Packers vs Steelers Final Thoughts: Visiting an Old Friend

           Packers. Steelers. Jordan Love. Aaron Rodgers. Primetime.

What more can you ask for? This is a big game for multiple reasons. The biggest, obviously, is that this is the first time the Packers have faced off against their former quarterback, Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers built his legacy with the Packers, winning multiple MVPs and leading them to their most recent Super Bowl. He spoke with Green Bay media this week and was quoted saying, “My football career starts and will end one day with Green Bay.” This is as real as it gets, folks. Even though things didn’t end the way he wanted with the Packers, he still plans to retire as one.

Aaron Rodgers on a Zoom with Packers media: “Feel so good about my time there because damn near everything great in my life is because of my football career, and my football career starts, and will end one day, with Green Bay. So got a lot of love for all those memories.” pic.twitter.com/3bgVe11h4z

— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) October 23, 2025

The Packers have a chance to roll into Pittsburgh and beat a Steelers team that was completely caught off guard last week by the Bengals. This is the kind of game Mike Tomlin wins almost all the time, and the Packers’ players and coaches need to be on their A-game. The team hasn’t played a complete game this season, and they’re all aware of it. The sky’s the limit at this point—with multiple players returning from injury, the Packers can finally find their groove on Sunday against the Steelers.

The Packers’ offensive line has a big test against a Steelers defensive front that has a Micah Parsons of its own (T.J. Watt, who should’ve been a Packer). If we learned anything from last week’s game against the Cardinals and how they handled Parsons, it’s this: you cannot leave guys like Watt or Parsons in one-on-one situations. I expect the Packers to be chipping Watt and doubling him for the majority, if not, all of this game. The same goes for Pittsburgh’s offensive line as they deal with Parsons.

Josh Jacobs is dealing with a calf injury, which is something to keep an eye on. He did finish the game with two touchdowns on only 55 yards rushing. The Packers’ offensive line also got a little healthier, as Aaron Banks and Anthony Belton were full participants in practice this week and are good to play. The Packers will be without wide receiver Dontayvion Wicks and edge rusher Lukas Van Ness in this game.

Packers–Steelers game status report pic.twitter.com/7dnM4XEH0S

— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) October 24, 2025

If the Packers’ offense wants to control this game, they need to do it through the air. My main reason for this take? Joe Flacco threw for 342 yards and three touchdowns against the Steelers’ defense in primetime. I’m not saying Jordan Love needs to throw 47 times like Flacco did, but there’s no reason Love shouldn’t be commanding this offense from start to finish. With Jacobs’ calf injury, there are plenty of other playmakers to get the ball to on the outside. There’s obviously Tucker Kraft, but this team needs to feature Matthew Golden more in the offense. The guy is a broken tackle or sidestep away from blowing the top off a defense. Add Christian Watson back into the mix, too, and this offense wouldn’t just be fun to watch, it would be very difficult to stop.

At the end of the day, it’s going to come down to protection from the offensive line. Jordan Love has been great when protected so far this season. When he’s in the pocket, we know he can read and see the field just fine. Once he gets outside the pocket, he starts to drift and plays like that interception against the Bengals happen. Also, Sunday night Jordan Love may be a problem for the rest of the league.

Sunday Night Love? #Packers QB Jordan Love on @SNFonNBC (4 career games):

11 passing TDs, 0 INTs, 121.1 passer rating. Four straight games with a passer rating over 115.0. Packers: 3-0-1.

— Zach Kruse (@zachkruse2) October 21, 2025

As for the defense, it’ll be the deciding factor in this game for both teams. I wish we could repeat Micah Parsons’ performance from last week again, but I don’t think the Steelers’ coaching staff is going to be ignorant enough to leave him one-on-one.

The Packers’ pass rush still has a great opportunity to impact this game. Colby Wooden has been a standout on the interior without Devonte Wyatt, who is questionable for Sunday night. The Packers are also without Lukas Van Ness again, so this calls for guys like Rashan Gary and Kingsley Enagbare to step up in his absence.

The Steelers aren’t the best team at running the football and lean heavily on their passing game. They obviously rely on star wideout DK Metcalf, but Rodgers has also been using three different tight ends to move the sticks (Jonu Smith, Pat Freiermuth, and Darnell Washington). With a guy like Rodgers throwing the ball, this Packers secondary better have its act together. We’ve all seen firsthand how Rodgers can pick apart a defense, even with limited weapons.

the way people talk about jordan love’s interceptions, you’d think he would have already doubled aaron rodgers’ number by now https://t.co/N4oMecgaMA

— zach jacobson (@zacobson) October 24, 2025

This game marks the 38th time these two storied franchises have met. The Packers beat the Steelers to win Super Bowl XLV but haven’t won a game in Pittsburgh since 1970.

It’s going to be a battle on Sunday. The Packers haven’t played the prettiest football to get to their 4-1-1 record, but a win against a well-coached Steelers team on the road would be massive for this team’s confidence. Road wins are tough, especially in hostile environments like Pittsburgh.

This Packers team has been unpredictable so far this season. They looked like world beaters through Weeks 1–2 and just haven’t put everything together the last few weeks, though they still have a winning record. The team knows that too, and I expect them to come out with their best game plan of the season in a matchup against the team’s longtime QB.

Real Packer Fans Know🧀