PITTSBURGH — Trips don't get any more pointless than the one the Seahawks just finished.

On Sunday in Pittsburgh, they crossed midfield only twice, never got inside the Steelers' 25 and left town with a 24-0 loss weighing down their carry-on baggage.

The defeat wasn't a surprise. Seattle was a bigger underdog than it had been in any game since 1992. It was the spectacularly one-sided nature of this loss that stood out. The Seahawks had not failed to score in a game since Oct. 7, 2007 — the last time they played in Pittsburgh.

"That's embarrassing," quarterback Tarvaris Jackson said. "We just didn't show up as an offense."

That's not technically accurate. The Seahawks were, in fact, present on the field. It was just hard to tell by looking at the scoreboard or the stat sheet.

Mike Williams — who led Seattle with 65 catches last season — was not targeted in the first half for the second consecutive game. Zach Miller, the premier free-agent tight end Seattle signed, didn't catch a pass until there was less than nine minutes remaining.

Jackson was 20-for-29 passing for 159 yards, and while he was sacked five times, all were in the second half. Coach Pete Carroll was asked afterward if the offense's persistent struggles made him consider changing quarterbacks.

"It had nothing to do with the quarterback spot," he said. "I don't feel like that at all."

The Seahawks failed to score for just the 11th game in franchise history. Its longest play from scrimmage was a 17-yard pass to fullback Eddie Williams, who has been on Seattle's roster for almost a whole week now. Seattle sustained only one drive longer than six plays.

"The biggest frustration is that we're just better than what we're putting on the field on Sunday," Williams said.

As bad as Seattle's offense was — and it was unambiguously awful — the defense didn't do much better, considering it didn't force the Steelers to punt until the second half. This was a game in which the Seahawks' offense and defense could have sued each other for a lack of support.

Makes you wonder what would have happened if Seattle hadn't changed its practice times last week, instituted early wake-up calls and flown East two days before the game, huh?

Seattle is 0-2 for the second time in the past eight seasons. The Seahawks have never made the playoffs after losing their first two games of the season.

And as the Seahawks prepared to leave Pittsburgh, Carroll was left sounding almost like a politician who was preaching persistence and trying to quell panic.

"We have to stay the course," he said. "We have to keep battling."

This season began with the distinct possibility that Seattle could be worse than it was a year ago, when it won the NFC West. Not only were the Seahawks changing quarterbacks for the first time in 10 years, but they were planning to start an offensive line that included two rookies on the right side and three others who had never started a regular-season game next to each other.

Did Carroll have any idea the offense might be this unproductive?

"We hoped we could make it happen fast," he said, "and hoped that other people would be struggling to get going. But knowing how new we were and how few opportunities we had to bring them along, it's going to take a little while. And that's unfortunate, and it's very difficult to have to live through it."

It's not easy to watch it, either.

Danny O'Neil: 206-464-2364 or doneil@seattletimes.com