PITTSBURGH – The Packers dropped their preseason opener to the Steelers, 28-9, Thursday night at Acrisure Stadium, but their rookie kicker got off to a whale of a start.
K Trey Smack, drafted with the final pick of the sixth round, was officially 3-for-3 on FGs from 37, 58 and 38 yards. His first kick of the night was also good from 58, but a personal foul on Pittsburgh on the play gave Green Bay a fresh set of downs, so the field goal didn't count.
The other bright spot for the Packers was the play of No. 3 QB Kyle McCord, who directed a quick drive at the end of the first half in 37 seconds for Smack's 58-yarder that counted. It made the halftime score 7-6. McCord finished 12-of-16 for 102 yards and a 91.1 passer rating.
Green Bay's starting offense managed one drive for a field goal, with QB Jordan Love going 3-for-5 for 18 yards. No. 2 QB Tyrod Taylor was 4-for-8 for 21 yards but put up no points. Fourth QB Kyron Drones played two series late and didn't have much chance, getting sacked three times.
The early defensive units got sacks from LB Zaire Franklin, DE Brenton Cox Jr. and S Kitan Oladapo, and the No. 2 defense got a fourth-down goal-line stop for a turnover on downs.
But beginning late in the second quarter, the reserve groups faltered as the Steelers put together TD drives of 80, 80, 89 and 60 yards. QBs Mason Rudolph, Will Howard and Drew Allar were a combined 27-of-33 for 333 yards and two TDs, both by Allar, who also ran for a score. All three posted passer ratings in triple digits.
Former Packers TE Robert Tonyan caught four passes for 61 yards for Pittsburgh, and WR Kaden Wetjen had a 74-yard catch and run to set up a TD when CB Jaylin Simpson fell down in coverage and Wetjen outran several tacklers. Wetjen also caught a TD pass on another drive.
WR Isaiah Neyor led Green Bay's receivers with four catches for 34 yards. Two players for the Packers left the game with injuries – OL Darian Kinnard and DT Anthony Campbell.
Here's a recap of all the action:
Packers lead Steelers 3-0 after first quarter
Green Bay won the opening coin toss and elected to receive. After a touchback placed the ball at the Packers' 35, running back MarShawn Lloyd saw his first in-game action in a calendar year with a 5-yard run to kick the offense off.
On third-and-4, Jordan Love hit Jayden Reed over the middle for a 19-yard gain to the Pittsburgh 41. On fourth-and-9, rookie kicker Trey Smack made a 58-yard field goal but the drive continued after a roughing the snapper penalty on former Packers defensive lineman Dean Lowry.
Lloyd picked up six yards on two carries, but Love and Reed couldn't connect on third-and-4 at the Steelers' 19. Smack made a 37-yard field goal to put Green Bay up 3-0 with 10 minutes, 9 seconds left in the first quarter.
Green Bay's defense earned an early three-and-out, with Zaire Franklin sacking Mason Rudolph for an 8-yard loss on second-and-6 after coming on an A-gap blitz. Xavier McKinney tackled Germie Bernard after a 7-yard pickup to force the punt.
The Packers pulled Love and several starters after the first drive, with Tyrod Taylor replacing him at quarterback. Green Bay went three-and-out after Bo Melton was tackled at midfield after a 7-yard pickup on third-and-10.
Pittsburgh started at its 15 after a 35-yard Daniel Whelan punt. Brenton Cox Jr. blew past Dylan Cook for a 9-yard sack of Rudolph on first down, but the Steelers worked out of it with a 19-yard completion to Ben Skowronek on third-and-5.
Bernard broke two tackles to extend a 25-yard completion past midway. Pittsburgh converted two more third downs and nearly scored on a Lew Nichols 6-yard touchdown run, but it was called back due to a holding penalty.
The first quarter ended on a slant to Bernard for six yards.
Steelers lead Packers 7-6 at halftime
Brandon Cisse made a touchdown-saving tackle on Nichols in the open field to open the second quarter. Safety Murvin Kenion III then pushed Bernard out of the end zone on third-and-goal from the Green Bay 3.
The Steelers turned the ball over on downs after Mark Perry tackles Pat Freiermuth one yard short of the end zone.
Pierre Strong Jr. picked up 13 yards on back-to-back carries to move Green Bay off its goal line. Taylor scrambled for the first down on third-and-2 and gained another 15 yards after a late hit from Cole Holcomb.
The Steelers were flagged for another personal foul, but the Packers eventually punted after Taylor and Skyy Moore failed to connect over the middle on third-and-9.
Will Howard took over at quarterback and was promptly sacked by Packers safety Kitan Oladapo on a third-and-11 cornerback blitz to force Pittsburgh to punt the ball back to Green Bay.
Kyle McCord entered the game at quarterback for Taylor, who went 4-of-8 for 21 yards in two series.
McCord found Moore over the middle for 10 yards on second-and-11 and then converted the first down with a sneak. Moore gained six yards off a reverse and McCord scrambled for five yards to the Pittsburgh 37 on third down.
Two Jaden Nixon runs went for a loss of one yard and McCord was then sacked, forcing the Green Bay punt.
The Packers topped Nichols for no gain on third-and-1, but Pittsburgh went for it on fourth-and-inches from its own 30.
Howard hit Skowronek for 17 yards to convert and then found former Packers tight end Robert Tonyan three straight times for 53 yards to the Green Bay 1.
Nichols scored the 1-yard touchdown with 46 seconds left in the first half to propel Pittsburgh into the lead.
Savion Williams caught an 11-yard slant from McCord, who then threw an 11-yard pass to Isaiah Neyor to the Green Bay 47. The Packers used their third timeout after a 6-yard pass to Neyor with 12 seconds left in the half.
A quick pass to Will Sheppard and quick spike with 1 second left set up a 58-yard field goal to make it 7-6 at halftime.
Steelers lead Packers 14-9 after three
Ty'Ron Hopper opened the second half with a 1-yard loss for a loss of Nichols, but Pittsburgh converted with a 9-yard pass to Tonyan on third-and-4.
Jonathan Ford got another tackle for a loss of Nichols on the next first down. After scrambling for two yards, Howard was forced to throw the ball away due to a Collin Oliver pressure.
McCord stayed in the game to start the second half, completing a 4-yard pass to Drake Dabney in the flat. Damien Martinez picked up the first down with two runs for seven yards.
With pressure in his face, McCord completed a 9-yard pass to Messiah Swinson off play-action. He stood tall on a quick pass to Neyor and drew an unnecessary roughness penalty on Anthony Goodlow to move the ball to the Pittsburgh 43.
Darian Kinnard was slow to get up after a Nixon 3-yard run. Josh Gesky replaced him at right guard. Kinnard walked to the locker room after going under the blue medical tent.
McCord converted another third down when Neyor caught a 14-yard pass down the middle to the Steelers' 25 on third-and-6. Green Bay retook a 9-7 lead over the Steelers after a 38-yard Smack field goal with 4:28 left in the third quarter.
Pittsburgh answered right back, though, when rookie Drew Allar threw a slant to Kaden Wetjen on third-and-7 that ruptured for a 74-yard gain to the Green Bay 3. Defensive tackle Anthony Campbell was injured on the play.
Allar scored a 3-yard touchdown two plays later off a read-option to put the Steelers up 14-9 with 2:25 left in the third quarter.
McCord stayed in the game and completed a 4-yard out to Swinson before J. Michael Sturdivant extended for an 8-yard catch to convert the first down. The third quarter ended with McCord getting sacked for an 11-yard loss on second-and-7.
Packers fall to Steelers 28-9 in preseason opener
Allar led the Steelers on another scoring drive after starting on their own 12-yard line. The Packers nearly got a stop at their own 9-yard line, but Shemar Bartholomew was flagged for defense holding following an incompletion on third-and-5.
Allar and Wetjen connected for a 5-yard TD on the next play, extending Pittsburgh's lead to 21-9 with 8:51 remaining.
Kyron Drones entered the game, as McCord finished 12-for-16 for 102 yards. Drones was sacked for a 15-yard loss on second down and the Packers punted with 6:39 left after going three-and-out.
The Steelers pushed the ball to the Green Bay 38 before reaching a fourth-and-4. Choosing to go for it, Max Hurleman drew a defensive pass interference penalty against Jaylin Simpson to continue the drive.
Pittsburgh scored off a play-action pass to Riley Nowakowski to make it 28-9 with 1:46 remaining. Drones was sacked twice more, leading to another three-and-out.
