The Steelers have not traveled to Seattle since their showdown with the Seahawks in Super Bowl XL. Here's a deep look at Sunday's matchup at CenturyLink Field.
Game time: 1:25 p.m. Sunday.
TV: CBS (Ch. 7).
2015 record: 6-4, second in AFC North.
By the numbers
3 Consecutive opponents coming to Seattle off a bye. The Steelers are the third in that group, joining the Cardinals and 49ers.
0 Catches for Jimmy Graham in a game against the Steelers last Nov. 30 in Pittsburgh, on zero targets. Saints won anyway, 35-32.
4.9 Steelers yards per carry this season, compared with 3.8 for Pittsburgh’s opponents.
Coach: Mike Tomlin (88-50 in nine years).
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The series: Tied 8-8. That does not include the most memorable game between the two teams, Pittsburgh’s 21-10 win in Super Bowl XL in 2006. The Steelers have not been in Seattle since 2003, a 23-16 Seattle win. The Steelers won two games since then in Pittsburgh, 21-0 in 2007 and 24-0 in 2011.
Early line: Seahawks by 5.
Key players:
QB Ben Roethlisberger: A decade removed from helping lead the Steelers past the Seahawks in the Super Bowl, Roethlisberger continues to forge a Hall of Fame career. He missed October because of a foot injury. But he looked like his usual self in the team’s most recent game Nov. 15, throwing for 379 yards and three touchdowns against the Browns. He ranks second in the NFL in yards per attempt at 8.94 behind Arizona’s Carson Palmer (9.04).
WR Antonio Brown: The sixth-year player from Central Michigan is on track for even better numbers than he put up last year when he was named All-Pro with 1,698 yards and 13 touchdowns. The 5-foot-10,181-pounder is second in the NFL with 79 catches, is on pace for 126 and 1,826 yards and still is in the running to break the single-season record for yards by a receiver set by Detroit’s Calvin Johnson (1,964 in 2012). Brown has the size of a typical slot receiver but is used all over by the Steelers.
WR Martavis Bryant: The second-year player from Clemson has emerged as one of the better players of a 2014 rookie corps of receivers that might go down among the best in NFL history. Bryant missed the first four games of the season for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy. But he has been a big factor since returning, making six catches for 178 yards in the win over Cleveland on Nov. 15. Bryant missed practice Monday, however, with initial reports being unclear as to why — he had not been considered as injured.
DE Cameron Hayward: A 2011 first-round draft pick out of Ohio State, Hayward has been playing some of his best football of late. He had a season-high eight tackles in a win over the Raiders on Nov. 8 and a sack in the Steelers’ win over Cleveland a week later. He has four sacks this season as well as a blocked kick. He was rated the sixth-best defensive end in a 3-4 defense last season by Pro Football Focus and is sixth this season.
Pittsburgh’s keys to success: The Steelers have one of the more dynamic passing attacks in the NFL, with Roethlisberger throwing for 975 yards in three games in November. The Steelers are going with veteran DeAngelo Williams at tailback with Le’Veon Bell out for the season due to injury. Williams is averaging 5.0 yards per carry with 534 overall and five touchdowns for a Steelers offense ranked sixth in yards per game at 384.9. Pittsburgh has been more erratic on defense under new coordinator Keith Butler, a linebacker for the Seahawks from 1978-87, who replaced Dick LeBeau. The Steelers are 22nd in total defense at 371.4 yards per game, having been vulnerable against the pass — they are 27th in pass defense at 278.4 yards per game. The Steelers, though, generally have been good against the run, holding the Browns to 15 yards in their most recent game. Football Outsiders rates the Steelers’ run defense as third-best in the NFL.