Steelers Packers
Steelers Packers
Football is finally back. The Pittsburgh Steelers kicked off their 2026 preseason slate against the Green Bay Packers on Thursday night. The Steelers started slow but found their stride in the second half of a 28-9 win.
The Packers won the coin toss and elected to receive. Chris Boswell kicked into the end zone for a touchback, and the Packers started at the 35. Pittsburgh forced Green Bay into a quick 3rd and 5, but Jordan Love hit Jayden Reed for a 19-yard gain. The Steelers then forced another stop, but Dean Lowry was flagged on the field goal attempt, extending the drive. The possession would stall again, but Trey Smack converted from 37 yards out as the Packers took a 3-0 lead.
Mason Rudolph led the offense onto the field for a quiet first drive. He was sacked on the second play and completed to Germie Bernard for seven yards on 3rd and 14. Pittsburgh punted, and Ben Skowronek was called for a 15-yard penalty to give Green Bay the ball at the 43. The Steelers’ defense did step up, though, forcing a quick three and out.
Rudolph came back in for another drive and was quickly sacked again. But he found Bernard and Skowronek on back-to-back plays to move the chains. A 25-yard catch and run from Bernard helped flip the field, and the Steelers methodically moved into the red zone. Lew Nichols ran it in from six yards out, but Troy Fautanu was flagged for holding and the first quarter came to a close.
A few plays later, Nichols turned a potential loss into six yards to get the Steelers to the three-yard line. On 3rd-and-goal, Rudolph escaped pressure and found Bernard in the end zone, but he was out of bounds. Pittsburgh went for it on 4th-and-goal, and Rudolph found Freiermuth, who was tackled at the one-yard line to turn the ball over.
The Packers gave themselves some breathing room, then Cole Holcomb hit Tyrod Taylor late on a third-down scramble to give Green Bay the ball at the 41. On the next play, Robert Spears-Jennings blew things up for a loss, but Doneiko Slaughter was flagged for unnecessary roughness to give the Packers another first down. However, the defense responded with a stop on the next set of downs. Green Bay punted into the end zone for a touchback.
Will Howard entered the game for his first snaps as a Steeler. He found Brandon Smith to quickly move the chains, but the line broke down and the Steelers’ drive stalled and resulted in a punt. Kyle McCord entered the game for Green Bay and quickly got them past midfield. The defense held strong, though, forcing a stop. Green Bay punted into the end zone once again for a touchback.
The Steelers were stopped on three downs. They went for it on 4th-and-1, and Howard found Skowronek for 17 yards. He then found Robert Tonyan for gains of 16, 15 and 22 yards to put the ball just outside the end zone. Nichols punched it in, the extra point was good, and Pittsburgh went up 7-3.
TD NICHOLS!!!!!!!!! #Steelers pic.twitter.com/BrOO7U27pi
— Steelers Depot 7⃣ (@Steelersdepot) August 14, 2026
Green Bay completed a couple of passes to get into field-goal range. Smack made another 58-yard kick as the first half expired to cut the lead to 7-6.
The Steelers got the ball to start the second half, but the Packers quickly forced them into a punt. Starting from their own seven-yard line, McCord completed a couple of nice throws to get the Packers past midfield. He then found J. Michael Sturdivant to move the chains on third down. Pittsburgh eventually forced a stop, and Smack converted on a 38-yard attempt to give the Packers a 9-7 lead.
Drew Allar entered the game, and it didn’t take long for a big play to happen. Allar hit Kaden Wetjen over the middle, who took off for a 75-yard gain after the catch.
ALLAR TO WETJEN 75 YARDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! #Steelers pic.twitter.com/1dnaosr26p
— Steelers Depot 7⃣ (@Steelersdepot) August 14, 2026
Two plays later, Allar ran it in from three yards out for a score. Pittsburgh took a 14-9 lead with the extra point.
ALLAR TD !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! #Steelers pic.twitter.com/aW9TOInPLp
— Steelers Depot 7⃣ (@Steelersdepot) August 14, 2026
The defense responded for the Steelers to force a quick three-and-out from the Packers. Allar got the ball again and quickly found Max Hurleman for a 17-yard gain. A few plays later, he found Hurleman again for 21 yards. Allar continued to march the Steelers down the field and found Kaden Wetjen for a five-yard touchdown. The extra point was good, and Pittsburgh jumped out to a 21-6 lead midway through the fourth.
The defense kept the pressure up, forcing a quick three-and-out, and the Steelers got the ball back around midfield. The Steelers started to pound the rock, with Heidenreich getting a handful of carries late in the fourth quarter. The Steelers kept the offense on the field for 4th-and-4, and Allar took a shot for Hurleman. It landed incomplete but drew a pass interference penalty.
Allar threw incomplete in the end zone on third down, but a holding penalty kept the drive alive. On the next play, Allar hit Riley Nowakowski for a four-yard score. The extra point was good, and the Steelers went up 28-9. The Packers got the ball back with 1:46 left in the game. Pittsburgh got two sacks and forced an incompletion and forced one final punt. Pittsburgh ran the clock ran out, and the Steelers won by a score of 28-9.
After starting 1-0, the preseason rolls along next week. The Steelers will remain at home and play the New York Jets next Friday. After that, there won’t be another game at Acrisure Stadium until the home opener on September 13th.