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| Aaron Rodgers UP before the safety |
The Packers came back to Earth against the Steelers after the opening drive. With the totally inept Don Barclay starting at left tackle with David Bakhtiari out with a minor knee injury the Packers began the game at the 20 and 10 plays later Eddie Lacy scored easily from seven yards out. behind clear out blocks by Josh Sitton and the aforementioned Barclay and a crushing lead block by John Kuhn. James Starks then made it 8-0 on a two-yard run that was just as easy behind the blocking of center Corey Linsley and right guard T.J. Lang.
Lacy's touchdown accomplished two things I've been worried about for a couple seasons now - scoring inside the red zone and scoring or getting a first down needing two or less yards. Except for losing wide receiver Jordy Nelson on a freak knee injury the opening drive was as good as it gets.
However, that was about the end of the UP portion of the game. Except for a play here or there the rest of the game was DOWN. The offensive line, especially Barclay at left tackle, gave up six sacks. The lack of protection also knocked out quarterback Aaron Rodgers and backup Scott Tolzien.
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| Aaron Rodgers DOWN and hurt after the safety |
Rodgers got hurt when Barclay allowed old man James Harrison to beat him like a drum and sack Rodgers for a safety. Rodgers left the game (but would have kept playing if it was a regular season game) with an injury to his forearm. Later Tolzien and Lang had to leave with possible concussions.
The Packer defense held the Steelers to 42 yards rushing and only 1.6 yards per attempt. The Packers had the only interception of the game when No. 1 draft pick Damarius Randall picked off Landry Jones on the first play of the second half and the only fumble recovery that Adrian Hubbard got at the Steeler 47 late in the second quarter, which led to a Tolzien to Richard Rodgers 21-yard touchdown pass and an Alonza Harris two-point conversion run.
The Packers gave up just one net yards on four punt returns and an average of 19 yards on kickoffs with a long of 31.
Offensively the Packers gained 51 yards rushing on 18 rushes for an average of 2.8 a rush. The Packer quarterbacks finished with a passer rating of 86.3 on 19-of-32 for 187 yards with 1 touchdown and no interceptions. The offensive line gave up six sacks with all four quarterbacks being put on his backside. The Packers finished with only a total of 200 yards on 56 plays for 3.6 per play.
The Packers converted a measly 14% (2-of-14) on third down and only one after the opening drive.
Defensively the Packers were vulnerable against the pass as they've been since the Super Bowl season. Ben Roethlisberger playing against the first-stringers completed 11-of-14 passes for 100 yards and a touchdown. He finished with a Rodgers-esque rating of 120.2.
The secondary, which is improved, wasn't playing that way Sunday giving up an average of 12.7 per catch with a long of 54 yards. The Packers defense recorded just one pass defended on 38 pass attempts.
The Packers lost the time of possession 25:26 to 34:34. The Packers had to punt 8 times going 3-and-out seven times.
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers completed 4-of-5 passes for 57 yards. His longest completion was 30 yards to Randall Cobb on a 2nd-and-6. He finished with a 114.2 passer rating.
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| Richard Rodgers scoring |
Tight end Richard Rodgers caught 3-of-4 passes for 30 yards and a TD. Tolzien completed 11-of-19 for 102 yards and one TD. Lacy averaged 5 yards a rush with a TD. Running back Rajion Neal returned one kickoff for 38 yards.
Randall, playing in his first pro game at cornerback, finished with 3 solo tackles, 1 interception and the only pass defended. Inside linebacker Carl Bradford has 3 solo tackles, 2 assisted tackles with one tackle for a loss.
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| Julius Peppers sacking Ben Roethlisberger |
Outside linebacker Julius Peppers and defensive end Datone Jones continue to find a way to the quarterback with one sack each. Second-year defensive tackle Bruce Gaston also had a sack and 2 quarterback hits. Cornerback Sam Shields also had a tackle for a loss.
Outside linebacker Jayrone Elliott also had a good game with 3 solo tackles, including a tackle for a loss when he lined up on the inside.
Rookie fullback Aaron Ripkowski continued to be demon on special teams with two great tackles on kickoffs.
Second round draft pick Quinten Rollins, coming off a good game against the Patriots, was behind the 8 Ball all game. He gave up a 54-yard completion on a 1st-and-10 from the 17 in the third quarter and a 17-yarder on a 3rd-and-9 in the fourth quarter.
Free safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix was also chasing down receivers giving up a 17-yarder on a 3rd-and-11 and 12-yarder on a 2nd-and-10.
The secondary was victimized all day long with safety Sean Richardson for a 25-yarder on a 3rd-and-6, safety Chris Banjo for a 22-yard touchdown on a 2nd-and-9, cornerback Tay Glover-Wright for a 20-yard touchdown on a 2nd-and-7 and safety Micah Hyde for 20 yards on a 2nd-and-7 from the Packers 47.
In all the secondary gave up 8 passes for 17 yards or more out of 24 total completions.
Wide receiver Jeff Janis, who has been the No 4 receiver will now be expected to step up with Nelson out had a rough day. Drafted by the Packers in the seventh round (No. 236 overall) of the 2014 draft as the first WR ever to be selected in the NFL Draft out of Saginaw Valley State, Janis had been making plays since he arrived. But against the Steelers Janis caught only 3-of-7 passes for 25 yards with a long of nine.
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