The Training Wheels Are Off: Packers 35, Steelers 25 Recap

Picture credit: Madison Morris, packers.com
                 

          The Packers dominated the Steelers in the second half of Sunday Night Football to propel themselves to a 5-1-1 record atop the NFC.

You have to start this recap by talking about Jordan Love. The legend of Sunday Night Jordan Love continued as he went 29-for-37 for 360 yards and three touchdowns. Safe to say, Matt LaFleur finally took the training wheels off and let Love take command of this offense. Love had a career high streak of 20 straight completions to ten different players on the Packers offense. Rashan Gary put it simply following Love's stellar performance on Sunday night.

He couldn’t have done though without one man in particular: Tucker Kraft. I mean, how can you not love this guy? He’s a YAC (yards after catch) machine. Kraft had his best game to date as a Packer, hauling in seven receptions for 143 yards and two touchdowns. If this game showed us anything, it’s that this offense is pass-first going forward. There’s no reason not to trust Jordan Love, Tucker Kraft, and this ensemble of weapons to move the sticks week in and week out. 

Also, credit to Matt LaFleur for fully trusting his guy in this game. He had to be feeling giddy after this one, especially with it coming against his former QB, Aaron Rodgers. 

Another great site to see in this game was the return of wide receiver Christian Watson who is coming back from an ACL injury at the end of last season. Watson had four receptions for 85 yards, two that came on absolute dots from Jordan Love. Watson is one of the most respected guys in the Packers' locker room and is an elite blocker as well. The return of Watson gives the Packers another guy who can take the top off of any defense.

The Packers’ defense had a rough start, particularly Keisean Nixon, who was getting toasted on the outside. He had a bad game, no doubt. On the bright side, Carrington Valentine played well in place of Nate Hobbs and held his own. The Packers’ corners aren’t flashy by any means, but if there’s consistent pressure up front, they should still be able to make plays going forward.

The defense came alive in the second half. Micah Parsons and Rashan Gary both had a sack in the fourth quarter on separate drives that resulted in punts. The defense even forced another turnover with a recovered fumble by Javon Bullard. The first five second half possessions for the Steelers’ offense went: punt, field goal, punt, punt, and fumble. Now that’s elite defense.

Getting a win on the road in primetime isn’t easy by any means. The Packers showed their resilience once again after starting slow, then following it up with a second-half masterclass.

There are still plenty of things this team needs to clean up. The missed field goals, penalties, and dropped passes aren’t going to fly come January. Thankfully, this is the time to stack wins and learn from those mistakes. The Packers have done just that, earning a 5-1-1 record as one of two teams with only one loss this season besides the Indianapolis Colts.

The Packers face the Panthers at Lambeau Field next Sunday before a primetime showdown with the team that knocked them out of the playoffs last season, the Philadelphia Eagles. As of right now, this team controls its own destiny, and you couldn’t ask for anything more than that, especially with guys like Jordan Love and Micah Parsons captaining this ship. 

Real Packer Fans Know🧀

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