Packers Crushed by Steelers, But Here Are the Three Things That Mattered

Nothing in the world is more irrelevant than the final score of a preseason football game. That, obviously, doesn’t mean preseason games aren’t important.

Here are the three most important things from the Green Bay Packers’ 28-9 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday night in Pittsburgh.

1. For Starters

The No. 1 offense – minus tight end Tucker Kraft, running back Josh Jacobs and starting offensive linemen Zach Bako-Bewele and Aaron Banks – got the ball first and went down and scored a field goal against a Steelers defense that rested its veterans.

“I think we did a couple good things, had a third-down conversion,” quarterback Jordan Love said. “Obviously, want to end the drive with a touchdown. We weren’t able to do that, but some good stuff to learn from, grow from. Obviously, we were able to go against a new defense, some new looks, so will be good stuff to learn from for all of us.”

With that, Love’s night was over. He was 3-of-5 for 18 yards, highlighted by a 19-yard pass to Jayden Reed. He was not touched by a Steelers defender.

“Yeah, that is tough,” Love said of playing only one series. “You understand what it is. It’s preseason. Obviously, I want all these guys to be able to go out there, get their reps, so that part makes it easy but, yeah, you want to be out there, especially when you get this game feel. But I also want to get all these guys reps. It’s their time to shine.”

2. Lukas Van Ness Had a Sack

Next, the No. 1 defense stepped on the field and forced a three-and-out punt.

The big play was Lukas Van Ness beating starting left tackle Troy Fautanu for a sack. Van Ness got an edge on Fautanu, and blitzing linebackers Edgerrin Cooper and Zaire Franklin didn’t give Mason Rudolph an alley to escape.

Van Ness, obviously, is going to have a big role in the success or failure of Green Bay’s defense during Micah Parsons’ absence. That he made a big play is, obviously, encouraging.

“I think we’re looking at a real vanilla style of our defense right now, but we made it a point of emphasis to put our effort on tape and our physicality on tape and we came out fast,” Van Ness said.

“We all knew that’s kind of the reality of the preseason. If we get a three-and-out, we could possibly be hanging the pads up for the rest of the day. We all came out hot. We got that three-and-out early, which was nice. I’m just proud of the guys. It gets long after those three, four weeks of training camp and you’re ready to hit somebody else. You never know what it’s going to look like but I felt like it looked like what we expected and what we’re capable of. You just got to build off that. .”

3. Trey Smack’s Smackdown

After a troubling set of offseason practices and start to training camp, rookie kicker Trey Smack made 6-of-7 field-goal attempts on Family Night. After going 4-of-5 at Tuesday’s practice, Smack was 20-of-28 during training camp.

Green Bay Packers place kicker Trey Smack (28) kicks a field goal against the Pittsburgh Steelers. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

That’s 71.4 percent. In no world is that good enough to be kicking in NFL games for a team that fancies itself a Super Bowl contender.

So, there could not possibly have been a bigger development than Smack making all four field-goal attempts.

“I hit the ball well,” Smack said in his typically matter-of-fact style.

Officially, he was 3-for-3 against the Steelers. On the opening drive, he made a 58-yard field goal, which the Packers turned down after a penalty by former Packers defensive lineman Dean Lowry gave them a first down. The drive stalled and Smack made a 37-yarder.

“Cam was telling me no; I told him yes,” coach Matt LaFleur said of conversation with special teams coordinator Cam Achord before the 58-yarder. “But to put him in that situation, and to hit really two in one game, is pretty incredible. I thought he was definitely a bright spot for us.”

About that second one: Before halftime, following a shockingly good 2-minute drive by Kyle McCord, Smack buried a 58-yard field goal that he started celebrating with the ball on its way to the goalposts.

“It was awesome,” Love said. “I think that was definitely the highlight of the night, him hitting, what, two 58-yard field goals. So, that was awesome, making all his kicks. Happy for him. That was definitely the highlight of the night right there.”

Finally, he made a 38-yarder to put the Packers on top 9-7 late in the third quarter. That’s an easy kick. It’s also a kick that hadn’t been automatic on the practice field; he hit the upright from 41 at practice on Tuesday, for instance.

Given the early struggles, it would be natural for Smack to be feeling a sense of relief now that he’s found a groove.

“I don’t really try to feel relief in this kind of business because we always have next week,” he said. “We got to play next week. My mind’s already switched to the Broncos.”

Finally, Smack admitted the game was good for his confidence.

“Yeah, I think so,” he said. “I think it’ll build some confidence. Every day’s a new day. You got to figure out what kind of ball you’re going to hit that day.”

Three More Quick Takeaways

- Yeah, it’s only the preseason, but Steelers quarterbacks completed 27-of-33 passes against the Packers. Other than the sack by Van Ness, the pass rush didn’t do much. Cornerback Jaylin Simpson, who was coming off a fantastic week of practice to put himself in position to earn a roster spot, had a rough time in coverage.

Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Kaden Wetjen (10) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against Jaylin Simpson and the Packers. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

“In fairness to our guys, there’s not a ton of game-planning,” LaFleur said. “You’re playing pretty base calls when you go out there. So, got to take a look at it and see where the breakdowns were, see what concepts they’re running against us. The one that was the most disappointing was the 75-yarder, when we’re man coverage and the guy covering [Simpson], I think it was Wetjen, falls down on the ground. And then he just outran us.”

- If the Packers keep five safeties, it will be between Mark Perry and Murvin Kenion III. They didn’t always play great but they played physically. Perry prevented a touchdown with a physical tackle on a fourth-and-goal completion to veteran tight end Pat Freiermuth and Kenion dislodged the ball on the downfield pass to Robert Tonyan that was almost a touchdown.

- Green Bay’s depth at defensive tackle showed up with the Steelers averaging 2.6 yards per carry. Pittsburgh’s 28 runs included only one of longer than 7 yards; an 11-yarder by Lew Nichols.

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