Acme Packing Company
Our countdown of the 10 best plays of the Green Bay Packers’ 2025 season continues with a pivotal play in the Packers’ eventual comeback victory in Pittsburgh. To watch the play, please click here.
The Packers entered the game in good shape with a 4-1-1 record and as healthy as they would be all year. They would be facing old friend Aaron Rodgers, leading the 4-2 Pittsburgh Steelers, along with their signature solid defense, and shiny new toy DK Metcalf.
After their early loss to the Browns, the offense had been humming, putting 40 on the Cowboys and 27 each on the Bengals and Cardinals, but those defenses were among the worst in the league. The Steelers would go on to win their division, and here they presented a difficult challenge as their most balanced opponent to date. This was also Christian Watson’s first game of the season, and ended up being the only game in 2025 that the Packers had both Watson and Tucker Kraft available for a full 60 minutes.
While the final score may look a bit lopsided, the Steelers took control early, drawing first blood with a ridiculous 56-yard field goal from Chris Boswell. The Packers would respond immediately with a long drive culminating in a brilliant 16-yard touchdown to Tucker Kraft, his first of the day, but the next few Packer drives would stall out due to a combination of ineffective Josh Jacobs runs (13 carries for just 33 yards on the day), especially on second-and-long.
After Brandon McManus missed a 57-yard field goal to start the second quarter, the Steelers would leverage that field position into a successful 50-yarder from Boswell. After a three-and-out, they would add another 48-yarder from Boswell, and after yet another three-and-out, Rodgers and the Steelers finally hit paydirt, as the old-timer connected with DK Metcalf on a two-yard touchdown to give the Steelers a two-score lead. To make matters worse, Pittsburgh was due to receive the ball to start the second half, and after Brandon McManus missed yet another field goal, this time a 44-yarder as the first half expired, the game was in danger of getting away from Green Bay
Fortunately, the Packer defense held strong, forcing a three-and-out to open the second half, but a huge punt from Corliss Waitman and a penalty on Javon Bullard pushed the first Packer drive back to the ten-yard line. On first down, Josh Jacobs was once again stuffed for no gain, and after a short throw to Luke Musgrave, the Packers were facing third-and-five at their own fifteen, trailing by nine points. It was not looking great!
Tucker Kraft is great though, and it’s a good thing because he’s the main reason this play worked at all. On first watch I thought it was a complete disaster, and just a great individual effort from Kraft, but that’s not the entire story. While Pittsburgh’s pressure was effective and Love’s throw was impacted,...
