Sheil Kapadia, ESPN Writer 8y

Five questions that will determine whether the Seahawks win

Here are five things that we will be keeping an eye on when the Seattle Seahawks host the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday afternoon.

1. Can the Seahawks' defense contain WR Antonio Brown?

This is probably the most fascinating coaching decision Pete Carroll and defensive coordinator Kris Richard have to make this week. Will they have cornerback Richard Sherman shadow Brown? Or will they have their cornerbacks play sides? Brown has 79 catches for 1,141 yards this season. According to ESPN Stats & Information, 66 of those catches have come when he's lined up outside.

If the Seahawks match Sherman up with Brown, they will have to take their chances with either DeShawn Shead or Cary Williams against Martavis Bryant. If they have their cornerbacks play sides, they run the risk of letting the Steelers dictate the matchups. Brown against either Shead or Williams could prove disastrous for the Seahawks.

The guess here is that Sherman will travel with Brown all over the field in one of the best cornerback/wide receiver battles of the season.

2. Can Seahawks running back Thomas Rawls continue his run of success?

Coming off a 30-carry, 209-yard performance, Rawls faces a stiff challenge this week. According to Football Outsiders, the Steelers rank sixth against the run. Opponents are averaging 3.84 yards per carry against Pittsburgh, and the Steelers have allowed five runs of 20+ yards all season. Rawls leads the NFL in yards per carry (5.98) and average  yards after contact (2.80). His vision and ability to shake off tacklers has been impressive. Rawls has also shown he can be a home-run hitter with six carries of 20+ yards.

Everything the Seahawks do offensively comes off the running game. They need Rawls to get going early to keep up with the Steelers.

3. What will the Seahawks get from Russell Wilson and the passing game?

Two weeks ago against the Arizona Cardinals, Wilson completed 43.8 percent of his passes and had a passer rating of 67.2. Last week against the San Francisco 49ers, he completed 82.8 percent of his passes with a passer rating of 138.5.

It's never just Wilson. The pass protection has to hold up, and the run game has to be effective. But with Marshawn Lynch out for an extended period of time, the Seahawks will need Wilson to be at his best if they want to make a late-season run. Through 10 games, Wilson is completing 67.5 percent of his passes (fifth), averaging 8.06 YPA (fifth) and has a passer rating of 96.7 (11th).

The Steelers rank 16th against the pass, per Football Outsiders' rankings. Opposing quarterbacks are completing 66.9 percent of their passes against Pittsburgh (fifth-worst).

4. Can the Seahawks' offensive line hold up?

Last week, this unit delivered its best performance of the season. The Seahawks added wrinkles to their run game and gave Wilson time to find his receivers.

The Steelers are sacking opposing quarterbacks on 6.5 percent of their dropbacks, which is 12th-best. Defensive linemen Stehpon Tuitt and Cameron Heyward have 4.5 and 4 sacks, respectively. Edge rusher Bud Dupree has added four more.

Wilson has been sacked 9.4 percent of the time, second-highest to only San Francisco's Colin Kaepernick. But since Week 8, that number is down to 3.7 percent.

5. Can the Seahawks pressure Roethlisberger?

Coaches and players have compared the Steelers' passing attack to the Cardinals. Against Arizona, the Seahawks did an excellent job of pressuring Carson Palmer, but he was able to climb the pocket and still make plays.

Defensive linemen Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril have done a good job up front every week.

The Seahawks prefer not to blitz, but don't be surprised to see them send some pressure if Roethlisberger has success early. This season, the Steelers have not handled the blitz well. Roethlisberger is averaging 4.60 yards per attempt (30th) and 3.74 yards per dropback (31st) against the blitz.

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