The Good, Bad And Ugly From The Packers’ Loss To The Steelers

Kicker Trey Smack shined.

Cornerbacks Keisean Nixon and Jaylin Simpson struggled.

And the running game and overalll deoth shiuld have everyone inside 1265 Lombardi concerned.

The Green Bay Packers dropped a 28-9 decision to host Pittsburgh Thursday in the preseason opener for both teams. The Steelers scored the final 21 points of the game, as the Packers continued their trend of struggling down the stretch.

There were certainly positives for the Packers, but even more to clean up.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly from the Packers’ loss.

THE GOOD

SMACK ATTACK: Green Bay rookie kicker Trey Smack has had a rough summer, entering the night 20-of-28 (71.4%) on all kicks. No one will ever remember that, though, if Smack keeps kicking like he did Thursday.

Smack went 3-for-3 making kicks from 58, 38 and 37 yards. Smack also made another 58-yarder that the Packers took off the board following a Pittsburgh penalty.

Smack drilled a 58-yard field goal on Green Bay’s opening possession when Pittsburgh’s Dean Lowry — a former Packer — was tagged with a 15-yard penalty for unnecessary roughness. That gave Green Bay an automatic first down, so coach Matt LaFleur took the points off the board.

When Green Bay’s offense couldn't get anything going, Smack trotted back out and drilled a 37-yard field goal to give the Packers a 3-0 lead.

Just before half, Green Bay No. 3 quarterback Kyle McCord did a terrific job getting the Packers into field goal range. Smack then drilled a 57-yard field goal on the final play of the half to pull Green Bay within 7-6.

Then on the Packers’ opening drive of the second half, they drove to Pittsburgh’s 20, stalled and Smack made a 38-yarder.

For a young kicker who’s been under the microscope, this was the kind of outing he needed.

QUITE A STOP: Pittsburgh put together a 15-play, 84-yard drive on its second series. The Packers came up big, though, and kept the Steelers off the scoreboard.

On a second-and-goal play, rookie cornerback Brandon Cisse made a terrific, touchdown saving tackle of running back Lew Nichols at Green Bay’s 3-yard line. On third down, wideout Germie Bernard nearly made a touchdown grab, but safety Murvin Kenion III drove him out of the endzone.

Then on fourth and goal from the 3, safety Mark Perry made a strong tackle and held tight end Pat Freiermuth to a 2-yard gain after a short reception.

MCCORD MAKES HIS MARK: Green Bay No. 3 quarterback Kyle McCord had a solid night, going 12-of-16 for 102 yards. McCord didn’t have a touchdown or an interception and finished with a 91.1 rating.

“He's starting to understand what's going on from our perspective and learning how to play with our rhythm and our tempo that we stress a lot,” Packers quarterback coach Luke Getsy said of McCord earlier this summer. “I'm excited because he’s shown jumps every single week that we go through this process.”

WHO PLAYED WHERE?: Green Bay’s No. 1 offensive line was (from left) Jordan Morgan, Jager Burton, Sean Rhyan, Jacob Monk and Anthony Belton. Rhyan left after one series, Monk moved to center and Donovan Jennings went to right guard.

Brandon Cisse and Keisean Nixon were the No. 1 corners. Warren Brinson, Karl Brooks and Jonathan Ford were the defensive tackles in base.

THIS AND THAT: On the Packers’ opening drive, quarterback Jordan Love hit wideout Jayden Reed for 19 yards on a third-and-five. … No. 3 quarterback Kyle McCord hit wideout Skyy Moore for 11 yards and a first down. … Collin Oliver made a head-turning tackle, pursuing from the backside and dropping running back Lew Nichols for no gain.

THE BAD

SIMPSON STRUGGLES: It was a brutal night for cornerback Jaylin Simpson, who’s battling to make the team.

First, Pittsburgh rookie wideout Kaden Wetjen had a 74-yard reception when he whipped Simpson off the line, then Simpson fell down. That gave Wetjen the necessary space to run away from Green Bay’s defense, before two Packers caught him at the 3-yard line.

Two plays later, Pittsburgh reserve quarterback Drew Allar had a 3-yard TD run that gave the Steelers a 14-9 lead.

On Pittsburgh’s next series, the Steelers drove deep into Green Bay territory where Wetjen beat Simpson for a 5-yard TD.

And on Pittsburgh’s final series, Simpson was hit with a 24-yard pass interference penalty against Max Hurleman. If Simpson can’t defend Pittsburgh’s backups, is there any way he could hold up if forced to play Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson or Jordan Addison in Week 1?

THAT WON’T HELP: Green Bay cornerback Keisean Nixon is fighting for his job, splitting time with free agent Benjamin St-Juste this week. Nixon didn't do himself any favors Thursday.

In the first quarter, Nixon and safety Kitan Oladapo both had dreadful missed tackles on a short pass from Mason Rudolph to Germie Bernard. That allowed the play to erupt for 25 yards.

Oladapo figures to be a bit player, at best, in 2026. Nixon, though, is trying to hold onto his starting job.

Nixon showed little interest or effort on his tackle “attempt” of Bernard. That kind of effort certainly won’t help Nixon keep his job.

NO ARRON: Former Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers says he’ll retire after the season. If Rodgers is true to his word, this was his last chance to face his former team — unless the Packers and Steelers meet in the Super Bowl.

It would have been nice for Packer Nation to see Rodgers play one more time. Rodgers isn’t a fan of the preseason, though, and was held out of the game.

“What’s the value of it?,” Rodgers said of preseason games. “I don’t think it’s super high because in (2015) we lost our All-Pro wide receiver (Jordy Nelson).

“There’s not a tremendous amount of value that I see in it, but I’m not sure what the right thing to do is with that. They would probably, the league would say, ‘Well, we’ll take one (game) away if you just give us an extra regular-season game.’ ”

REMEMBER HIM?: Steelers tight end Robert Tonyan had 10 touchdowns for Green Bay in 2020. The Packers probably wish they still had him.

Green Bay’s tight end room has been decimated by injuries this summer. And on Thursday, Tonyan had a big night, finishing with four catches for 61 yards.

Late in the first half, Tonyan had impressive back-to-back catches of 16 and 15 yards to the Packers’ 1-yard line. Lew Nichols, a seventh round pick by Green Bay in 2023, then scored from 1-yard out to give the Steelers a 7-3 lead.

MISSING IN ACTION: The Packers that didn't suit up were edge rushers Micah Parsons and Dani Dennis-Sutton, running backs Josh Jacobs and Chris Brooks, safety Javon Bullard, cornerbacks Carrington Valentine, Kamal Hadden and Domani Jackson, offensive linemen Aaron Banks and Zach Bako-Bewele, tight ends Tucker Kraft and Luke Musgrave, long snapper Matt Orzech, and defensive linemen Devonte Wyatt, Javon Hargrave and Jordon Riley.

THIS AND THAT: Green Bay had just one penalty in the first half, but eight in the second half. … Will Sheppard had an opportunity for a big punt return, but ran into teammate Kitan Oladapo and immediately went down. … No. 4 quarterback Kyron Drones was dumped for a 15-yard sack loss. … Green Bay was outgained, 392-160.

THE UGLY

RUN GAME NONEXISTANT: Yes, it’s just the preseason. But the Packers have struggled both blocking and running the ball all summer, and Thursday was no different.

The Packers finished with just 63 rushing yards on 24 carries, a paltry average of just 2.6 yards per rush.

Pierre Strong’s nine yard run was the Packers’ longest of the night. And Damien Martinez led Green Bay with 20 yards on eight carries (2.5).

The Packers ranked a mediocre 15^th in the league in rushing yards last season (119.8) after finishing fifth in 2024 (146.8). Green Bay has a lot of work to do to return to the level they have two years ago.

DEPTH? WHAT DEPTH?: Green Bay’s decision makers talked all offseason about how much they loved their depth. This came after the Packers suffered heavy losses after the 2025 campaign, most notably linebacker Quay Walker, wideout Romeo Doubs, guard Elgton Jenkins and quarterback Malik Willis.

Green Bay’s depth certainly looked suspect Thursday, as the Packers were outscored, 21-0, in the final 17 ½ minutes.

Granted, many of the players on the field in the second half won't make the roster. But Green Bay certainly has depth issues right now on the offensive line, at tight end, wide receiver and cornerback.

The Packers’ first regular season game is exactly one month away, and there are a handful of positions that could use reinforcements.

This article was originally published on Forbes.com