Green Bay Packers v. Steelers: 12 Quick Observations from Win
By Paul Bretl
Missed opportunities for Steelers
This game could have been much closer than what it was had Ben Roethlisberger played better. He missed two downfield passes to JuJu Smith-Schuster that very well could have gone for touchdowns. Instead, the Steelers didn’t score on either of those drives.
Big Ben finished the day 26/40 for 232 yards with just 5.2 yards per pass, relying heavily on the quick passing game. Roethlisberger also looked flustered when under pressure.
Cornerback depth is a concern for Green Bay Packers
I wrote about this before the season began, but one of my big concerns entering the season was the cornerback depth on this team. Kevin King has missed the last two games, and Jaire Alexander left the game with a shoulder injury. At this time, we do not know the severity.
The current healthy options that the Packers have are Chandon Sullivan and Eric Stokes, who played well again. Rookie Shemar Jean-Charles, who took his lumps during the preseason, and Isaac Yiadom, who has struggled in coverage during his NFL career. On the practice squad is Kabion Ento, who has no NFL experience.
For the obvious reasons, we of course hope that Alexander is okay. But either way, the cornerback depth will remain a concern; the question is, how big?
Field goal attempts are in trouble
I’m sure, like many, you saw the replay or the screenshot of Mason Crosby’s game-winner against San Francisco that was actually almost — and I mean almost — blocked by a Niner defender. The way that the 49ers almost accomplished this was by loading up the right side, forcing Robert Tonyan to have to slow two defenders–and he just barely did.
On Sunday, we saw Pittsburgh use a similar tactic on the blocked field goal attempt that was eventually overturned. They again tried it on another attempt and were relatively close again.
The coaching staff needs to figure out what is going on here because had the blocked attempt not been flagged for offsides, and it was close, this game would have completely changed.