My opinion heading into this game was that this could either be an ugly loss, or I might be pleasantly surprised. Either I'll be surprised with the Packers pulling off a victory in the Steel City, or everything will just collapse. Well, it wasn't a victory, but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised with how the Packers' offense was able to move the ball in this game, mainly through the air. 

The Packers' offense didn't get a whole lot done on the ground, outside a 40-yard run by AJ Dillon, but the passing game for the first time in a while this season, made up for it. Despite the stat sheet showing two interceptions, Jordan Love actually looked pretty good in this game nailing a few deep throws on the money to keep the Packers competitive in this game. 

The defense had its struggles with the run though as they gave up 205 yards on the ground to the Steelers' running back tandem. The way the Steelers were able to move the ball down the field with ease on the first drive to a touchdown score seemingly unmatched was not pleasant to watch. The second drive they maybe gave a little more fight, but gave up a touchdown yet again. Despite the offense being able to respond to the first touchdown, it was a bit of a hole to put the team in early afterward. This team has shown vast improvement against the run in previous weeks, but it just all fell apart today apparently.  

Let's get to the recap:

First Quarter:

The Steelers kicked off their first drive of the game by marching right into Packers’ territory almost unchallenged. A pass interference call on Carrington Valentine took them down to the Packers 28 and the Steelers kept cooking as three plays later they had first and goal from the Packers 4-yard line where Najee Harris walked untouched right into the endzone after the handoff. A terrible drive for the Packers' defense as I’m not sure they were really on the field for that drive. The Steelers would go up 7-0 with 10:01 remaining in the 1st quarter.  

The Packers kicked off their first drive of the game from their own 31-yard line after a decent return by Keisean Nixon. They were able to get into Steelers’ territory quickly on a third down conversion after Jordan Love hit Christian Watson on a 14-yard catch to the Steelers' 48-yard line. Love didn’t stop cooking as on 2nd down Love then hit Dontayvion Wicks for a 23-yard catch down to the Steelers' 22. Several AJ Dillon runs, and a Tucker Kraft catch later the Packers found themselves faced with 3rd and 7 from the Steelers’ 8-yard line. This was when Jordan Love threw a perfect ball that only Romeo Doubs could catch in the corner of the end zone for the touchdown. An opening drive touchdown for the Packers would tie the game up 7-7 with 4:42 remaining in the first quarter. A great answer by the Packers' offense to back up a terrible drive for the defense. Unfortunately, the bad luck would pop back in though on the following kickoff where Anders Carlson would kick the ball out of bounds and the Steelers would take over at their own 40-yard line to start the drive. 

The Steelers would start out their second drive gaining a first down at midfield. On 2nd and 1 from the Green Bay 41, it appeared Keisean Nixon had intercepted Kenny Pickett, which he did catch the ball, but he could not get both feet down in-bounds and after a challenge, the play would be reversed to just be an incompletion with Pittsburgh retaining possession. Several plays later the Steelers would make their way into the red zone off a 3-yard first-down completion to Jaylen Warren where the first quarter would come to an end. 

Second Quarter:

With the ball on the Packers’ 20-yard line, the Steelers would start the second quarter 1st and 10. First play of the quarter Jaylen Warren would seemingly lose his footing on the handoff and be stopped for no gain. On the next play though, Keisean Nixon would be called for defensive holding and then with 1st and 10 from the Packers' 16-yard line Jaylen Warren would take off for a touchdown run rumbling into the end zone to put the score 14-7 Steelers on top with 14:12 remaining in the first half. 

The Packers' second drive of the game coming in the second half was a bit odd as a result of the first quarter flying by quickly. Unfortunately, the drive was about as quick as that first quarter seemed as a short Aaron Jones run, a batted pass, and a drop by Christian Watson led to a three-and-out. Daniel Whelan followed up with a 43-yard punt that was returned to the Steelers’ 46-yard line where they’d take over with 13:06 remaining in the half. The Packers' first drive looked so good, I guess it was too good to be true after that three-and-out. 

First play for the Steelers on their next drive, TJ Slaton came up with a sack but unfortunately, Jonathan Owens would be called for illegal contact negating the sack. A few plays later the Packers would get a huge third down stop on a Kenny Pickett sneak in short yardage. Isaiah McDuffie would be credited with the big stop. However, the Steelers then lined up to go for it on fourth down and converted with an 8-yard run. In the next play, Preston Smith sacked Kenny Pickett for an 8-yard loss that the Steelers would almost recover from but eventually ended up getting stopped and had to settle for a field goal to put them up 17-7 with 8:08 remaining in the half. 

The Packers' next drive would start out with an incompletion to Christian Watson but defender Joey Porter Jr. would be called for pass interference giving the Packers 7 yards and a first down. The Packers would follow up with another first down mainly on the legs of Aaron Jones before AJ Dillon would rumble out a 40-yard run down to the Pittsburgh 29 for Dillon’s biggest run of the season. The following play though, the pocket would collapse on Jordan Love with TJ Watt sacking Love for a six-yard loss.  On 3rd and 16, Jordan Love would then throw another dime to Jayden Reed in the end zone for a 35-yard touchdown. Another excellent pass from Love as it seems like he’s just letting them rip in this game. However, we just can’t seem to have nice things as the extra point after would be blocked by Pittsburgh putting the score at 17-13 Steelers with 4:14 remaining in the half.  

The Steelers would take over at their own 16 after a muffed kick return. On second down a Pickett pass seemed to be behind the receiver in the backfield a bit as it would go uncaught and Rashan Gary would pick the ball up to head into the end zone. Unfortunately, though, the ball would be ruled incomplete. Matt LaFleur threw the challenge flag though to review the play. After the review, the officials ruled it incomplete despite evidence to the contrary. The broadcast team even disagreed with that one, not sure what the officials were seeing but nonetheless, the Steelers would later have to punt the ball back to the Packers as they would take over at their own 45 with 3:12 remaining in the half. If that pass was ruled a fumble the Packers would have easily been in scoring territory but unfortunately, I guess the officiating team saw something different.

The Packers though wouldn’t capitalize on good field position at their own 45 as they would go three and out and punt it right back to the Steelers. It would be a good punt however, pinning the Steelers at their own 9 with 2:35 remaining in the half. 

Field position wouldn’t matter for the Steelers though, as two plays and 29 yards later the Steelers would reach their own 38-yard line where the two-minute warning would hit. They were finally testing Corey Ballentine out there at the corner and were having success. A few plays later, on third down though, the Steelers would try against Corey Ballentine for a pass again, but this time Ballentine would break up the pass and the Steelers would end up punting. 

The Packers took over at their own 15-yard line with 1:20 remaining in the half. Unfortunately, the first play would be blown up as an attempted wide receiver screen to Jayden Reed would go for –5 yards and only a 9-yard run by Aaron Jones would be had after this before the Packers would head into the locker room for halftime with the score 17-13 Steelers.  

Third Quarter:

Kicking off the second half the Packers would start at the Steelers’ 44-yard line after a 50-yard kickoff return to open the half. Great field position to start the half and once again it appeared on an incomplete pass that the Packers would again go three and out. But a pass interference call and a holding call on Zach Tom would offset, replaying the down. Unfortunately, different play, same result as again there would be an incomplete pass but instead of punting the Packers would line up to go for it on 4th and 6. They would convert with a pass to Aaron Jones and the drive would continue. The Packers would face another third down after this but would convert with a 12-yard pass to Aaron Jones down to the Pittsburgh 14-yard line putting the Packers in the red zone. Unfortunately, this would be as far as they’d get though as on third down Love would attempt to hit Luke Musgrave in the endzone but the ball would float incomplete setting up an Anders Carlson field goal, taking the score to 17-16 Steelers with 9:08 remaining in the 3rd quarter.  

The Steelers would start out their first drive of the 2nd half at their own 22-yard line. A holding call would push them backward and an incomplete pass would have them facing 3rd and 18 at their own 15-yard line. The Steelers would not convert after a 7-yard pass, and they would be forced to punt. A good drive for the defense aided by that penalty as the Packers after the punt would take over at their own 22-yard line with 7:10 remaining in the 3rd quarter. Steelers fans booing their offense off the field was a curious sign with their team being up in the game, but the Packers' defense will take it and try to push momentum in the Green and Gold’s favor. 

Taking over to start their second drive of the second half, the Packers offense would get a quick first down on second down with a 20-yard pass to Romeo Doubs. Facing third and 7 later on, Jordan Love would hit Luke Musgrave on a 36-yard pass down to the Steelers 15-yard line. Musgrave seemingly wide open in the middle of the field on that one and Love put it right on him for the big conversion. Unfortunately, a conversion wouldn’t come after this as an incompletion to Luke Musgrave would bring up fourth down and an Anders Carlson field goal attempt would be successful putting the Packers on top 19-17 with 3:04 remaining in the 3rd quarter. A shame to not come up with six after that big catch by Musgrave, but at least the Packers were able to turn it into three to take the lead in this one. 

The Steelers would take over at their own 34 after the kickoff and would start with a big 28-yard pass to George Pickens to start the drive taking it to the Packers' 38-yard line. This would be about as far as the Steelers' offense would go though as the Packers' defense would tighten up, highlighted by a DeVondre Campbell pass breakup on third down causing the Steelers to settle for 3. They would take back the lead 20-19 with 1:05 remaining in the 3rd quarter.  

After the kickoff, the Packers would take over at their own 34-yard line. An Aaron Jones run and then a penalty called on 3rd down conversion for illegal formation would take this game to the end of the 3rd quarter.  

Fourth Quarter:

To start the 4th quarter the Packers would face 3rd and 11 after the penalty was accepted and the Packers would attempt some trickery with a pass to Dontayvion Wicks who would then pass it across the field to Aaron Jones but Jones wouldn’t be able to hold on to the ball and would be tackled behind the line setting up a punt. I appreciate the creativity on the part of Matt LaFleur, but the failure of it just makes it look silly.  

After the punt, the Steelers would take over at their own 25 with 14:06 remaining in the game. On 2nd down Najee Harris would take off for a 24-yard run to the Packers 48. Not a good start for the Packers defense. Fortunately for the Packers, this would be as far as the Steelers would get as three incompletions later they would punt it away. A huge stop for the Packers' defense after that big run started the drive on a sour note. But after the punt, the Packers offense would take over at their own 9. Jayden Reed muffed the fair catch but would luckily recover it immediately with the Packers retaining possession. That could’ve been a game-killing mistake that the Packers avoided. 

Starting at their own 9 with 11:45 remaining and down 1 point, the Packers started out with a first down after three plays getting out of the shadow of their own goalpost. After that though, Pittsburgh’s defense would hold and force the Packers to a punt where a fair catch would be made at their own 34-yard line.  

The Steelers would take over with 9:24 remaining in the game. Three rushing plays in and the Steelers had achieved two first downs and were now down to the Packers 45-yard line. Then on first down Jaylen Warren took off on a 20-yard run to the Packers' 25 and the Packers' defense suddenly was back to not stopping the run even though the play was expected. Luckily, they were later able to get a stop and the Steelers were forced to a 35-yard field goal attempt that was nailed by Connor Boswell as the Steelers would go up 23-19 with 5:14 remaining on the clock.  

The Packers taking over at their own 25 after the field goal, needed to get some momentum going as they couldn’t settle for a field goal to win it, it was now end zone or nothing. It started with a beautiful 28-yard pass to Luke Musgrave right into the Steelers' territory at the 47-yard line. Facing third down after two incompletions, Love then found Dontayvion Wicks up the middle for a 32-yard gain down to the Steelers 15-yard line. Another big pass by Love who has been cooking in this game. Unfortunately, on 2nd down though, Love's luck had run out as a pass towards the endzone intended for Christian Watson was tipped by Patrick Peterson and ended up in the hands of Steelers' defender Keanu Neal who would return the ball to the 24. Just a good play from Patrick Peterson and the Steelers benefit from it, taking over with 3:20 remaining in the game. 

Taking over at their own 24, the Steelers would work on draining the clock a bit with some runs taking a Packers timeout before Kenny Pickett would convert on third down with an eleven-yard scramble. A 1-yard run would then take the Packers final timeout with 2:20 remaining on the clock. Another run, this time for no gain would take us to the two-minute warning where the Steelers would face 3rd and 9. On the attempted conversion it looked as if George Pickens would make a game-sealing catch but Pittsburgh would be called for offensive pass interference as the other receiver picked Carrington Valentine causing Pickens to be wide open. The following play would be a run to drain the clock before Pittsburgh would drain the clock a bit and punt.  

After the punt, the Packers would take over at their own 19-yard line with 0:59 seconds to play down by four points and with zero timeouts in their pocket. A huge 46-yard pass from Love to Jayden Reed would kick off the drive putting the Packers at the Steelers’ 35. After this a pass to Aaron Jones for no gain, a Jordan Love scramble for 7 yards and an incomplete pass put the Packers in a tough situation trying to convert on 4th and 3. An 11-yard pass to AJ Dillon would convert but the Packers had to spike the ball at the 16-yard line to stop the clock and try to win it on one more play with 0:03 left on the clock. Unfortunately, the desperation throw by Jordan Love would be intercepted at the goal line ending the game by Damontae Kazee sealing the 23-19 victory for the Steelers as the Packers fell to 3-6 on the season.  

Offensive Player of the Game:

Jordan Love is taking home these honors for me this week. He showed a lot of improvement in his targeting today. It seemed like Matt LaFleur finally told Love to forget about putting more air under his throws and just let it rip. He had some great throws especially the two in the endzone to Jayden Reed and Romeo Doubs. Despite pressure in the pocket at times, he seemed to remain poised and made some good decisions to get the ball out either to his receivers or he knew to just throw it away at times if the play wasn't there. Yes, there were two interceptions in crucial situations. The first I attribute to a good play by the defender, the second I'd just call desperation. Overall, Love had a good game today that I hope he can build on moving forward. 

Defensive Player of the Game:

There weren't many standouts on the defensive side of the ball in this one. I'm going to give this one though to Isaiah McDuffie. He has shown up in Quay Walker's absence and is making a case for needing to still be on the field occasionally once Quay returns. He had 10 total sacks tied for first on the team with Rudy Ford and a QB hit. Possibly his biggest tackle of the game came when he plugged the middle to stop Kenny Pickett on a QB sneak on third and short. Granted Pittsburgh would eventually convert on fourth down, but it was still a big stop in a crucial situation. 

What Went Right:

The offense showed some vast improvement in the passing game. This was probably the best Jordan Love has looked in the pocket since week 1. Lots of passes on the money and his receivers were actually holding on to balls hitting them in the hands for once!

Only one sack. Jordan Love was under some pressure in this game with TJ Watt, Alex Highsmith, and others hunting him down, but he only took one sack. Heading into this game I worried this could be like the Detroit game where the offensive line looked like Swiss cheese, but they held firm against some great competition and Love was able to still have a good game despite the pressure. 

Less penalties. Only 5 penalties totaling 32 yards. That's a far cry from previous games when we seemed to always have around 10 penalties. Now maybe that's due to officials swallowing flags in this one a bit, but nonetheless, it was nice to not have a vast amount of yellow laundry on the field.

What Went Wrong:

Run defense. I was writing about how the defensive line has improved this past week and it's like they decided to make me look bad. The Packers gave up 205 yards on the ground and some big chunk plays on the ground at that in crucial situations. I get it, young team, ups and downs, but when we have improvement, we need to stick with it and build off of it. We can't return to negative form and expect to win games letting teams gash us game after game on the ground.

I'm starting to lose faith in the coaching staff's ability to judge offensive line play. Jon Runyan had many whiffs in this game that cost a few conversions. With him heading towards free agency this offseason, I think we need to give Sean Rhyan a shot at right guard and see what we have. 

Looking Forward:

Next week the Packers will be back at home taking on the Los Angeles Chargers. The Chargers will be coming off their Sunday afternoon matchup against the Detroit Lions at home in LA. The Chargers' record may be a little deceiving at first glance as their losses have mainly come against some good teams like the Dolphins and Chiefs. Three of those losses were by three points or less including one ending in OT. They should be a challenge for the Packers, but hopefully, this young team will be able to use that home cooking to rise to the occasion. We also get to see the Packers' 50's alternative uniforms next week. I know they aren't for everyone, but these unis hold a special place in history for me as the day they were revealed, August 19th, 2021, was the same day my second child was born. I'll never forget sitting at the hospital awaiting his arrival and receiving text after text from friends asking me my opinion of the uniforms. So, I almost have to like them. They're not only Packers' history, but part of my family's history now too. Hopefully, they'll bring us some good luck for putting another notch in the win column. Until then my friends, Go Pack Go.