One thing about the Pittsburgh Steelers this season, they keep things interesting for the entire sixty minutes of each game. That was true again on Sunday afternoon against the Green Bay Packers from Acrisure Stadium. Pittsburgh held the lead for much of the first half, and then went back and forth with Green Bay in the second half, before holding on to a four-point win.
For the second week in a row the Steelers would score on the opening drive. This time it would be Najee Harris rushing into the endzone from four yards out. The Packers answered on the next drive with a TD of their own. Jordan Love threw an 8-yard pass to Romeo Doubs to tie the game. The next two scores would be by Pittsburgh as they would increase their lead to ten.
Both scores would come in the second quarter. Jaylen Warren got the first when he rushed for a 16-yard touchdown. Chris Boswell, who continues to make a strong case for team MVP, booted a 42-yard field goal at the 8:12 mark of the quarter. Green Bay got back within four before the half on a Love to Jayden Reed connection from 35 yards out. Patrick Peterson would block the extra point attempt.
The third quarter would see a trio of field goals kicked for all the scoring. Anders Carlson connected from 31 and 28 yards to give the Packers a two-point lead. Boswell then booted a 49-yard field with a little over a minute left in the quarter to give his team a one-point lead. He would then hit a 35-yard field goal in the fourth to close out the scoring on the day.
The Pittsburgh offense did just enough to not lose today. Kenny Pickett would only manage 126 yards passing, with George Pickens leading the wide receivers with three receptions for 45 yards. While the passing game struggled, the rushing offense was solid. Warren had 101 yards on 15 carries, while Harris finished the day carrying the ball 16 times for 82 yards.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Steelers were in bend, but do not break mode. T.J. Watt had the lone sack of the day to go with eight tackles. There were no turnovers for either team until the fourth quarter, with Pittsburgh grabbing two key ones. Keanu Neal picked off Love in the endzone after Peterson deflected the ball, to keep Green Bay off the board. Damontae Kazee then sealed the win with a goal line interception on the last play of the game.
With the win today the Steelers now sit a half game out of first place after the Cleveland Browns defeated the Baltimore Ravens. Pittsburgh did lose linebacker Kwon Alexander for the remainder of the season after he suffered a torn Achilles. The Steelers will now hit the road for a key AFC North match up against the Browns on Sunday November 19 at 1:00pm. Pittsburgh won their first matchup 26-22 and I imagine this will be another close, hard-fought game.
Overall Record: 6-3
