREAT DeANGELO:** The reliance upon resources not named Antonio Brown in the passing game in Seattle included RB DeAngelo Williams.
Williams was targeted seven times and caught seven passes for 88 yards against the Seahawks. That was more than half the receptions (13) and more than half the receiving yards (137) Williams had amassed in the season's first 10 games combined.
Williams doesn't run wide receiver-like routes the way Le'Veon Bell does when healthy. But what Williams did against the Seahawks upon catching passes out of the backfield got CBS analyst Phil Simms' attention
"DeAngelo Williams might be the pick-up of the year," Simms gushed during the fourth quarter.
Williams' biggest play was a 34-yard gain on second-and-10 from the Steelers' 18-yard line late in the fourth quarter.
And his best play might have been a 13-yard reception on which Williams knocked DE Michael Bennett to the ground before vacating the backfield.
But a 14-yard gain on third-and-12 from the Seahawks' 48 with 6:31 left in the fourth quarter and the Steelers trailing, 32-27, may have been Williams' most memorable effort.
Given the score, the time remaining and the field position it's conceivable the Steelers went to Williams merely hoping to whittle the next snap down to a fourth-and-manageable distance. But Williams broke CB Jeremy Lane's attempted tackle and then ran through LB Bobby Wagner and CB Richard Sherman on the way to moving the chains and making any potential fourth-down contemplation unnecessary.
Williams gained 81 of his 88 receiving yards after the catch.**
POCKET PRESCIENCE:** Seahawks QB Russell Wilson opted to attempt to escape the pocket just three times in the first half, all as a result of pressure. Those three plays resulted in a throw-away incompletion, a slide that went for a 1-yard sack credited to CB William Gay and an intentional grounding penalty on Wilson.
The Steelers appeared to consistently keep a pass rusher in contain-mode at the line of scrimmage usually a defensive lineman or a linebacker and in position to move laterally to the left or right along the line of scrimmage with Wilson if necessary.
Seattle went to the read-option in the second half and Wilson made plays getting to the outside by design.
One might deserve an asterisk. A shove at the sideline with Wilson still inbounds by LB Lawrence Timmons resulted in an unnecessary roughness penalty on what would have otherwise been a 1-yard loss on a Wilson read-option keeper.
"I don't like the call," Simms said. "Running quarterback, you gotta let the defense play."
Wilson made two other plays after intentionally vacating the pocket on the drive that resulted in the TD that gave the Seahawks a 32-27 lead.
The first was a 10-yard run on a read-option keeper on which Wilson escaped LB James Harrison in the backfield.
The second was a play-action bootleg on which Wilson rolled right and found WR Doug Baldwin 1-yard past the line of scrimmage on what became a 13-yard gain.**
HORIZONTAL PASSING GAME:** The Seahawks beat the Steelers repeatedly at critical times on crossing routes.
Seattle gained 11 yards on third-and-6 and 18 yards on third-and-10 on catch-and-run conversions on back-to-back touchdown drives in the second quarter.
And what turned out to be the game's back-breaking touchdown was scored on an 80-yard catch-and-run on third-and-10 late in the fourth quarter.
On the first two, CB Ross Cockrell had to pursue WR Tyler Lockett and then TE Jimmy Graham laterally along the line of scrimmage after having to work his way behind S Will Allen, who was otherwise engaged in coverage.
On the third, Baldwin ran up the field on CB Antwon Blake initially and then cut hard back across the field. Blake didn't get caught in traffic but he still wasn't able to keep up.PRACTICE SQUAD NOTE: The Steelers signed running back Rajion Neal to the practice squad. Neal, who played collegiately at Tennessee, signed with the Green Bay Packers in 2014 as an undrafted free agent. He has spent time on the practice squads of the Packers, Dolphins and Raiders.
