PITTSBURGH vs GREEN BAY 

PACKERS WIN 35 – 25

• Story of the Game – Love tears through Steelers’ secondary as Rodgers’ falls to his old team 

While the first half was up and down for the Packers’ offense it turned to be an incredible showing for the Packers’ passing game especially. Jordan Love went off for 20 straight completions, Tucker Kraft dominated with YAC, and Christian Watson had a great first game back from his injury as Love found him multiple times down the field. While the Packers’ offense was rolling the concern just continued to build for Pittsburgh and I don’t mean just in this game alone but moving forward in this season as their defense is one the highest paid groups in the league and it confuses to let down an offense that’s been surprisingly successful despite having a number of question marks coming into the year. The pass rush I believe still has  another level they can go to but the inability to cover on the back end consistently isn’t giving them any help or really any chance at having a real impact up front since teams can easily find holes in this defense and exploit them before this pass rush has any chance of getting to the QB. It’s very concerning problem considering I don’t know how you improve upon this moving forward considering they’ve already sunk a number of assets into this group and it’s not showing on the field. So while the Packers have to feel great about coming out of Pittsburgh with a win and doing so in a dominant fashion throughout the 2nd half against their former future HOF QB the Steelers are quickly falling down the ranks in their division and in turn the AFC.

• Key Notes for the Packers 

Jordan Love and this Packers’ passing attack was outstanding today, especially in the 2nd half. The Steelers’ secondary was clearly outmatched as Love exploited every opportunity he got to pick an open receiver, which was far too often. Whether it was Christian Watson on a couple beautiful passes down the field, Tucker Kraft in the short to intermediate game to set up YAC, Romeo Doubs on a number of big targets, or really any other Packers’ receiving threat you can think was having a great night against the Steelers. While it wasn’t the most impressive Love performed in terms difficulty of his throws and/or having to take over the game due to defensive woes his ability to stay with the offense and operate it largely without any mistakes was arguably just as impressive… if not more. Love continues to take clear steps and mature as a QB which I think needs to be emphasized more in this Packers offense if they want to reach their highest ceiling as a football team.  

Christian Watson looked notably comfortable coming back from his injury especially when you consider the fact he’s coming back on a shorter time table than what was originally projected. Very promising for a Packers team that has been dealing with some injuries in the WR along with being an already young g group of guys. Along with Watson looking very comfortable and having the role he did in this game Tucker Kraft continues to ascend not just among Packers receiving threats but as a TE in the NFL in general. He’s been absolutely phenomenal this year and is deserving of all the credit and recognition he is getting and more as he’s elevating this Packers team by being such a weapon in the short passing game with his YAC ability paired with being a very solid route runner as well. 

Evan Williams deserves much more recognition than he gets as him, Javon Bullard, and Edgerrin Cooper were flying all over the field this game. The Packers also had Carrington Valentine step up on the outside at CB this game which was a welcome boost out there with the recent struggles of Nate Hobbs and Keisean Nixon coming off a couple rough showings as well. Overall this defense continues to play solid football but I really do believe there’s another step to take or version to unlock with this group that has so many talented pieces but also some conceding weaknesses at spots like CB. It’ll be interesting to see if Green Bay decides to make any moves to help in the areas they’re deficient at as they make a run at this thing this year.

The special teams woes continue to creep into this team in one form or fashion as they struggled to hit their FGs tonight with Brandon McManus having a rough showing coming off of injury. Ultimately the FGs didn’t end up hurting them as Love and the offense really took control of this game in the 2nd half but facing another team with those mistakes could cost you a major game down the road. One week it’s one issue the next week it’s another so hopefully they can sort this all out down the stretch and finally put together quality special teams’ units in all phases moving forward.

• Key Notes for the Steelers

While the Steelers’ offense failed to break open any real explosives or dominate this game I thought it was a solid performance and most importantly I thought they did an enough to win. Aaron Rodgers played a really solid game despite getting beat up late as the Packers pulled away and they were forced to pass and made a couple really great throws including one late up the seam that was dropped by Jonnu Smith. While this offense may not wow anybody and certainly has its flaws I think they did enough this game and have the ability to do enough to win moving forward, they just need a performance from their defense where they don’t have to count on a turnover to win.

Defensively I covered the majority of the issues in the opening paragraph so I won’t overdue it but it’s incredibly disappointing that this group has struggled the way that it has, especially in the secondary. DeShon Elliot had a rough game before exiting with an injury (Went on IR for a Knee) and well really anyone you want to point to in the backend of this defense struggled immensely this game. Whether changing their philosophy and changing the way they play or elevating some depth players something needs to change for this group as they’re not even giving their pass rushers a chance to get pressure let alone sacks. 

This defense is completely built off forcing turnovers and capitalizing on any mistakes offenses make but that only works if you’re forcing teams to hold onto the ball and force throws while under pressure/off balanced/running or getting home with sacks to force 2nd and 3rd & long situations and in turn passes down the field. When that’s not working this team is completely reliant on a random strip fumble of a ball carrier or a QB flat out missing a throw without pressure in his face. There’s a lot to work on here but if there’s any HC I trust to get it right in a short amount of time it’s Mike Tomlin.

• Standout Performers 

GB

Jordan Love – 29/37  360yds  3/0 

Emmanuel Wilson – 11/61 – 3/26 rec

• Did a wonderful job as GB limited Jacobs workload after some ankle issues 

Tucker Kraft – 7/143  2 TDs

Christian Watson – 4/85 

Edgerrin Cooper – 4 Tackles  1 FF 

Micah Parsons – 1 Tackle  1 Sack  1 TFL

Rashan Gary – 4 Tackles (3 Solo)  2 Sacks  2 TFLs

Kingsley Enagbare – 3 Tackles (2 Solo)  1 TFL 

• Had an incredible rep shooting upfield in the B gap to beat both the G and T

PIT

Aaron Rodgers – 24/36  219yds  2/0 

Jaylen Warren – 13/62 – 2/11 rec

Roman Wilson – 4/74  1 TD