It was a game that the football world had circled on their calendars since the day Aaron Rodgers officially signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
After spending 18 seasons in Green Bay with the Packers, Rodgers would finally face his old team, three years after they parted ways. The game, a Sunday night showcase, would pit the protégé against the mentor, with the latter trying to pull off one more magical year at 41 years old.
In the end, Jordan Love and the Packers came out on top. Kicker Chris Boswell did his job, but not many of the other Steelers did. While the Rodgers and Love connection dominated storylines on the night of the game, there’s a lot more to unpack from the Pittsburgh side after another disappointing loss.
Now having dropped two in a row, the Steelers are marching into the heart of their schedule at 4-3. They have missed two chances in a row to put away the AFC North, and now are at risk of falling below .500 themselves in a matter of weeks. We’ll get into all of that, but first, some thoughts on this game.
1: This Defense Is A Nightmare
As if we didn’t have enough to talk about with the defense after last week’s performance, they gave media and fans plenty more to discuss after their abysmal performance in another primetime matchup in front of a national audience.
Love and the Packers offense torched Pittsburgh, much like Joe Flacco did in Cincinnati last week. Love went 29-of-37 for 360 yards, three touchdowns, and a 132.4 passer rating against the Steelers. He completed 20 passes in a row, which spanned from late in the second quarter nearly through the end of the game.
It was the type of performance that would of made his mentor Rodgers happy, but something that should have every Steelers fan deeply, deeply concerned.
And to me, the true turning point was early in the fourth quarter. Yes, the defense had struggled for a majority of the game, but this was a pivotal moment for this unit.
The stadium played Renegade right before the Packers started a drive on the Pittsburgh 45-yard line. A costly special teams penalty by Nick Herbig in the midst of a scrum had put the team in an unsavory position, to say the least.
But this is where the Steeler defense needed to stand tall and deliver. Even if you end up surrendering a field goal (which, given the day Packers kicker Brandon McManus had, was no guarantee), that keeps it a one-score game when Rodgers gets the ball back in his hands again.
Instead, Emanuel Wilson immediately ran outside for a 15-yard again, immediately killing any juice the Steelers had. Three plays later, Love hit tight end Tucker Kraft for a 24-yard score.
This defense was horrid all game long, and it only got worse as the game progressed. Green Bay scored on all five of their possessions in the second half. But this was the moment, right here, where you desperately needed a stop. And they couldn’t do it.
2: Roman Wilson’s Breakout
I’m getting deja vu. Last week, I tried to find one positive coming out of a pretty dejecting loss. And just like last week, I only have the offense to look for.
Roman Wilson had a pretty decent day at the office. The wide receiver, who really is in his first season after taking a grand total of five offensive snaps in 2024, has slowly been worked more and more into the offense.
Against Cleveland two weeks ago, Wilson had one 12-yard catch. Last week in Cincinnati, he had a pair for 17 total yards.
This week, they really ramped that up. Rodgers found Wilson on a scramble way down the field for a 45-yard gain. It was by far the biggest catch of the Michigan product’s young NFL career.
Wilson made a great adjustment on this throw to position himself for the catch,, and it led to the Steelers striking first with a field goal.
Later in the game, Wilson caught his first touchdown pass, which at the time, gave the Steelers the faintest chance of coming back into this one.
Sure, I would have liked him to hold onto the ball all the way through, but according to replay assist, he held on for long enough to count it as a catch in the endzone.
With four catches on five targets, Wilson’s 74 receiving yards stood as the team leading figure, and more than doubled his career yards through the air. Hopefully, that’s something he and the offense can build off of.
3: A Rough Go In The Return Game
Last week, I wrote about a strong special teams performance from Ke’Shawn Williams, a recent elevation from the practice squad.
Williams had put together some really good numbers as a returner for the Steelers. Sure, it was quite the small sample size, but through two games, Williams had averaged a decent 28.2 yards on kick returns, and 11.4 yards on punt returns.
But that luck and success did not carry over to Sunday night.
I know this is probably a minuscule issue in comparison to all of what we saw Sunday night, but the Steelers really did not get any help in the return game.
Running back Kenneth Gainwell took four kick returns and averaged 22.5 yards a return. He had one run out to the 30, but every other return was lackluster. Gainwell also suffered a fumble late in the game while returning a kick, which Green Bay pounced on for the recovery.
Ke’Shawn Williams didn’t fare much better, if at all. On two kick returns, Williams averaged 16.5 yards a return, and averaged 10.5 yards on two punt returns, with a long of 16.
Was it the difference between winning and losing? No, but it was something that consistently acted as a hurdle for the Steelers.
That fumble late really put an exclamation point on the struggles.
4: Is It Time To Worry About TJ Watt?
Look, Watt was far from the only player on the defensive end who will get flack after this game, but only one of them is the highest-paid player on that unit.
Watt came into this game with at least half a sack in each of his last four games, but in their loss to the Bengals ten days ago, Watt’s half sack was the only statistic he recorded.
With Micah Parsons on the other end, the Steelers really needed a big night from Watt, and they just didn’t get it. He had six total tackles (two solo) and one pressure, but that was it. He didn’t have that game-wrecking play like we’ve seen so often from him.
He now hasn’t recorded a full sack in over a month, and has seen his impact on the game greatly neutralized. Yes, teams are scheming around him, but I think it’s still fair to ask for more.
Honestly, he just isn’t super noticeable on the field right now, and that’s one of many issues plaguing a defense that was billed as one of the best ever assembled.
5: It Only Gets Harder
I mentioned in the opening that the Steelers were entering the heart of their schedule, and man, it looks a lot harder now that they’re 4-3.
They host the 7-1, AFC-leading Indianapolis Colts next week against a running back in Jonathan Taylor who will dice them every chance he gets. From there, the Steelers travel out west for another Sunday night game, this time against the Chargers in Los Angeles.
LA has had a few bumps along the road, but they are currently 5-3 and can really get it going in a hurry.
Cincinnati then comes to town, and based on how the first meeting goes, it’s hard to feel confident about that one. After that, it’s a trip to Chicago before coming home to host the reigning MVP Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills. Then, they go to Baltimore and face a Ravens team that will assuredly have their star in Lamar Jackson back by then.
What’s Pittsburgh’s record after that six-game stretch? This could get really ugly, really fast.
Fifth Avenue Sports 
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