Live Updates: Drew Allar, Steelers Blow Out Packers in Preseason Opener

The NFL, in its infinite wisdom, didn’t have the Green Bay Packers host the Pittsburgh Steelers and put the preseason game on national television on Thursday night.

So, unless you live within the reach of the Packers TV Network, you won’t be able to watch the preseason opener from Pittsburgh’s Acrisure Stadium. So, follow along here for updates throughout the night.

Final Score: Steelers 28, Packers 9

The Packers did some good things - obviously not many overall - in their 28-9 loss to the Steelers in the preseason opener. But the No. 1s and kicker Trey Smack had good nights, which is what matters.⬇️https://t.co/APYSTpQkwN
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) August 14, 2026

Fourth Quarter

Steelers 28, Packers 9 (1:46 remaining)

Drew Allar’s second touchdown pass of the night and third total touchdown put away what wound up being a blowout. He is 10-of-13 for 154 yards and a 155.1 passer rating. The Steelers have a 386-171 edge in total yards.

Steelers 21, Packers 9 (6:19 remaining)

Undrafted rookie quarterback Kyron Drones will finish the game. He was sacked on his first opportunity to throw the ball as the offense went three-and-out.

By the way, Kyle McCord finished 12-of-16 passing for 102 yards.

Steelers 21, Packers 9 (8:51 remaining)

Rookie quarterback Drew Allar shredded Packers cornerback MJ Devonshire and Shemar Bartholomew for what probably will be the clinching score. On third-and-3 in the red zone, Bartholomew was flagged for defensive holding. On the next play, Allar and Kaden Wetjen connected on a pick play against Jaylin Simpson for a 5-yard touchdown.

Allar is 8-of-10 for 143 yards.

Steelers 14, Packers 9 (14:12 remaining)

A big-time catch by J. Michael Sturdivant gave the Packers one first down, but Kyle McCord was sacked by Israel Mukuamu for a loss of 12 on the final play of the third quarter. A third-and-19 checkdown resulted in punt.

Through three quarters, the Steelers had 286 yards to Green Bay’s 177. It was 6.7 yards per play for Pittsburgh and 3.4 for Green Bay.

Third Quarter

Steelers 14, Packers 9 (2:25 remaining)

On third-and-7, rookie quarterback Drew Allar, a third-round pick, hit rookie receiver Kaden Wetjen, a fourth-round pick, for a gain of 74 to the 3. The cornerback slipped, which gave Wetjen the space. Safety Trey Dean III, who was signed in time for Tuesday’s practice, missed a tackle, which allowed Wetjen to tack on about 60 yards. Impressive defensive tackle Anthony Campbell was injured on the play. One play later, Allar scored on a zone-read keeper.

Packers 9, Steelers 7 (4:28 remaining)

Trey Smack improved to 3-for-3 (officially) with a 38-yard field goal. The drive started from the 7, with Kyle McCord continuing his strong play. He handled pressure with completions of 9 yards to tight end Messiah Swinson and 11 yards to receiver Isaiah Neyor for first downs. Later, on third-and-6, McCord hit J. Michael Sturdivant over the middle between a host of defenders for 14 and another first down.

Steelers 7, Packers 6 (11:12 remaining)

The Steelers gained one first down but defensive tackle Jonathan Ford blew up a first-down run and Collin Oliver’s second-effort forced a wayward, fluttering pass by Will Howard on third down.

Second Quarter

Steelers 7, Packers 6 (0:00 remaining)

Kyle McCord and the young backups ran a tremendous 2-minute drill. Starting from the 25 with 38 seconds remaining, McCord hit three in a row to Savion Williams for 10, Isaiah Neyor for 12 and Neyor for 5 to the Steelers’ 48 with 12 seconds to go. McCord then went over the middle to Will Sheppard for a gain of 6. He gave himself up, the offense hustled to the line and McCord clocked the ball with 1 second remaining.

Rookie kicker Trey Smack booted a 58-yard field goal. The ball was maybe halfway to the goalpost when he raised his right index finger to celebrate.

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

Steelers 7, Packers 3 (0:46 remaining)

Will Howard hit former Packers tight end three times for 53 yards to set up former Packers running back Lew Nichols III for a 1-yard touchdown. Tonyan’s last catch was initially ruled a 23-yard touchdown but a big hit by Murvin Kenion III not only dislodged the ball but kept Tonyan out of the end zone.

Packers 3, Steelers 0 (2:39 remaining)

Kyle McCord hit Skyy Moore for 11 and ran for first downs on a sneak and a scramble. But Jaden Nixon didn’t have a prayer on his three carries (combined minus-2 yards) and Jamin Davis stormed around left tackle John Williams and sacked the unsettled McCord on third-and-10.

The new line was Williams, Jager Burton at left guard, Jacob Monk at center, Donovan Jennings at right guard and Anthony Belton at right tackle.

Along with the catch by Moore, he had a 13-yard punt return and a 6-yard run on an end-around; Isaiah Neyor had a good block in the backfield to make it happen.

Packers 3, Steelers 0 (7:45 remaining)

The Packers gave up one first down but that was it. Brenton Cox forced Will Howard to throw it away on first down, Warren Brinson and Anthony Campbell destroyed a draw on second down and Kitan Oladapo blitzed from the slot and ran down Will Howard for the sack.

Packers 3, Steelers 0 (10:14 remaining)

The Steelers, collecting penalties like the Powerball winner will collect checks, gave the Packers 30 yards on unnecessary-roughness penalties. Unfortunately for the Packers, that’s about all they could muster.

Pierre Strong started the drive, well, strong. Backed up at the 1, he gained 9 yards by bouncing around tight end Messiah Swinson’s bad block, then gained 4 for a first down.

Tyrod Taylor in two possessions is 4-of-8 for 21 yards.

Packers 3, Steelers 0 (14:02 remaining)

On the first snap of the drive, Brenton Cox bullied starting right tackle Dylan Cook for a sack. But veteran quarterback Mason Rudolph, operating behind the No. 1 line, shredded a Green Bay defense that was filled with backups other than cornerbacks Keisean Nixon and Brandon Cisse.

On third-and-6, Rudolph hit wide-open Germie Bernard over the middle for 19. On the next play, a quick pass in the flat gained 25 because Nixon and safety Kitan Oladapo missed tackles. Rudolph converted a third-and-2 and a third-and-1 with easy completions.

On first-and-goal at the 5, Travis Homer strolled around the corner for a touchdown, but Warren Brinson drew a holding penalty. On second-and-goal from the 9, former Packers draft pick Lew Nichols was stopped on the edge by Cox, so Nichols shifted directions and had a path to the end zone but Cisse made a sensational open-field tackle.

First Quarter

Packers 3, Steelers 0 (6:59 remaining)

The Packers went three-and-out, with Tyrod Taylor in at quarterback and Jordan Love and his top receivers out. Jacob Monk shifted from right guard to center and Donovan Jennings entered at right guard. Taylor went 1-of-3 passing, with a quick pass to Bo Melton gaining 6 yards.

Packers 3, Steelers 0 (7:59 remaining)

Linebacker Zaire Franklin promised a vanilla defense. (More on that below.) Well, on the second-and-6, linebackers Franklin and Edgerrin Cooper blitzed up the middle while Lukas Van Ness beat left tackle Troy Fautanu around the corner. The blitzing linebackers left no room for quarterback Mason Rudolph to step up, so Van Ness got the sack.

The No. 1 defense had Warren Brinson, Jonathan Ford and Karl Brooks as the defensive tackles. After some shifting of personnel this week that left Keisean Nixon on the bench at times, Nixon and Brandon Cisse were the starting corners.

Packers 3, Steelers 0 (10:09 Remaining)

It was a strong start by the Packers, highlighted by rookie kicker Trey Smack making a 58-yard field goal and then, after a Steelers penalty extended the drive, a 37-yard field goal. The big play was a 19-yard completion from Jordan Love to Jayden Reed.

MarShawn Lloyd got the start and carried four times for 12 yards. By our count, he had 9 yards after contact and forced a missed tackle.

The No. 1 offense was left tackle Jordan Morgan, left guard Jager Burton (for Aaron Banks), center Sean Rhyan, right guard Jacob Monk and right tackle Anthony Belton (for Zach Tom). Lloyd started for injured Josh Jacobs and Josh Whyle started at tight end for Tucker Kraft. The receivers were the top group of Christian Watson, Reed and Matthew Golden.

Packers-Steelers How to Watch

The game will air on the Packers TV Network, which is led by Green Bay’s WGBA-TV Channel 26 in Green Bay and Milwaukee’s WTMJ-TV Channel 4.

There are a total of 24 affiliates, which you can see here.

Kevin Harlan and John Kuhn will be on the call with Karley Marotta on the sideline.

The game can be heard on the Packers Radio Network, featuring Wayne Larrivee and Larry McCarren.

Reunited pic.twitter.com/SN6gp8AgQu
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) August 13, 2026

Jordan Love Will Start

Jordan Love is expected to start alongside most of the No. 1 offense, coach Matt LaFleur said on Tuesday, though running back Josh Jacobs, tight end Tucker Kraft and left guard Aaron Banks will not be with him.

The play of the offensive line, which has been leaky at times throughout training camp, will be critical.

“The main thing is to stay healthy,” Love said. “Obviously, avoid taking hits. If you get into a scramble situation, definitely not take any hits outside the pocket, anything like that. But really, it’s just about being smart, trying to get the ball to your hand, find those completions, put together a good drive.”

Aaron Rodgers Will Not Start

Former Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who is entering his final season in the NFL, “100 percent” wishes this game would have been played at Lambeau Field.

Rodgers, of course, won’t play. New Steelers coach Mike McCarthy no doubt will forever remember the sting of losing premier receiver Jordy Nelson to a torn ACL in the preseason game at Pittsburgh in 2015.

“It’s to see how guys react under the lights and when it becomes real when there’s actual tackling,” Rodgers told Packers beat reporters on Wednesday. “But what’s the value of it? I don’t think it’s super high because in ‘15 we lost our All-Pro wide receiver.

“We still went 10-6 that year and won a playoff game but, if you remember at the end of that season, like the last play [in the playoff loss at Arizona], we had Jeff Janis, Jared Abbrederis and James Jones running down there to catch a Hail Mary because Tae (Davante Adams) was banged up all year and Cobby (Randall Cobb) punctured his lung in the game and Jordy was out since preseason.

“So, there’s not a tremendous amount of value that I see in it. I’m not sure what the right thing to do is with that. They would probably, the league would say, ‘Well, we’ll take one away if you just give us an extra regular-season game.’”

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) looks on before the game against the Green Bay Packers at Acrisure Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

On the Other Hand …

Packers coach Matt LaFleur sees a lot of value in giving his starters a limited taste in the preseason.

“I think a lot of it’s feel of where your team’s at,” he said. “I think just my experiences here is that when we’ve played in the preseason, we’ve been better earlier in the season. You open up with a division opponent on the road, that’s a tough task in itself.

“So, I think we’ve got to keep that in mind, and plus there’s a lot of data out there that will tell you that if your guys get ‘X’ amount of snaps in the preseason, I think it’s like over three times less likely that they get injured in the regular season.”

What’s the number he’d like to hit?

“I know that the league data had like, if you have one practice or one joint practice, you’d like to get 30 plus snaps in the preseason,” he said. “Whether or not we hit that remains to be seen.”

Eight Players to Watch

The starters will not play much, meaning the backups – especially those fighting for spots on the depth chart or roster spots – will be at the forefront.

Here are eight under-the-radar players to watch.

Of course you'll be watching Jordan Love, MarShawn Lloyd and Brandon Cisse when the Packers face the Steelers tonight.

You should also be watching Kyle McCord, Pierre Strong and the rest of these under-the-radar players.⬇️https://t.co/WK1Kc8p6Zr
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) August 13, 2026

Vanilla on Defense

In the 2009 preseason, new Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers unleashed hell on opponents. He blitzed coming off the bus.

That will not be the case with new defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon.

“Well, everybody’s lying to the whole league in the preseason,” linebacker Zaire Franklin said. “Obviously, we’re going to go out there and the preseason is really not about scheming up. You want to play simple offense, simple defense because you want the talent to show. So, we’re going to go out there, play our base stuff, just let the play style show up: the motor, the violence and taking the ball away.”

Packers Are Favored

The Packers are 2.5-point favorites at FanDuel Sportsbook with an over/under of 38.5 points. The Steelers had been favored but the line moved based on Jordan Love starting and Aaron Rodgers watching from the side. Rodgers’ over/under for passing yards is 20.

Meaningless History and What’s Next

This will be the first Packers-Steelers preseason game since the Packers won 51-34 at Lambeau in 2018.

Mike McCarthy, of course, coached the Packers to the lopsided win. On Thursday night, McCarthy will be coaching his first game with the Steelers.

“Certainly at the owners’ meetings, and I’ve gotten to know him a little bit just when he came back here a few times,” LaFleur said. “And I’ll say this: I’ve got so much respect for him. First of all, how he’s always treated me, and secondly, just by what he’s accomplished here.

“And it’s pretty cool that when he got the Pittsburgh job. I’m like, Green Bay Packers, Dallas Cowboys, Pittsburgh Steelers. I mean, that’s pretty special. So, Mike’s a guy that I’ve got a ton of respect for.”

The Packers will play at the Denver Broncos next Friday night, with an 8 p.m. kickoff, before closing the preseason against Mike LaFleur’s Arizona Cardinals on Friday, Aug. 28.

For Jaylin Simpson, it's about Plankton.
For Javon Bullard, it's about being greedy.

Here's a feature on Simpson, who has gone from a long shot to the thick of the race for a roster spot at cornerback for the Packers. ⬇️https://t.co/1P04kI7JcH
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) August 13, 2026

SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE DAILY PACKERS NEWSLETTER

Add us as a preferred source on Google