George Holani recovered a muffed kickoff in the end zone early in the fourth quarter as the Seattle Seahawks defeated the host Pittsburgh Steelers 31-17 Sunday.
Sam Darnold completed 22 of 33 passes for 295 yards and two touchdowns for the Seahawks (1-1). Kenneth Walker III rushed 13 times for 105 yards and a TD and Jaxon Smith-Njigba had a game-high eight receptions for 103 yards.
For the Steelers (1-1), DK Metcalf made a touchdown reception against his former team. Aaron Rodgers was 18 of 33 for 203 yards with one TD, two interceptions and was sacked three times.
Seattle’s Jason Myers kicked a 54-yard field goal with 12:46 remaining to break a 14-all tie.
On the ensuing kickoff, the ball bounced off Steelers rookie Kaleb Johnson’s shoulder inside the 5-yard line and rolled to the back left of the end zone where Holani fell on it, giving the Seahawks 10 points without any time running off the clock.
The Steelers’ Chris Boswell kicked a 45-yarder with 7:49 left to make it 24-17, but Walker scored on a 19-yard run with 3:41 to go to help clinch the victory.
Seattle scored on its opening possession as Darnold found rookie Tory Horton wide open at the goal line on a 21-yard play-action pass. It was Horton’s first career reception and the first time the Seahawks managed a touchdown on their opening drive in 22 games dating to Dec. 10, 2023, when Drew Lock hit Metcalf with a 31-yard TD pass.
Boswell kicked a pair of 48-yard field goals later in the quarter to pull the Steelers within 7-6.
With fourth-and-1 at the Steelers 29-yard line with 3:41 left in the half, Seattle left its offense on the field. Darnold’s pass was deflected by Cameron Heyward and intercepted by Nick Herbig, who returned it 41 yards to the Seahawks’ 21.
On third-and-goal from the 2, Rodgers threw a jump ball to the right front corner of the end zone that Metcalf came down with. A two-point conversion pass to Darnell Washington gave the Steelers a 14-7 lead at the half.
The Seahawks drove 80 yards on 10 plays on their first drive of the second half to tie the score. Darnold hit tight end AJ Barner with a 7-yard TD pass up the middle.
