PITTSBURGH – The Packers dropped their preseason opener Thursday night, 28-9, to the Steelers at Acrisure Stadium.
Here are five takeaways from the contest.
1. Rookie kicker Trey Smack was the Packers' star of the night.
Smack went 4-for-4 on field goals, though only three officially counted. His 58-yarder to end the opening drive of the game was wiped out by a personal foul on the Steelers, giving the Packers a fresh set of downs.
"Cam was telling me no, I was telling him yes," Head Coach Matt LaFleur said of the conversation with special teams coordinator Cam Achord about trying from 58. Smack hit it with plenty of distance to spare.
The drive stalled again, and he was good from 37 yards, following later with another 58-yard kick at the end of the first half, and a 38-yarder in the third quarter.
"To hit really two (from 58) in one game is pretty incredible," LaFleur said. "He was definitely a bright spot for us.
"He went out there and delivered. Really strong first performance. Now he's got to stack on it."
2. The starters got some good work in.
That opening drive was all for the No. 1 offense. QB Jordan Love converted one third down with a pass to WR Jayden Reed, but a later shot to Reed near the goal line was broken up.
"We wanted to end the drive with a touchdown, weren't able to do that," Love said. "But some good stuff to learn from, grow from."
About playing in the first preseason game, Love added: "It's always good to just be in the game, be in that game environment. I believe as a quarterback there's so much stuff you gain just from being out there, going against a new team, some new looks."
The first-team defense got a sack from LB Zaire Franklin for an immediate three-and-out, and the second unit got sacks from DE Brenton Cox Jr. and S Kitan Oladapo.
That group also made a goal-line stand that featured a TD-saving open-field tackle by rookie CB Brandon Cisse, a near-sack by DT Warren Brinson that led to S Murvin Kenion III preventing a TD catch in the back of the end zone with a timely hit, and a tackle by S Mark Perry at the goal line on a short fourth-and-goal reception.
3. No. 3 QB Kyle McCord impressed.
Playing in the second and third quarters, McCord was 12-of-16 for 102 yards, and his most impressive sequence lasted just 37 seconds.
With that much time and only one timeout at the end of the half, McCord succeeded in getting the offense into field-goal range with four straight completions and a hustling spike with one tick left on the clock for the kicker.
"Great poise," LaFleur said of McCord's showing. "To operate in that two-minute drive the way he did, I don't believe he's had that live (in practice) yet. He rifled the inside slant, the urgency to get up and spike the ball … That was incredible execution, not only by him, by all 11 out there."
That became Smack's second 58-yard kick, going the other direction toward the open end of the stadium, and he nailed that one, too.
McCord, drafted in the sixth round by Philadelphia last year, also made some standout plays by dodging pressure in his face with a sidearm completion, and by hanging in the pocket and taking a big hit on a throw over the middle. It was caught to move the chains, and 15 yards were tacked on for roughing the passer, leading to another field goal.
"That was another highlight right there," Love said of McCord's play, lauding his efficiency at the end of the half. "He did some really good things and it's all about building up from here."
4. The other reserve units struggled, especially defensively.
The defensive breakdowns with the backup groups started late in the first half, and the Steelers ultimately rolled to four long TD drives by game's end with a number of 20-plus-yard plays. The backbreaker was a 74-yard catch and run by WR Kaden Wetjen when CB Jaylin Simpson fell down in coverage.
Steelers QBs Mason Rudolph, Will Howard and Drew Allar combined for just six incompletions all night (27-of-33) and threw for 333 yards. Allar threw two short TD passes and ran for another.
"We've got to go back and look at it," LaFleur said of the film. "In fairness to our guys, there's not a ton of game planning. You're playing pretty base calls when you go out there. We'll see where the breakdowns were and see what concepts were run against us."
The end of the game got ugly for the offense, too, as undrafted rookie QB Kyron Drones played two series late but was sacked three times in a span of six plays.
5. The Packers got out relatively healthy.
The only visible injuries in the game were to offensive lineman Darian Kinnard and defensive lineman Anthony Campbell. Both exited the game but no injury updates were provided.
