Airing of Grievances: Another defensive disaster, 3rd-down deficiencies define Steelers' loss to Green Bay

After the Pittsburgh Steelers (4-3) lost to the Green Bay Packers (5-1-1) by a final score of 35-25 Sunday night, a reporter asked Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin what his message was to the players.

“Not a lot to talk about,” Tomlin replied. “We say little when we win, we say less when we lose.”

If that’s the case, at this rate, Tomlin is going to turn into a mime pretty soon.

Not long ago, the Steelers were glowing at 4-1, leaders of the AFC North. The crummy division is still allowing the Steelers to sit atop the standings. Unfortunately, they are playing like anything but a first-place team.

Defensive breakdowns aplenty. Offensive inefficiency. Undisciplined penalties and a growing list of injuries.

It’s not a pretty scene, especially with two teams (Indianapolis Colts, Los Angeles Chargers) currently in AFC playoff positions looming on the schedule.

“Poison” singer and noted Steelers fan Bret Michaels performed the band’s hit song “Nothin’ but a Good Time” at halftime of the game. It was 16-7 Steelers after two quarters.

That tune seemed appropriate given the circumstances.

Thirty minutes of game-time later, the Steelers limped out of their own stadium as 10-point losers, searching for “Something to Believe In.”

If anyone finds it, let me know because I’m coming up empty right now.

So let’s get to our weekly “Airing of Grievances” as the Steelers fall to 4-3 on the heels of yet another defensive disaster.

AIRING OF GRIEVANCES

Not as planned

Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers got the better of his most recent team, the New York Jets, in Week 1.

Things didn’t go as well the second time around against a former employer.

Not only did the Steelers lose, but Rodgers was by far the second-best quarterback on the field against the Packers. Rodgers totaled only 219 yards on 36 attempts. He was sacked three times.

After Rodgers hit Roman Wilson for 45 yards on his first throw of the night, the 41-year-old had just one completion over 13 yards between then and the final drive.

Meanwhile, his successor in Green Bay, Jordan Love, completed 20 passes in a row to open the second half.

Watch Jordan Love's 20 straight completions ???? pic.twitter.com/4M6SruLEWJ

— NFL (@NFL) October 27, 2025

Love finished with 360 yards on 29 of 37 passing. His receivers averaged over 12 yards per catch. Love also had three touchdowns, no interceptions, no sacks and a passer rating of 134.2.

The Steelers have now allowed 30 points or more in four of their seven games.

Observing the holiday

The National Football League annually celebrates “National Tight Ends Day” to highlight players at that position during the fourth weekend of every October. On Sunday night, the Packers were very dedicated to their observation of the festivities.

Green Bay tight end Tucker Kraft sparkled with 143 yards on seven catches plus two touchdowns.

T as in Touchdown for Tucker Kraft on National Tight Ends Day!

????: NBC pic.twitter.com/dRrZx128NI

— Green Bay Packers (@packers) October 27, 2025

Kraft’s longest catch was on a 59-yard reception that fluttered in the air after Love was hit by Patrick Queen. Steelers safety DeShon Elliott (knee) was injured tackling Kraft at the end of the play.

The Steelers also lost defensive lineman Daniel Ekulae with a knee injury and Isaac Seumalo to a pectoral injury during the game.

Keep in mind, next week the Steelers have to deal with Indianapolis rookie tight end Tyler Warren. The Penn State product leads the Colts with 492 receiving yards.

Big play day

In some ways, the Steelers’ defense was better than it was last Thursday in Cincinnati.

Green Bay only averaged 3.6 yards per rush. The Bengals averaged 6.2 per carry. The Steelers stopped the Packers on six of their first seven third downs.

But that side of the ball was vulnerable to explosive plays all night. It created no turnovers and the tackling was bad. Beyond Kraft’s 59-yarder and his first touchdown, his second score went for 24 yards. Christian Watson also had a 33-yard reception, and Romeo Doubs accounted for receptions of 24 and 28 yards.

“We all have to own it. You start with the schematics because that’s the leadership component of it,” Tomlin said, gesturing toward himself. “We’ll be looking at everything we are doing. Some of these problems are somewhat repetitive. We’re not getting better fast enough.”

In all, Green Bay put up 454 yards of offense.

Stall ball

The Steelers had three promising drives that stalled out in the first half. Fortunately for them, Chris Boswell got points on each drive by way of field goals from 56, 50 and 48 yards or else the margin of defeat could’ve been even greater.

On the Steelers’ first drive, the offense got to Green Bay’s 23-yard line before DK Metcalf was flagged for offensive pass interference on second down, and Rodgers took a sack on third down.

Two trips later for the offense, Arthur Smith’s unit got to Green Bay’s 32 before Carrington Valentine broke up a deep shot to Metcalf on a third-and-3. Boswell kicked on the next snap.

With roughly eight minutes left from Green Bay’s 30, a first-down run by Jaylen Warren went for a 5-yard loss, and the Steelers couldn’t recover from that, settling for another successful Boswell attempt after a third-down completion to Jonnu Smith still came up 5 yards short of the sticks.

The Steelers owned time of possession in the first half, holding the ball for 17 minutes, 48 seconds, but they were just 1 for 5 on third downs before halftime and 1 for 10 for the game.

“We aren’t going to win a lot of games when we’re so bad on third downs,” Rodgers said. “Boz bailed us out on four incredible kicks, but when you are playing good teams, you need to score (touchdowns).”

More sports

• Steelers’ Aaron Rodgers gets the feels — but not a win — facing former team, Packers
• Steelers debut new throwback uniform that’s heavy on yellow
• Steelers lose S DeShon Elliott, DT Daniel Ekuale to ‘significant’ knee injuries

Coulda been worse

The Steelers were fortunate that kicker Brandon McManus missed a 44-yard field goal at the end of the second quarter — his second miss of the half.

That erased a hurry-up possession from the Packers that was way too easy.

After Metcalf’s TD, 34 seconds remained in the first half. Green Bay went from its 20-yard line to the Steelers’ 27 in just four plays. A 19-yard connection between Love and Christian Watson, plus a facemask penalty on T.J. Watt, did most of the damage.

Speaking of penalties, the Steelers had six. Along with Watt’s, two others were costly post-whistle personal fouls from Nick Herbig and Metcalf.