Green Bay Packers v. Steelers: 12 Quick Observations from Win
By Paul Bretl
Although the final score may make it seem closer than what it actually was, the Green Bay Packers were in cruise control against the Pittsburgh Steelers and move to 3-1 after a 27-17 victory.
Following each game and after I’ve had the opportunity to rewatch the Green Bay Packers performance, I have my quick observations–and today, there are 12 of them.
Distributing the ball on offense
Aaron Jones and Davante Adams are always going to get their fair share of touches in this offense — as they should — but today, we saw much better distribution overall.
Jones and AJ Dillon would each finish with 15 carries. In the passing game, Adams still had 11 targets, but Randall Cobb had six, Robert Tonyan had seven, Jones had four, Allen Lazard had three along with AJ Dillon, Marcedes Lewis, and Equanimeous St. Brown totaling four.
For reference, against San Francisco, Jones had 19 carries to Dillon’s six, while Adams had 18 targets and everyone else combined for 12.
The offensive line performs well again
Despite the movement that’s taken place and the youth along the Green Bay Packers offensive line, we shouldn’t be surprised at this point that this unit continues to play well.
This is a Steelers front that allowed just 88.3 rushing yards per game, yet the Green Bay Packers were able to post 129 rushing yards at a respectable 4.0 clip and had two of their longest rushes of the season. They were also able to stymie a pass-rush that includes TJ Watt, Melvin Ingram, and Alex Highsmith, giving Aaron Rodgers time to go through his progressions.
Sticking to the run game
Once again, there were a few instances where I’m sure we all collectively wondered why Green Bay was passing the ball, but for the third straight game, they’ve established and stuck to the run. Jones and Dillon would combine for 30 carries on Sunday. We also saw how running the ball early and often can tire the defense and lead to bigger plays later on.
I know that Rodgers is the quarterback and that he has Adams as a weapon, but the run game is what makes this offense go.