The key for Pittsburgh (5-3) if it wants to stay in the middle of the hotly contested AFC North race is finding a way to have whatever magic Pickett summons in the final frame expand to the first three quarters. He'll get another chance Sunday when Green Bay (3-5) visits Acrisure Stadium.
Four of Pittsburgh's five victories this season have come in games it has trailed heading into the fourth. Yet the Steelers keep finding a way to survive when things get tight thanks to one of the most opportunistic defenses in the league and a quarterback who only truly looks like a franchise cornerstone when he absolutely has to.
The same goes for Green Bay first-year starter Jordan Love, who rebounded from five largely listless performances by throwing for 228 yards with a touchdown and no picks against the Rams last Sunday.
Like Pickett, Love oversees an offense that has trouble getting going. Unlike Pickett, however, Love has often been a factor in his team's struggles. The win over Los Angeles was Love's first game without an interception since Week 2. And now he faces a defense that is third in the NFL in takeaways (16).
With the NFL’s youngest roster, the Packers have been relying quite a bit on their rookie class. Those rookies will try to build on the momentum they established against the Rams.
Tight end Luke Musgrave scored his first career touchdown and Anthony Johnson Jr. got his first interception in that game. Carrington Valentine had three passes defensed, and defensive lineman Karl Brooks had two more. Anders Carlson went 2 of 3 on field-goal attempts. Lukas Van Ness had a tackle for loss. Dontayvion Wicks lost a fumble, but also had four catches for 49 yards. Emanuel Wilson had a 31-yard run.
Jayden Reed had just three catches for 19 yards in that game, but he has a team-high 333 yards receiving this season.
Run defense has been one of Green Bay’s biggest weaknesses throughout Matt LaFleur’s five-year coaching tenure, but the Packers have stepped up in that regard the last couple of weeks.
The Packers gave up just 62 yards on 31 carries in a 24-10 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Oct. 29. They followed that up by allowing 68 yards on 26 carries in their victory over the Rams.
Game time is noon Sunday.
