All Not Lost for Packers in Preseason Loss at Steelers

Jordan Love and Aaron Rodgers?

Matt LaFleur and Mike McCarthy?

Nah. How about Robert Tonyan and Lew Nichols III.

The two former members of the Green Bay Packers played key roles in the Pittsburgh Steelers beating the Packers 28-9 in Thursday night’s opening game of the preseason.

Winning and losing, of course, is irrelevant in the preseason. The Jordan Love-led No. 1 offense scored a field goal on its opening possession, the No. 1 defense forced a three-and-out on its only possession and rookie kicker Trey Smack was superb in what perhaps will be a breakthrough performance.

Tonyan, a former Packers tight end who had a dominant 2020 season, and Nichols, who was drafted by the Packers in 2023, combined for the Steelers’ go-ahead touchdown late in the first half. Tonyan caught three consecutive passes for 53 yards, the last of which took the ball to Green Bay’s 1 and set up Nichols for the easy touchdown to give Pittsburgh a 7-3 lead.

The Bright Side for the Packers

The Packers took the ball at the 25 with 36 seconds remaining. Kyle McCord ran a tremendous 2-minute drill with a 10-yard pass to Savion Williams, a 12-yard pass to Isaiah Neyor and a 5-yard pass to Neyor, who was driven down at Pittsburgh’s 48. The Packers called their final timeout with 12 seconds to go.

For such a young offense, what followed was impressive. McCord threw a short pass to Will Sheppard, who gave himself up after a gain of 6. McCord and the rest of the offense hustled to the line, with McCord clocking the ball with 1 second to go.

Smack smacked a 58-yard field goal to end the half and cut the margin to 7-6 at intermission. The ball was on the way to the uprights when he raised his right index finger to the sky to celebrate with holder Daniel Whelan.

“Yeah, what a big-time moment for him,” coach Matt LaFleur told sideline reporter Karley Marotta at halftime. “Two 58 yarders and to convert on those, really happy for him and for us.”

The Packers got the ball to start the game and drove to an opening field goal.

Or field goals.

A slant by Jordan Love to Jayden Reed that gained 19 yards was the big play. The drive stalled and Smack booted a 58-yard field goal. The Steelers, however, were flagged for roughing the Packers’ long snapper, Cal Adomitis, so LaFleur put the offense back on the field. Two runs and an incomplete pass sent Smack back on the field, and he kicked a 37-yard field goal to open the scoring.

And that was that for Green Bay’s No. 1 offense.

Green Bay’s No. 1 defense forced a three-and-out punt on its only possession. On second down, Lukas Van Ness – who needs to be a big-time player this season, especially when Micah Parsons is out of the lineup – raced around starting left tackle Troy Fautanu. Mason Rudolph stepped up in the pocket but blitzing linebackers Zaire Franklin and Edgerrin Cooper didn’t give Rudolph any space, so Van Ness threw down Rudolph.

Green Bay’s 3-0 lead held until late in the half, when the former Packers helped the Steelers get in the end zone before halftime.

Rudolph was 10-of-11 passing for 93 yards, but the Packers limited the damage with mostly solid tackling. While Keisean Nixon and Kitan Oladapo each missed a tackle on a 25-yard completion that gained 22 yards after the catch, rookie cornerback Brandon Cisse, rookie safety Murvin Kenion and first-year safety Mark Perry played with physicality.

It was Perry’s tackle on standout Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth on fourth-and-goal from the 3 that kept the Steelers from scoring on their second possession.

“I think our guys are flying around,” LaFleur said. “It hasn't been perfect, but we talked about it – we want to see our style play on tape, and I think our guys are playing hard.”

McCord started the second half and delivered again. He faced pressure on completions to tight end Messiah Swinson and Neyor that gained first downs. Next, on third-and-6, McCord connected with J. Michael Sturdivant for 14 yards. That set up Smack for a 38-yard field goal to give Green Bay a 9-7 lead with 4:28 left in the third quarter.

McCord finished 12-of-16 passing for 102 yards.

Steelers Pull Away in Fourth Quarter

The Steelers answered on rookie quarterback Drew Allar’s 3-yard run on a zone-read keeper. Allar’s 74-yard catch-and-run completion to rookie Kaden Wetjen to the 3 was the big play, with safety Trey Dean – who was signed on Tuesday – missing a tackle to turn a third-and-7 conversion into the biggest play of the night.

Allar did it again on the next possession. The rookie picked on young cornerbacks MJ Devonshire and Shemar Bartholomew repeatedly on an 89-yard touchdown drive. Bartholomew’s holding penalty on a third-down stop gave the Steelers a first down that set up Allar’s touchdown to Wetjen, which came on a pick of Jaylin Simpson.

Undrafted rookie quarterback Kyron Drones got the final 8:43. He was sacked for a loss of 15 on his first opportunity to pass to doom a drive that ended in a three-and-out punt.

Drones would have loved another opportunity, but Allar was too sharp. Interference on Simpson on fourth-and-4 gave the Steelers their 23rd first down of the night.

Then, on third-and-4, Devonshire was flagged for defensive holding in the end zone, which gave Pittsburgh a first-and-goal with 1:51 remaining. Allar threw his second touchdown of the night on the next play, making it 28-9 with 1:46 to go. His passer rating was a near-perfect 155.1.

At that point, it was 386-171 in yards. It got worse.

Drones was sacked on first down – the play was supposed to be a screen – as well as third-and-15 as rookies Josh Gesky and Dylan Barrett didn’t give him any protection.

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