Following each game in the 2025 Steelers season, I will once again be giving you my ten takes. These aren’t going to be hot takes that are meant to shock the world. This will be instant reactions to the game written while still in that period just following the game when the emotions are high, and the ideas are fresh. Included will be thoughts, observations, queries, and reasons that caused me to yell at the television. Here are 10 takes from the Steelers’ Sunday night loss to the Green Bay Packers.
Regular Season Week 8 vs Green Bay Packers
1. The End is Nigh – After another loss and despite a winning record, the near future is bleak. In this game, the defense really looked old. There was no pass rush other than a couple of plays. The defensive backfield can’t hang with any receivers. Tight end Tucker Kraft is a talented player, but he looked like Ja’Marr Chase against this lackluster group. T.J. Watt is not producing like we’ve become accustomed to, and that tackling, if you can call it that, is maddeningly poor.
This entire defense needs an overhaul. That includes the defensive coordinator.
2. What a Weird Game – You have to love football, man. Things happen every week that make you say, “I’ve never seen that before.” This game had Spencer Anderson making the first Steelers reception. You had a wounded duck of a throw end up being a 59-yard pass. You saw a fumble changed to a pass that went one foot for an incompletion. A ball knocked out of a player’s hands became a touchdown after an expedited review.
Missed calls by the officials affect both teams. The Packers had twenty straight completions. It was just a weird game.
3. The Sideline is Lava – You have to love Jaylen Warren. Pound for pound, he is the most physical player on the field. Don’t let his diminutive size (at least in football terms) fool you. He breaks so many tackles, gets so many extra yards by dropping a shoulder into a tackler at will, and is a good receiver.
In pass protection, he is one of the best in the league at blitz pickup. And one thing you don’t ever see him do is run out of bounds. He avoids it like it’s liquid hot magma.
4. Unlucky Duck – Sometimes, the odds just don’t go your way. The Steelers timed up a blitz nicely, getting a hit on Jordan Love just as he released the ball. When the ball floats in the air like that, there are generally three outcomes. The most likely scenario sees it fall to the ground harmlessly. The second most likely scenario is an interception. And last is a completion. Even less likely is a 59-yard completion. That play turned the game around. It was a third-and-five play. If it fell to the ground, the Packers would punt, and that becomes an entirely different timeline of events.
5. Roman Holiday – Can we finally open the gift of a young wide receiver with some talent? Can we finally let Roman Wilson get on the field for more than a dozen seemingly meaningless plays? Yes, a lot of it was with the Packers likely in prevent defense, but he did have a 45-yard catch on the first drive. He now has eight receptions for 110 yards and a touchdown. Let him eat. He needs a chance to make some plays for this offense that needs playmakers.
6. Has Anybody Seen the Run Play Card? – I can confirm that Arthur Smith lost his play card with all the running plays on it at halftime. What happens to offensive coordinators? How do they become so one-sided? The first half split of plays was 15 run plays and 15 pass plays. You can’t get more balanced. The Steelers had a lead going into the second half. They were averaging 5.4 yards per carry in the first half. In the second half, three passes on the first drive. A three-and-out. The second drive starts with a four-yard run.
After that, eight straight passing plays, two of which became sacks. Then, once they were down ten points, he called two running plays. How do you lose sight of what is working that easily?
7. Chri$ Bo$well – Two hundred and ten. That is the total number of yards of field goals kicked by Chris Boswell. Three of those are from fifty-plus yards. He has made 49 field goals in 59 attempts from 50-plus yards. Every time he makes another field goal, he can hear the cash register ringing. He has one more year on his contract and wanted to get an extension this year. The team might be kicking themselves for not paying him sooner. With every field goal he makes, the price goes up.
8. He’s a Hugger – Payton Wilson has had multiple major injuries in his lifetime. That included two torn ACLs and a shoulder injury in 2021 that required surgery. I wonder if that shoulder still gives him pain. He doesn’t make traditional tackles, leading with his shoulder. He hugs players around the shoulder pads. Or he will jump on someone’s back and try to fling them down. It reminds me of Troy Polamalu in his final season. Polamalu had other injuries and talked about hiding concussions. He tackled that way, I would gues,s to avoid more concussions.
I wonder if Wilson is dealing with a shoulder issue.
9. Vanilla Going Forward – Former Steeler Trai Essex made an interesting point during the game. He said with DeShon Elliott out, the defense gets really vanilla (basic). It’s consistent; with him out, the defense has trouble adjusting. That’s bad. Really bad. The way he looked going off the field, I’m speculating, of course, it looked like he was done for the season. That means vanilla going forward, and this defense doesn’t make enough plays being basic. The schedule for the rest of the season is tough. You can’t say with certainty that any of those games is a win. Things could get a lot worse, and that is saying something.
10. The Offense Could Lack Flavor Too – The injury to Isaac Seumalo could have the same effect on the offense. That moves Anderson to left guard, taking away the mojo of the offense when using him at tight end. The combination of Anderson and Darnell Washington led to the improvements we saw in the last few weeks in the running game. They could try another player in that role, but it doesn’t guarantee success. How much confidence do you have in Smith making adjustments if Seumalo is out for an extended period?
