Behind the Steel Curtain
It’s a battle of historic franchises on Sunday Night Football Week 8 as the Pittsburgh Steelers host the Green Bay Packers.
Now on the Steelers, Aaron Rodgers will be going up against his former team and Green Bay successor in the Packers and quarterback Jordan Love.
After trading for edge rusher Micah Parsons before the season, Green Bay was catapulted into the Super Bowl contenders tier by the media. Currently sitting at 4-1-1 and atop the NFC playoff picture, it would seem that bet paid off for the Packers. However, those who follow Green Bay would tell you the team still has a way to go before it lives up to its potential.
What should the Steelers expect in primetime this week?
Rushing YPG: 117.5 (15th)
Passing YPG: 225.8 (12th)
PPG: 26.3 (7th)
RB: The Packers offense is a group that has the potential to be one of the best in the NFL – and it sometimes looks the part – but it hasn’t always lived up to expectations.
The central figure, of course, is quarterback Jordan Love. Drafted in the first round in 2021, he sat behind Aaron Rodgers for two years before becoming the starter in 2023. He’s proven himself as a low-to-fringe top-10 quarterback since, with 4,159 passing yards in his first year as a starter and 3,389 in his second.
He’s a strong-armed, sometimes over-aggressive passer who has still been efficient this year (69.3% completion). He’s in that tier of player who has a couple of reps each week that make the online film junkies rush to their screen recording app.
While he doesn’t run much, he’s plenty mobile in the pocket and can use his legs to get yards when needed.
Love is notably a big-play hunter as a passer. However, the foundation of the Packers’ offense is anything but. Green Bay’s offense uses a quick passing game and interior run game to set up Love’s deep, play-action shots.
Per NFL Pro, Love has the ninth-highest deep throw percentage in the league (11.9%) but only the 17th-highest average air yards per target (7.8 yards).
That’s to say, while Pittsburgh’s cover 3-heavy scheme and opportunistic style of play could result in some turnovers against Green Bay’s downfield shots, the Joe Flacco-style short passing game that burned Pittsburgh last week will absolutely be part of the Packers’ game plan in Week 8.
Helping out Love is a deep supporting cast at pass catcher. The Packers have lacked a true WR1-type player for a bit, but they have a plethora of solid WR2/3 types. Even with Jayden Reed on injured reserve and Dontayvion Wicks expected to miss Week 8, Green Bay still has Romeo Doubs and first-round pick Matthew Golden, who’s slowly started to live up to his draft hype as he’s gotten more opportunities.
Even bigger for the Packers is that Christian Watson is expected back against Pittsburgh. Watson hasn’t played since an ACL injury in 2024. When he’s...
