One of the most head-scratching things about the Seahawks’ loss to the 49ers in Week 1 was Klint Kubiak veering away from the formations we saw so much in the preseason, which had enabled a strong running game.

It led to a lot of failed early downs, which led to too many third-down failures and resulted in just 13 points off a 38-22 deficit in time of possession. While Kubiak kept his run-pass balance to a good ratio (26-23), he ran a lot of 11 personnel and the fewest play-action snaps in the league in Week 1 (just two). And Sam Darnold’s reads continually led to Jaxon Smith-Njigba, so the Hawks had a very one-dimensional offense.

They cannot do any of that in Week 2 at Pittsburgh if they are going to avoid an 0-2 start, a hole that typically means just an 11% chance of making the playoffs.

Kubiak needs to get his big boys (fullbacks, tight ends) out there more, run more wide zone, use play action for Darnold and get more guys involved in catching the ball, especially Tory Horton.

Horton’s engagement is especially important as the Hawks go against traded star DK Metcalf. Many fans are still sore about that move, and the first game of the “post-DK era” certainly did nothing to assuage their concerns. If Horton gets a couple of deep completions vs. Pittsburgh, it will really help this offense.

Like the Seahawks, the Steelers will be short in the secondary, missing corner Joey Porter Jr. and safety DeShon Elliott.

Darnold said the JSN overload in Week 1 “just happened to be that way. I’m just going through my progressions, going through my reads, and 58% of the time it told me to go to Jax.

“Other guys have got to be on their P’s and Q’s in terms of being able to beat one-on-one coverage. That’s kind of what we’re looking at this week. It’s going to be a fun challenge for us.”

The Steelers gave up 32 points to the Jets in Week 1, including a 70-yard touchdown pass from Justin Fields to Garrett Wilson. Breece Hall also eclipsed 100 rushing yards and the Jets had over 180. So the Steelers clearly are exploitable – if the Hawks’ offense gets back to its identity and avoids getting doubled up in time of possession again.

Mike Macdonald said we will see more play action going forward: “We need to action more. We need more movement. So we’ll call it, and we’ll execute it when called.”

Darnold said, “We’ve got to have more efficient plays on first and second down and be in a good position to where we can run more plays. We’ve just got to execute better, and I feel like we’ll be in position to put our foot on the gas little bit on first and second down.”

On defense, the Seahawks are coming off a pretty solid debut – giving up just 10 points to Christian McCaffrey and the Niners before Riq Woolen surrendered two mindboggling plays to help San Francisco get to 17 points in the final two minutes.

Woolen is on thin ice as a starter, but he probably will get a chance to redeem himself in Pittsburgh as Devon Witherspoon is doubtful with a knee injury.

Aaron Rodgers (four TD passes, 73% completions) looked like a completely different QB vs. the Jets – his old team. But can he replicate that against a much better Seattle defense?

Leonard Williams and Derick Hall led a great pressure game against Brock Purdy. If they repeat that against Rodgers, who was sacked four times vs. the Jets, they should keep the Steelers to half the 34 points they put up against New York. They get a big boost with the return of Uchenna Nwosu as well.

The Hawks were 7-1 on the road in 2024, including 3-0 in 10 a.m. starts. So they will be ready for this one.

They just need to make sure Metcalf does not kill them in his so-called revenge game. And the Seattle offense needs to prove it can be successful without Metcalf.