Important Analytical Stats From PFF After Packers’ Preseason Loss to Steelers

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers in their preseason opener on Thursday night.

Not that it matters. In the regular season, the only thing that matters is the team. During the preseason, what matters is the individual.

Using the analytical stats from Pro Football Focus, here are noteworthy performances at every position group for Green Bay.

Quarterbacks

Kyle McCord was on his game mentally and physically, going 12-of-16 passing for 102 yards, highlighted by an excellent hurry-up possession at the end of the first half. One of the four incomplete passes was a clock-killing spike to set up Trey Smack’s 58-yard field goal.

“Our situation is that we either walk-through or practice every single day,” McCord explained to reporters after the game. “We spend a lot of time meeting on it. In the NFL, that’s what it’s all about: being able to go and get three points before the half.

“Every game really comes down to one score. So, being able to steal three points before the half was huge. I thought that was a really good operation from the whole offense, especially that last play.

“I think we had 12 seconds left and telling the guys in the huddle, if we get a completion, we got to get on the ball and spike it. Twelve seconds is really kind of the borderline of being able to do that. I thought that was a really good job by everybody.”

According to PFF, he was 2-of-3 for 20 yards when pressured and 4-of-4 for 35 yards when blitzed. Contrast that to Kyron Drones, who is competing with McCord for what would be a spot on the practice squad. He was pressured three times and sacked on all three.

Running Backs

Green Bay’s running backs carried 19 times for 42 yards. From that, 35 yards came after contact. MarShawn Lloyd and Damien Martinez had the only broken tackles (one each).

Offensive Line

From a pass-protection standpoint, Donovan Jennings, who played guard and center, allowed zero pressures in 30 pass-protecting snaps. That should help him in his push for a roster spot.

Critically, the new starting left tackle, Jordan Morgan, allowed zero pressures in 15 pass-protecting snaps. His matchup was against veteran edge rusher Alex Highsmith. His night included this pancake block.

Jordan Morgan frontside OZ securing the first-level before deleting his target on the second pic.twitter.com/5OKv2EFBWv
— Brandon Thorn (@BrandonThornNFL) August 14, 2026

“That is what the expectation is,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “It’s funny you bring that play up because I’m going to show that one tomorrow, and you know that’s something that we’ve definitely been stressing to not only the offensive line, but to every position. Football’s an imperfect game, but the thing that you do control is your effort and physicality, and that is exactly [what he’s looking for]. That is a play that I want to highlight tomorrow.”

The No. 2 left tackle (John Williams) and No. 3 left tackle (Dalton Cooper) were charged with one sack apiece. Williams, who played 20 pass-blocking snaps at left tackle, and rookie guard Jager Burton, who played 24 at left guard, gave up two pressures each, the most on the team.

“You’re always looking for guys that can play the tackle position, and I think he’s gone in there and done his job,” LaFleur said of Williams, a college left tackle who spent the offseason and the start of camp playing center and guard.

Receivers

There were zero drops by the receivers, tight ends or running backs. There also wasn’t much yardage after the catch. A total of 19 completions produced 36 yards after the catch.

Edge

Brenton Cox and Lukas Van Ness had the sacks. Van Ness made the most of his two pass-rushing snaps. By pressure count, Brenton Cox had two in 13 opportunities, Nyjalik Kelly had two in 21 opportunities and Collin Oliver had one in 22 chances. Barryn Sorrell went 0-for-2 and Arron Mosby went 0-for-16.

Oliver did have the big stop on a third-down run.

Asked about Sorrell, position coach DeMarcus Covington said: “Just scouting him in college, I thought he was a good early-down player that had some pass-rush value that can rush inside and outside, and really you’ve seen it in practice for the people who’ve been there in training camp and following him along the way, his progression every day.”

Defensive Tackles

A “run stop” is a tackle that leads to a failure for the offense, such as a first-and-10 play that limits the gain to 3 yards or less or any tackle on third down that prevents a first down.

Jaden Crumedy and Jonathan Ford led the team with three and Nazir Stackhouse had two. Those are three players on the roster bubble, with the Packers probably keeping one or maybe two. That shows the outstanding depth up front, because they’ve done the same thing at practice.

“Nobody can fall asleep, man,” position coach Vince Oghobaase said. “Like I said in the spring when we met about guys being hungry, I think the room’s very hungry right now. A lot of competition. Nobody can take anything for granted.”

Linebackers

The defense as a whole tackled well with only six misses on the night. The only one by a linebacker was by Zaire Franklin, who missed one on the third-and-long play on the opening series; given the down-and-distance and with teammates there, he might have been looking to punch out the ball.

“I think by nature the linebacker position is aggressive, and I think he embodies that as a person and as a player,” position coach Sam Siefkes said. “That helps when you have somebody who’s willing to do that and be violent, which is one of our cornerstones of playstyle. I think it’s a tone-setting thing for our group, and our position, we want to be that style of play.”

Cornerbacks

Among the front-line players, Brandon Cisse was targeted twice and gave up 13 yards, Keisean Nixon gave up one catch in two targets for 7 yards and Benjamin St-Juste was not targeted.

“What’s going to make him a good player is his work ethic,” position coach Daniel Bullocks said of Cisse. “That kid has a tremendous work ethic. He’s one of the last players to leave the building. He’s a sponge, he’s easy to coach, he’s a fast learner. He soaks knowledge up from every coach in the building, even players on the team, as well. And the thing with him, he’s a fast learner. He never makes the same mistake twice.

“He’s very competitive. He has a competitive edge that you’re looking for. He’s physical. He can cover. He can run. He plays our style of play.”

On the other hand, Jaylin Simpson, who has thrived at cornerback, struggled when in the slot vs. the Steelers. He gave up 3-of-4 passing for 96 yards and one touchdown. Two catches and 79 yards came in the slot.

Safeties

Evan Williams and Xavier McKinney played three snaps and Javon Bullard was out with a foot injury. That essentially left the game in the hands of Kitan Oladapo, Mark Perry and Murvin Kenion III. Oladapo had a sack and Perry and Kenion had touchdown-saving tackles.

“I think there was good moments for a lot of the guys that got extended playing time,” defensive passing game coordinator Bobby Babich said. “They’re playing a lot of defensive plays and also turning around and going down on special teams. Gave them a lot of credit for that last night.

“Liked a lot of the play style. There’s some execution things as everybody needs to improve on. But they came out and they toughed it out and to see some of the physicality that they were playing with, we haven’t had a whole lot of opportunity to see that physicality.”

Special Teams

Unofficially, Trey Smack was 4-of-4 on field goals, including a pair of 58-yarders. Only one kicker, the Colts’ Spencer Shrader, has had a longer kick (61 yards).

“There’s no question he’s got the talent, and it’s just I think in particular the kicking position, it’s the consistency at which you do it, but that’s true of all positions,” LaFleur said. “But to be in that situation, to go out there his first ever kick, to be a 58-yarder and deliver, and then come back and do it again, I thought it was fantastic, and I thought he had a great, great performance, and it’s something to build on.”

Preseason is what it is. Some things matter more than others.

What mattered the most in their preseason opener? A noticeable shift from the way last season ended.https://t.co/AcBW5TGvtw
— Jacob Westendorf (@JacobWestendorf) August 15, 2026

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