The Pittsburgh Steelers will play their seventh game of the 2025 season at home against the Green Bay Packers. It’s their second consecutive prime-time game. The Packers will enter the contest with a 4-1-1 record and lead the NFC North.
Below are five key things I believe the Steelers will need to do to come away with their fifth win of the year.
Look Out for Number One – The preseason trade of Micah Parsons was a shock across the NFL. Seeing one of the premier pass rushers traded in the prime of his career doesn’t happen often. Through the first five games, he had registered just 2.5 sacks. He broke out last week with three sacks, four tackles for a loss, and five quarterback hits.
After some rough spots in the early weeks of the season, the Steelers’ offensive line has shown improvement. They have gone ten quarters without allowing a sack, the last one coming in the second quarter of week four.
While Parsons garners a lot of attention, they cannot forget about Rashan Gary on the other side. He is also an accomplished pass rusher with 44.5 sacks in his six-plus seasons. Each of them has 5.5 sacks on the season.
Yes, the tackles Broderick Jones and Troy Fautanu need to be prepared, but it will take a team effort, much like the way they held Myles Garrett without a sack. That included chipping with running backs and tight ends or dedicating two linemen to some plays. Collectively, the offense needs to keep the pass rushers in check.
Communicate and Stay Close – Pittsburgh is coming off one of the worst pass coverage game plans in recent memory. Allowing Ja’Marr Chase to get targeted 23 times is embarrassing and unacceptable. We have heard about the defense having issues with communication over multiple seasons, and it can’t continue.
Green Bay may not have the true number one receiver at the level of someone like Chase, but they do have a deep receiver group. They are without Jayden Reed, who broke his collarbone earlier in the season. Romeo Doubs leads the team in targets and receptions. Rookie Matthew Golden is starting to find his groove, and Dontayvion Wicks can make plays. Additionally, Christian Watson is expected to make his 2025 debut this week.
Coverage needs to be tightened up for several reasons based on last week. However, for this week, it would be to put the pressure on Jordan Love to make tight window throws. Looking at the aggressiveness percentage from Next Gen Stats, Love is not one to make tight window throws. This stat is described as where a defender is within 1 yard or less of the receiver.
Dak Prescott leads the way for current starters at 19.3 percent, and the midpoint of NFL starters is roughly 14 percent. Love is currently 26th in the league at 11.9 percent, which reflects the fact that he has only thrown two interceptions.
Tighten the coverage and make Love throw into a tight window or hold the ball longer, which could lead to sacks.
Pound the Rock, Control the Clock – The Steelers have been on a bit of a run lately. They have hit 100 yards rushing on the ground in each of the last three games. Last week, they hit a season high of 147 yards on the ground. Even despite the recent surge, the team is still ranked in the bottom third of the league in rushing.
It isn’t going to be easy against the Packers. They come in allowing the fewest rushing yards in the league, with a total of 459 yards. There is a small silver lining: Green Bay has allowed at least 94 yards in three of the last four games. All three of those games were on the road.
Pittsburgh has not been successful this year in winning the time-of-possession battle. Some will argue that it doesn’t matter. The advantage of winning this category is that it benefits the defense. They would be on the field less and be more rested.
Let’s face it. The defense needs all the help it can get.
Win The Turnover Battle – Obviously, turnovers can be game-changers. They can completely flip the momentum of a game.
When Green Bay is on defense, they have struggled to force the ball from the opposing team. They have just two interceptions and one fumble recovery a third of the way through the season. Safety Evan Williams has two of those turnovers, with one interception and the lone fumble recovery.
Pittsburgh has five interceptions and five fumble recoveries. Only T.J. Watt has double-dipped with one in each category. Five of those turnovers, including four fumble recoveries, came in week three versus New England.
There has been a recent drought for both teams. The last turnover created by Pittsburgh was in week four. For Green Bay, it was week three.
Love fumbled twice last week but didn’t lose either of them. That gives him three on the year and sixteen total fumbles since 2023.
Whoever forces the most turnovers has the advantage.
Make a Big Splash – For the final key, can Pittsburgh create splash plays?
Through six games, the Packers have been excellent at preventing splash plays. I talked about their defense against the run earlier. I didn’t mention that they are allowing just 3.5 yards per carry. Additionally, they have given up just one run out of 130 attempts to gain 20 yards or more.
Unfortunately, their pass defense has been stingy as well. They will allow completions. They are ranked 7th in the NFL, allowing 161 so far. However, they keep it to a minimum. Green Bay allows a league-low 8.6 yards per reception. Nearly a yard better than the second-ranked team. Pittsburgh ranks 20th at 10.9.
Of those 161 completions allowed, just 10 have gone for more than 20 yards. Only one play has gone for more than 40 yards.
Pittsburgh will need to find some big plays. Avoiding Keisean Nixon would be a wise option. He has ten of the team’s 24 pass breakups and has allowed just one touchdown so far.
