The Pittsburgh Steelers (4-2) and Green Bay Packers (4-1-1) face off on Sunday Night Football this week. Ahead of the matchup, I chatted with the producer of SB Nation’s Packers website, Justis Mosqueda,
to preview Pittsburgh’s upcoming opponent.
You can read my questions and his answers below:
1. Aaron Rodgers put together a legendary career with Green Bay, but he could be a complicated figure. How is the Packers fanbase feeling facing their former quarterback this week?
I kind of think the Aaron Rodgers wars are sort of over with. There’s been so much discourse about him, starting with the rumors on draft week that he wanted to be sent to the San Francisco 49ers in 2021, that there’s honestly not that much more to talk about on the subject. I know that’s not exactly what you want to hear, but I think fans are more focused on this team than the opponent, considering the squad isn’t meeting up to fan expectations at this point. In general, I think Packers fans want to beat Aaron because it might be our only shot at him in another uniform, but most also acknowledge that he was the most efficient QB in franchise history, too.
2. Rodgers’ successor in Green Bay, Jordan Love, is such a fun quarterback to watch. Has he developed into the player the Packers need him to be?
Sort of? The Packers don’t throw the ball very often, but Love is very efficient when he does get the chance to throw the ball – mostly because of how well he performs as a big game hunter. I think some Green Bay fans want to throw for 350 yards each game, but that is simply not in Matt LaFleur’s DNA. LaFleur wants to run the ball and play as few snaps as possible throughout a game, which sort of distorts how Love is seen by the fan base.
3. What has Micah Parsons brought to the Green Bay defense?
I’m not old enough to remember peak Reggie White, but this season is the best performance I’ve ever seen from a Packers defender. Parsons is leading the league in pressures on PFF and NFL Pro, despite having the early bye week. He’s the top graded defender for PFF. He’s every bit as good as advertised. And as much as Jerry Jones said otherwise, he’s been a good run defender too.
The Packers are probably a 2-4 team if they don’t make the Parsons trade, considering how influential he’s been. He’s closed out the Lions, Cowboys and now Cardinals games with big sacks. The Arizona game is the only time teams have really allowed him a lot of one-on-one looks (because they wanted to get tight end Trey McBride going in the passing game) and he ended up having three sacks (plus another that was called back), five quarterback hits, 10 quarterback pressures and FINALLY drew a holding call.
4. Who is one under-the-radar Packers player on each side of the ball who could have a big effect on Sunday’s game?
Matthew Golden is a really explosive receiver on the offensive side of the ball, if he counts. I know he’s a first-round pick, but he’s also a rookie. I’m assuming people are already aware of Tucker Kraft, Romeo Doubs and Josh Jacobs, who have been multi-year starters for the Packers.
On defense, beyond the likes of Parsons, Xavier McKinney and Rashan Gary, the studs are linebacker Quay Walker, safety Evan Williams and cornerback Keisean Nixon. All three of those players have stepped their game up this season and have been above average starters. Nixon has given up some yards, mostly because he’s been asked to cover number one receivers one on one, but he’s ended up on the right side of big plays more frequently than the wrong end.
5. The Packers are currently three-point road favorites against the Steelers. What’s your final score prediction, and why?
I’m worried about this game, if for no other reason than the fact that Nate Hobbs is struggling big time. He gave up the second-most yards of any outside cornerback in Week 7 and also played poorly in the Packers’ previous two games against the Dallas Cowboys and Cincinnati Bengals. He was a slot cornerback for the Las Vegas Raiders before this season, but Green Bay thought they could make him into an outside cornerback while paying him a slot defender’s contract. On top of that, he missed most of training camp after having surgery on his meniscus, which also cost him the start of the regular season.
I guess I’ll take a Packers cover here, but I’m not confident about it. If there’s one thing I know Aaron Rodgers can do, declining mobility and all, it’s pick on a mark at cornerback. I’m worried that Hobbs will be his mark on Sunday night.
