A weekly series I do that captures the forgotten and hidden plays that helped the Pittsburgh Steelers win or lose. Not the touchdowns, turnovers, or plays that will make the Monday morning highlights – the little ones that, looking back, played a key role in the outcome. I’ll start with a hidden moment that helped the Green Bay Packers beat the Steelers in Week 8.
Sack Starts The Spiral
The tide turned in the second half. A Pittsburgh Steelers 16-7 halftime lead was slowly, and then quickly, eroded by the Green Bay Packers over the final 30 minutes. Green Bay brought it all the way back late in the third quarter, taking a 22-19 lead after a short Josh Jacobs touchdown run and the ensuing two-point conversion.
Still, the game wasn’t over. Down only a field goal with a kicker booming from 50-plus all game, the Steelers had a chance to get back into it. Instead, their response failed. A bad kick return put Pittsburgh at its own 23 yard-line. Looking for a spark, OC Arthur Smith dialed up play-action on 1st and 10 out of run-heavy 13 personnel.
Aaron Rodgers turned his back to execute the fake. When he flipped back around, there wasn’t anything there except the Packers’ rush. The pocket slowly collapsed around Rodgers, who ducked and took the sack, a 10-yard loss via star Micah Parsons.
A 1st and 10 in bad field position turned into 2nd and 20. The drive was virtually over there. Pressured again on second down, Rodgers threw incomplete before a short checkdown to TE Jonnu Smith on third and forever.
Punting on 4th and 13, Green Bay ran it back 11 yards. Nick Herbig’s personal foul tacked on another 15 yards, setting the Packers up on the Steelers’ 45-yard line. A 25-yard net, an abysmal figure. It was one of two personal fouls Pittsburgh took in the second half, DK Metcalf’s proving similarly costly and a viable candidate for the “forgotten play” list.
Four plays later, TE Tucker Kraft scored his second touchdown to cap a career night. The Packers went up by two scores and the game felt over, even if there was 11 minutes left to play.
To recap the sequence:
– Sack
– Third-and-forever incompletion
– Punt for 25-yard net (return + penalty)
– Packers four-play drive, touchdown
Moments that capture Pittsburgh completely unraveling.
The defense was the bigger problem. But those mistakes are magnified and aren’t forgotten. While Pittsburgh’s offense posted a respectable 25 points, the plan wasn’t great. Too much quick game. Too much play-action, something we noted in our scouting report that Green Bay defends well. This call set up a negative drive that only got worse from here and helped the Packers seal the deal.
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