COIN TOSS: Seattle calls tails. It's heads. Steelers win the toss and elect to receive.
7:12 p.m. – What Went Right: It was the way. You want to start, whether there is a quarterback competition being conducted or not. Receiving the opening kickoff and starting at their 10-yard line because of a penalty on Cody White, Mitch Trubisky drove the team 90 yards in seven plays, and he capped it with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Gunner Olszewski with 12:52 remaining in the first quarter. The Steelers converted a third-and-1 with a 24-yard run by Anthony McFarland Jr., who broke outside and took advantage of a downfield block by George Pickens, for a 24-yard gain. The other third-down conversion came on a third-and-6 when Trubisky found Olszewski for a 25-yard gain that set up Trubisky's subsequent throw to Olszewski for the touchdown.
7:36 p.m. – What Went Right: The Seahawks had a third-and-1 that turned into a punting situation when Myles Jack dropped Kenneth Walker for a 1-yard loss. Steven Sims returned the Seattle punt for 38 yards to give the Steelers the ball at the Seahawks 23-yard line. On the first play Boye Mafe beat Dan Moore Jr. around the edge to sack Mason Rudolph for a 10-yard loss, but after a 7-yard run by McFarland, Rudolph converted the third-and-13 with a 26-yard pass to George Pickens for the touchdown. Rudolph threw the ball high in the air, and Pickens went up and grabbed it over Coby Bryant in the back right corner of the end zone. The Steelers led, 14-0, with 1:39 remaining in the first quarter.
7:48 p.m. – What Went Right: Coach Mike Tomlin says one of the hallmarks of a good defense is standing up in the red zone to make the opponent settle for a field goal instead of ending up with a touchdown. After the Steelers second touchdown, Seattle began its possession at the 28-yard line. A couple of short passes netted Seattle 28 yards, and then two passes from Geno Smith to Travis Homer netted 26 yards to the 18-yard line, and that's when the defense stiffened. Arthur Maulet dropped Penny Hart for a 2-yard loss after a short completion; Smith threw incomplete on second down; and on third-and-12 Damontae Kazee limited a short pass to Colby Parkinson to a 5-yard gain. Jason Myers bounced his field goal attempt off the upright and through for a 33-yard field goal. The Steelers led, 14-3, with 12:50 left in the first half.
8:08 p.m. – What Went Right: The Steelers extended their lead to 17-3 on a 21-yard field goal by Nick Sciba that capped a 17-play, 81-yard drive that consumed 8:22 of the second quarter. Rudolph completed 7-of-10 for 58 yards, and Jaylen Warren carried four times for 25 yards.
8:27 p.m. – What Went Wrong: The Seahawks cut into the Steelers' lead with a nine-play, 61-yard drive capped by a 2-yard run by Geno Smith that made it 17-10. Seattle faced only two third-down situations on the drive, and Smith converted both by running the ball. The biggest play on the drive was a 21-yard pass to Cade Johnson that gave the Seahawks a first-and-goal at the 7-yard line.
HALFTIME: Steelers 17, Seahawks 10
8:50 p.m. – What Went Wrong: The Seahawks received the second half kickoff, and 4:23 later the score was 17-17 as a result of a nine-play, 73-yard drive that was capped by a 3-yard touchdown pass from Drew Lock to tight end Dareke Young with 10:37 remaining in the third quarter. The big play on the drive was the first play on the drive, when Lock completed a short sideline pass to Bo Melton, who made one tackler miss and then raced down the sideline for 39 yards.
9:01 p.m. – What Went Right – The Acrisure Stadium crowd welcomed Kenny Pickett to the NFL when he was put into the game on the Steelers first possession of the second half, and the team's No. 1 pick did not disappoint them because he directed a seven-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a 3-yard touchdown pass to Jaylen Warren. Pickett was 5-for-5 for 33 yards, and Warren had one carry for 4 yards and three catches for 33 yards including the touchdown. Following a 2-point conversion pass to Connor Heyward, the Steelers led, 25-17, with 6:44 left in the third quarter.
9:24 p.m. – What Went Wrong: Often in the second half of an early preseason game, neither team is able to generate much offense. But in Seahawks vs. Steelers, the opposite was the case – neither team showed much of an ability to stop the other. Shortly after the drive that ended in a touchdown to give the Steelers a 25-17 lead, the Seahawks drove 55 yards in five plays and tacked on the 2-point conversion to tie the game, 25-25, with 13:32 left in the fourth quarter. The touchdown was a 17-yard pass from Drew Lock to DeeJay Dallas, and the conversion was a pass to Travis Homer.
9:58 p.m. – What Went Right: Coach Mike Tomlin talks about playing complementary football, and that's how the Steelers won this game. Rookie ILB Mark Robinson sacked Drew Lock and forced a fumble that Tuzar Skipper recovered at the Seattle 43-yard line with 1:10 remaining in the game. Kenny Pickett came on and drove the team 43 yards in five plays, with the touchdown coming on a 24-yard pass to Tyler Vaughns, who caught the ball for a short gain but turned it into much more when Josh Valentine-Turner missed a tackle and opened up a lane to the end zone. Vaughns touchdown came with three seconds remaining and gave the Steelers a 32-25 victory once Nick Sciba tacked on the extra point.
FINAL SCORE: Steelers 32, Seahawks 25
