Five things we learned from Packers 35, Steelers 25:

1. History lesson

When coach Mike Tomlin said in the preseason that his defense had a chance to be historic, he didn’t know how insightful his words would be.

Just not the way Tomlin intended, of course.

The Steelers’ defense has been historic for all the wrong reasons the past two weeks. Ten days after allowing Cincinnati to amass 470 yards of offense, the Steelers’ defense gave up 454 to Green Bay, including nearly 300 in the second half.

For historical perspective, the last time the Steelers yielded more than 400 yards in back-to-back games was at the outset of the 2019 season. The first three opponents that season exceeded 400 yards against the Steelers: New England (465), Seattle (425) and San Francisco (436). The Steelers got right in the fourth week of the season when they held Cincinnati to 175. Don’t count on a repeat performance, not with the 7-1 Indianapolis Colts visiting Acrisure Stadium on Sunday.

The Colts lead the NFL in yards per game (385.3) and points per game (33.8). The Steelers now rank No. 30 in total defense, giving up an average of 386 yards per game. Opponents have averaged 25 points against them, which brings a No. 22 ranking. Still, four teams have exceeded 30 points this season against the Steelers. That happened just twice last year and not until the second half of the season.

2. Getting Slayed

Cornerback Darius Slay was signed in free agency to man one of the outside corner spots and serve as a boundary partner with Joey Porter Jr. His role wasn’t expected to change much even after the Steelers traded for Jalen Ramsey. The plan was for the Steelers to use Ramsey’s versatility to play several roles in the defense.

Slay, though, spent half the game against the Packers on the sideline. In the base defense, Ramsey and Porter were the outside corners. Slay didn’t enter the field until the Steelers went to their subpackages. Slay played 32 of the 64 defensive snaps against the Packers, an apparent benching for a player who won a Super Bowl ring last season with the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Packers targeted Slay four times, and he allowed three catches for 20 yards, including an 8-yard touchdown to Savion Williams. A week earlier against Cincinnati, Slay was targeted in coverage seven times. He allowed six catches for 80 yards and a touchdown to tight end Noah Fant.

3. Finding his footing

Chris Boswell kicked field goals spanning 56, 48, 50 and 56 yards, showing no ill-effects of the resodded turf at Acrisure Stadium. Two weeks earlier, Boswell slipped and missed a long-distance kick against Cleveland, and the grass surface was criticized by everyone from Tomlin to quarterback Aaron Rodgers to defensive captain Cameron Heyward.

It was the third time in Boswell’s career that he kicked three field goals from 50-plus yards in a game, the most in NFL history.

Packers kicker Brandon McManus didn’t fare as well from long distance. He tried a 57-yard field goal in the second quarter, sending it in the same direction as Boswell’s initial 56-yarder. McManus’ kick fell short of the crossbar. On the final play of the half, McManus was wide left on a 44-yard attempt.

McManus converted a pair of short field-goal tries in the fourth quarter to help the Packers take a two-score lead.

4. Getting creative

To no surprise, the Steelers brought in Spencer Anderson as a tackle-eligible on the second offensive snap. That has served as a common practice in the past few games. What was surprising was that Anderson immediately was the target and recipient of Rodgers’ first pass attempt.

Anderson broke out into the flat, caught the ball and was brought down for a 4-yard gain. On the next play, Rodgers lofted a deep pass down the sideline for another little-used target, receiver Roman Wilson. The completion covered 45 yards and would be the longest play in the game for the Steelers. It also covered more yards than Wilson had accumulated in the first six games of the season.

Wilson entered the game with four catches for 36 yards. He matched his receptions total against the Packers, catching four passes for 74 yards, including his first NFL touchdown, which came with 2 minutes, 7 seconds left in the game.

Anderson’s pass-catching days may be over, through no fault of his own. When Isaac Seumalo exited with a pectoral injury, Anderson was plugged into the lineup at guard, forcing the Steelers to scrap the tackle-eligible concept for the rest of the game.

5. Snap decisions

Pat Freiermuth again played fewer snaps than fellow tight ends Jonnu Smith and Darnell Washington. Smith logged 38 of 63 snaps followed by Washington with 29 and Freiermuth with 27. A week after catching his first two touchdown passes of the season, Freiermuth was on the field just 43% of the time on offense.

On defense, backup nose tackle Daniel Ekuale was on the field for just one snap before sustaining a knee injury that Tomlin said was “significant.” That tends to signal a season-ending injury. That loss should create more playing time for rookie Yahya Black even if it is not at the nose. Black was on the field for 15 snaps against Green Bay. Black’s playing time dropped once fellow rookie Derrick Harmon returned from a knee injury. Logan Lee also could get a helmet after being inactive the past four games.

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