Steelers lose to the Packers 13-9
The Steelers’ Saturday night game with the Green Bay Packers was the home game debut for head coach Mike Tomlin’s game at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. The Steelers lost the game 13-9 to a 1-1 record in the pre-season. While the game didn’t go as sweet as it did against the Saints last week, Tomlin saw numerous negatives mainly from the backups. A fumble and a blocked field goal were a few things that went wrong for the team.
Last week, we saw that the Steelers’ starting unit was able to score on their opening drive by throwing the ball against the Saints’ secondary. Ben Roethlisberger looked as if he was back into his 2005 form. But, on third down, Roethlisberger was stripped from his blind side by Cullen Jenkins, who recovered the ball for the Packers. This was exactly one of the reasons why the Steelers failed to make the playoffs last season, many turnovers.
Like a true quarterback, Roethlisberger tried to bounce back on the following possession but couldn’t. His night ended 2 for 2 for 14 yards and 1 turnover on two series. Second string quarterback Charlie Batch went 3 for 5 for 97 yards with 1 touchdown, and third string quarterback Brian St. Pierre finished 10 for 23 for 99 yards.
The defense held their own just like they did last week. The starting unit made one play after another, showing a lot of athleticism on the field. Safety Troy Polamalu was everywhere on the field for the starting unit, both in Brett Favre’s face and in coverage of a receiver. In back to back weeks, the Steelers’ defense has held the opposing teams’ starting unit scoreless. Just as they did to Drew Brees, they made Favre look uncomfortable. The Future Hall of Famer went 2 for 7 for 7 yards against the Steelers’ rough neck defense.
So far in the pre-season, the Steelers’ starting unit has been looking good. Although that fumble worries me because it happened on the first possession. Imagine if they would have played throughout the whole game. We wouldn’t know how many turnovers they would have had.
I’m sure they’ll go back to practice and correct the situation at the offensive line, particularly Roethlisberger’s blind side. The starters have only turned the ball over once in the two pre-season games played, which is showing good signs from last season.The backs-ups didn’t play as well as they did last week. After a 6-0 in the first quarter, and leading 9-3 at the half, the offense failed to score and the defense gave up 10 points in the third.
I don’t know if the Steelers knew that the backup quarterback Aaron Rogers could run or not. If they didn’t, they were definitely surprised. The back-ups pass rushing was nonexistent in the game for the Steelers’ third units. Rogers got where he wanted anytime he wanted. They gave up 168 yards total passing and a touchdown and a 20-yard run to this guy.
Written by Pat Lovell - The Steeler FanaticPat has been following the Pittsburgh Steelers for over 30 years and is known worldwide as "The Steeler Fanatic". If you are interested in contributing to this website or would like Pat to contribute to your Blog, Website or Publication, Click Here.
