Packers Keys to the Game (vs. Steelers)

By: 
Bill Huber
Correspondent

The Green Bay Packers (2-1) host the Pittsburgh Steelers (1-2) at 3:25 p.m. Oct. 3 at Lambeau Field. CBS will televise the game.

History

Green Bay leads the series 19-16, though Pittsburgh has won the last two and five of the last six. In their last matchup, the Steelers won 31-28 at Heinz Field on Nov. 26, 2017. Brett Hundley threw three touchdown passes and Jamaal Williams had two scores for the Packers, including a 4-yard run late in the fourth quarter to tie the score, but Chris Boswell made a 53-yard field goal on the final play to win the game.

Coaches

Green Bay – Matt LaFleur, 28-7, third season. Pittsburgh — Mike Tomlin, 146-80-1, 15th season. Tomlin is 3-1 against the Packers. He is 22nd in NFL history in wins; former Steelers coach Bill Cowher is 20th with 149.

When the Packers have the ball

Green Bay’s three-point debacle in the opener against New Orleans is but a memory now that it’s scored 30-plus points in each of its last two games.

With coordinator Keith Butler directing a 3-4 scheme, the Steelers are 12th with 22 points allowed per game and 13th in total defense (354.7 yards per game). Throwing the ball is the path to success, with Pittsburgh ranking eighth with 3.58 yards allowed per carry but 22nd with 7.54 yards per pass attempt. Moreover, they’re 24th in interception percentage and 26th in sack percentage.

It’s a frustrating start given the high-profile talent on that side of the ball.

The defensive line is anchored by 11th-year pro Cameron Heyward, who is coming off his fourth consecutive Pro Bowl season. Like Green Bay’s Kenny Clark, he’s a three-down performer. Heyward had 29 sacks and 37 tackles for losses from 2017 through 2019 before falling back to four sacks and seven TFLs last season. He’s got one sack and two TFLs to start this year but leads all interior defensive linemen with 15 pressures and has batted down three passes.

He’s joined up front by Chris Wormley and Isaiah Buggs. Buggs is a tough customer against the run.

After the Packers successfully kept Nick Bosa and Arik Armstead at bay last week, they’ll face another huge challenge this week against the Steelers’ outside linebackers.

That group, of course, is led by former Wisconsin star T.J. Watt. He is one of the top defensive players in the NFL with his ability to change a game in one play. He had 13 sacks and six forced fumbles in 2018, 14.5 sacks and a league-leading eight forced fumbles in 2019 and a league-leading 15 sacks and two forced fumbles in 2020. In two games this season, he’s got three sacks and two forced fumbles. He missed Sunday’s game with a groin injury, so the injury report will be worth watching this week.

Alex Highsmith is the other starter, and Melvin Ingram packs a punch as the top backup. Ingram has one sack and is second on the team with 12 pressures. Without Watt and Highsmith last week, the Steelers’ 75-game streak with a sack was snapped.

Devin Bush and another former Wisconsin star, Joe Schobert, are the inside linebackers. Schobert was acquired in a trade during training camp and leads the team with 21 tackles. Bush, who had 109 tackles as a rookie in 2019, brings a lot of speed to the party.

Joe Haden and Cameron Sutton are the starting cornerbacks, and James Pierre enters as the third corner. A 12th-year pro, Haden is a three-time Pro Bowler with 29 career interceptions. He is coming off three consecutive seasons with at least 12 pass breakups. In year five, Sutton is a full-time starter for the first time.

Minkah Fitzpatrick and Terrell Edmunds are the safeties. Fitzpatrick, the 11th pick of the 2018 draft by Miami, is coming off an All-Pro season in which he intercepted four passes. He has 11 interceptions in three-plus seasons. Edmunds had 105 tackles in 2019.

When the Steelers have the ball

The Ben Roethlisberger-led offense is just 28th in the NFL in scoring with 16.7 points per game. In back-to-back home losses, it scored 17 against Las Vegas and 10 against Cincinnati. Roethlisberger completed 38-of-58 passes vs. the Bengals but for only 318 yards with two interceptions.

Pittsburgh, which hasn’t scored a single point in the first quarter this season, is 25th in total offense, ranking last in rushing per game (53) and per play (3.18) and 24th in passing per attempt (5.89).

The 39-year-old Roethlisberger ranks seventh in NFL history in passing yards and eighth with 399 passing touchdowns. He’s not the same player who was picked for Pro Bowls from 2014 through 2017, though. With a career average of 7.5 yards per attempt, he’s averaged just 6.2 the past three seasons.

It’s not as if there’s a lack of weapons. Chase Claypool, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Diontae Johnson are the primary receivers and Eric Ebron is the tight end. Last year, those four players combined for 303 receptions, 3,158 yards and 31 touchdowns. They have one touchdown (by Johnson) in three games this season.

Ebron has just one catch. Johnson has missed the last two games with a knee injury and Smith-Schuster dropped out of the Cincinnati game with a rib injury. The limited production notwithstanding, the veteran Roethlisberger has the supporting cast to make the Packers pay for any mental errors in the secondary.

Green Bay’s improved run defense will be tested by Najee Harris. This year’s first-round pick is sputtering along with just 3.1 yards per carry. He’s been dangerous as a receiver, though, with a 25-yard touchdown vs. Las Vegas and 14 receptions for 102 yards vs. Cincinnati.

The offensive line is the weak link. It consists of rookie left tackle Dan Moore, left guard Kevin Dotson, rookie center Kendrick Green, right guard Trai Turner and right tackle Chukwuma Okorafor. Green (two) and Dotson (one) were guilty of holding calls against the Bengals. Of Harris’ meager rushing average, 2.8 yards have come after contact, according to Pro Football Focus. In other words, the blockers have given him 0.3 yards before contact.

Special teams

Ray-Ray McCloud handles both phases of returns for the Steelers, with a 22.8-yard average on kickoffs and a 10-yard average on punts. While he’s never scored, he’s been one of the top punt returners in the NFL. He’ll test a punt unit that has been given a shot in the arm by new punter Corey Bojorquez. Acquired after final cuts, he’s fifth in the league with a 43.4-yard net average.

Like Green Bay, Pittsburgh has been victimized by one long kickoff return – a 75-yarder. On the other hand, Miles Killebrew’s blocked punt and Ulysses Gilbert’s recovery for a touchdown was the big play in the week one upset of Buffalo.

This game will feature two of the most accurate kickers in the NFL. Green Bay’s Mason Crosby has made 22 consecutive field goals, the second-longest streak in franchise history. Pittsburgh’s Chris Boswell, who is 5-of-6 on field goals this season, made 48-of-51 attempts (94.1%) the previous two seasons.

Rookie seventh-round punter Pressley Harvin has a 40.8-yard net average with six inside-the-20 punts vs. zero touchbacks.