The Steelers offense languished again in their third straight loss, losing to the Green Bay Packers 27-17 at Lambeau Field.
Pittsburgh moved the ball well on its opening drive, getting to the Green Bay 45 where QB Ben Roethlisberger and WR Diontae Johnson connected on a 45-yard touchdown reception. It was the Steelers’ first offensive touchdown in the first quarter since Week 10 of last year. Chris Boswell’s extra point gave the Steelers a 7-0 lead.
The Packers got to the Steelers’ 34 on the strength of a 21-yard reception by WR Davante Adams on their first drive, but a sack by Devin Bush on third-and-three led to a punt by Green Bay.
Corey Bojorquez’s punt pinned the Steelers at their four-yard line, and after a five-yard run by RB Najee Harris on first down, Roethlisberger missed Johnson and WR JuJu Smith-Schuster and Pressley Harvin III booted a 46-yard punt. RB A.J. Dillon had a 16-yard catch-and-run and ran for nine yards on the drive, and QB Aaron Rodgers capped the drive off with a four-yard touchdown run, and K Mason Crosby’s extra-point tied the score at 7-7 early in the second quarter.
On third down of their next drive, Roethlisberger was stripped by DL Kingsley Keke and the Packers recovered at the Pittsburgh 23 yard-line. After a block in the back penalty against Green Bay on first down, Rodgers hit TE Robert Tonyan for a six-yard gain and then CB Arthur Maulet stopped RB Aaron Jones for a two-yard loss to set up third and ten. On third down, Rodgers found WR Randall Cobb for a 23-yard score and the Packers went up 14-7 with 10:55 left after the extra point.
The Steelers next drive stalled out at the Green Bay 34, as after a 19-yard catch by WR James Washington, Roethlisberger missed Smith-Schuster downfield before a loss of two by Harris and an incompletion to Johnson. Boswell’s 52-yard field goal hit off the left upright before going through and the Steelers got on the board, but still trailed 14-10 with 5:41 left in the first half.
Aaron Jones ran for 15 yards on the first play of the Packers drive to move them to their own 31. Marcedes Lewis had a seven-yard reception and then Dillon ran for nine yards to move to the Green Bay 47. A couple of runs by Jones set the Packers up at the Pittsburgh 42, and coming out of the two-minute warning, Jones ran for another 19 yards on second-and-ten. On second down from the Pittsburgh 23, Rodgers and Adams hooked up for a ten-yard gain, but the Packers would settle for a field goal. His first attempt was blocked and returned for a touchdown by Minkah Fitzpatrick, but it was called back on a controversial offsides call. Crosby would knock through a 26-yarder on the next attempt and the Packers took a 17-10 lead, which they would take into the locker room at halftime.
The Packers got the ball to open the second half and on third-and-seven, Rodgers connected with Cobb for a 25-yard gain to get into Steelers’ territory at their 47. A few plays later, Jones picked up 26 on a completion and the Packers had first and goal from the Steelers 5. Maulet stopped Jones for a loss of three on first down, and the Packers couldn’t find the endzone on the next two plays. Crosby’s 29-yard field goal was good, and the Packers took a 20-10 lead with 9:35 to go in the third quarter.
The Steelers picked up a first down on their next drive but that would be it, as they punted it away from their 20. Harvin III’s punt went just 20 yards, and the Packers took over from the Pittsburgh 40. A four-play drive by the Packers ended in a touchdown, as after a 25 yard AJ Dillon run got the Packers to the 1, Rodgers threw the 420th touchdown of his career, this one to Randall Cobb for his second of the game to put the Packers up 27-10 late in the third quarter.
The Steelers went for it on fourth and four from the Green Bay 32 and failed, as Roethlisberger’s pass to Harris lost a yard. The Packers picked up 28 on a pass to Allen Lazard on first and ten, but on second down, Jones fumbled, and the Steelers recovered to give them the ball at their own 39. On third and four from the Green Bay 37, Diontae Johnson caught a pass just short of the marker but ran backwards to try to avoid the tackle and the Steelers ended up with no gain. On fourth down, Johnson was flagged for false start to make it fourth-and-nine and the Steelers punted. The punt was downed at the Green Bay 5, and DL Cam Heyward stuffed Dillon on first down for a loss of one and the Packers went three-and-out. Bojorquez’s punt went 57 yards, so the Steelers started at their own 37, still trailing 27-10.
After a quick completion to Ebron and a couple short runs by Harris, Roethlisberger was sacked on first and ten from the Pittsburgh 48. An 11-yard catch by James Washington set up third-and-five, but Roethlisberger was incomplete to Smith-Schuster. On fourth-and-five, Roethlisberger did complete the pass to Smith-Schuster, but it was short of the sticks for a turnover on downs. The Packers rode Dillon on their next drive, as he ran four straight times to open the drive. Back-to-back incompletions by Rodgers led to fourth-and-four and the Packers offense stayed on the field but couldn’t convert.
Pittsburgh got the ball back at their own 35. Roethlisberger completed his first three passes and eventually found James Washington for a 30-yard gain to get inside the Green Bay 10-yard line. After a three-yard completion to Johnson got the Steelers to the Green Bay 6, Packers CB Eric Stokes was called for defensive pass interference to give the Steelers a first and goal at the one. Najee Harris jumped over the pile for his first career rushing touchdown and the Steelers cut the Green Bay lead to 27-17.
The Steelers kicked it deep and on third-and-eight with just under four minutes left, Davante Adams’ 11-yard completion essentially sealed the win for Green Bay. The Packers couldn’t get another first-down, and the Steelers got the ball back with 1:51 to go, but Roethlisberger threw an interception on second down to end the game.
The Steelers’ loss drops them to 1-3. Next week they’ll look to end their losing streak when they return to Heinz Field to take on the Denver Broncos.
