Cheat Sheet: Steelers vs. Packers

HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN

• TV coverage: Broadcast nationally on CBS (KDKA-TV locally in Pittsburgh).
• Steelers Radio Network - Game coverage begins at 1:00 p.m. ET; Pregame programming begins at 9:00 a.m.; Postgame coverage starts immediately following the game.
• Don't miss a minute of the action... check out all of the ways that you can watch, listen and follow along on gameday. Click here >>>

INJURY UPDATE

The Steelers host the Packers at Acrisure Stadium.
Check out the most updated Injury Report: Click here >>>

SERIES HISTORY

These storied franchised have combined to win 10 Super Bowls, including Green Bay's victory over the Steelers in Super Bowl XLV. Including that one postseason matchup, Pittsburgh and the Packers have played 36 times with Green Bay coming out on top on 20 of those occasions. The series began in 1933 with Green Bay shutting out the Steelers in both of their first two meetings. Green Bay won the first nine times these two teams met with the Steelers not getting their first win until 1947. But dating back to the 1998 season, Pittsburgh has won five of the last seven, even with Green Bay winning the Super Bowl matchup. The Packers won the most recent meeting, 27-17 in Green Bay in 2021, but the Steelers have won five-straight home games against Green Bay.

MATCHUP OVERVIEW

• Pittsburgh is 3-2 at home this season and 7-4 at home overall with Kenny Pickett as the starting quarterback. Mike Tomlin has won 71% of his home games with the Steelers. Green Bay is 1-3 on the road and have lost four of its last five games. Pittsburgh is 12-5 in its last 17 games.
• The Steelers have a minus-30 point differential, while Green Bay has outscored its opponents by one point.
• Per EPA, only the Saints have played an easier schedule thus far than the Packers.
• The Steelers' time of possession sits at 27:09 compared to Green Bay at 28:12.
• The Rams produced 10 first downs and held the ball for just 24:44 last week in a losing effort in Green Bay.
• Only the Bengals have a better turnover differential than Pittsburgh, which is at plus-8. Green Bay is at minus-2. Only two defenses have more than the Steelers 16 takeaways, while Green Bay has only taken the ball away eight times. Pittsburgh has a league-leading eight fumble recoveries compared to just three for the Packers. Meanwhile, the Steelers have only turned the ball over on eight occasions. Both teams have lost just two fumbles, which is best in the NFL. The Steelers have a takeaway on 17.6% of drives, second-highest in the NFL. No team has gained more EPA from turnovers this season than Pittsburgh.
• The Steelers are committing 5.8 penalties per game compared to 7.5 by Green Bay, which is the highest in the league. This results in 49 penalty yards per game by the Steelers compared to 60.1 for Green Bay. But the Packers' opponents have committed 62.8 yards per game in penalties, which is second-most. The Steelers' opponents are at 59 penalty yards per game, which is sixth-most.
• While the Steelers generate just 2.6 points on average in the first quarter of games, Green Bay produces just 1.6. In second quarters, Pittsburgh sits at 4.3 and the Packers at 2.9, worst in the league. The Steelers give up just 8.1 points in the second halves of games, while Green Bay scores 15.5 points on average in the second half, which is most in the NFL.
• The Packers average exactly four yards per rush attempt. They also allow exactly four yards per rush attempt. However, their opponents average 23.6 more rushing yards per game than Green Bay. The Packers also average 6.6 yards per pass attempt and they allow 6.7.
• In terms of total EPA, in Week 9 Jordan Love was seventh among all quarterbacks and Kenny Pickett was ninth. Jaylen Warren was sixth among all ball carriers and Diontae Johnson was seventh among all pass catchers.
• Among qualified quarterbacks, Love has the worst completion percentage at 59.6%.
• The Packers are averaging 59.9 plays run per game. Pittsburgh averages 59.4. That ranks 26^th and 28^th in the NFL. The Packers opponents are averaging 65.5 plays run per game. Pittsburgh's opponents average 68.1. That ranks 25^th and 30^th respectively.
• The Packers reach third down on 53.5 percent of every set of downs set, 30^th in the NFL.
• Just 10.6% of the plays run against Pittsburgh have been inside the red zone, the third-lowest rate in the league.
• The Steelers average drive starts at the 26.3-yard line. Only the Cardinals begin drives with worse starting field position. The Packers start their average drive at the 30.6-yard line, which is sixth-best.
• These two defenses employ a single high safety at the third and fourth highest rate in the league.
• Of all the NFL opening day rosters this season, Green Bay's was the youngest.
• Since the 2011 draft, the Packers have made 13 first round picks. Every one of those selections, with the exception of Love, was used to attain a defensive player.

WHEN PITTSBURGH HAS THE BALL

• Pittsburgh's offense averages 4.7 yards per play. The Packers defense surrenders 4.9.
• The Steelers' offense has produced just 14 first quarter points in 2023.
• Only two defenses are facing a shorter average depth of target (6.6) than the Packers. They've given up multiple passing touchdowns in a game just once this season.
• Over his past six games, Pickett has only thrown one interception. During that stretch, he has attempted 154 passes. From Weeks 1 to 8, Pickett's average depth of target was 7.9 yards. Last week it was 4.7.
• Green Bay held Brett Rypien to just 130 passing yards last week. No Rams skill position player had more than 50 scrimmage yards and none of Los Angeles' drives went for more than 28 yards. The Rams released Rypien earlier this week.
• Of the Steelers passing yards, 53.7% have come after the catch. That is the NFL's fifth-highest percentage.
• In the fourth quarters of games this season, Pickett averages 9.6 yards per attempt. That is third-best in the NFL. However, the Packers have yet to allow a fourth quarter passing touchdown and they have the fifth-best passer rating (70.6) allowed in the fourth quarter.
• In three games since returning from injury, Johnson is averaging 9.7 targets, 6.7 catches, and 84.7 receiving yards per game. That's a 30% target share over that stretch. Johnson's .27 targets per route run is higher than every qualified wide receiver besides Tyreek Hill, Kadarius Toney, Amon St. Brown, Devante Adams, Ja'Marr Chase and Puka Nacua. Johnson's yards per route run ranks 11^th.
• Over the last two weeks George Pickens has been targeted 10 times but has just three catches for 21 yards. And over the past three weeks, Pickens has a target share of just 18.4%. Over the last two years Pickens has a target share of 16% target share with Johnson on the field and 24% without.
• Pickens has seen 23.8% of his targets with Johnson 20 or more yards downfield. Without Johnson on the field, that percentage falls to 16.2%. The Packers are allowing a league-worst 64.7% catch rate on throws 20+ yards past the line of scrimmage.
• Allen Robinson hasn't cleared 30 yards or scored a touchdown since Week 1.
• The Steelers didn't allow a sack last week and Green Bay got to Rypien just once in Week 9. The Packers blitz (37.2%) at the NFL's fifth-highest rate and generate a pressure (39.7%) at the sixth-highest rate.
• Pittsburgh's offense uses play action on 13.8% of its drop backs. Only two offenses use it less.
• Najee Harris has handled 60% or more of the backfield touches just twice in 2023.
• Warren has three or more receptions in seven out of eight games this season. Harris has at least 55 yards from scrimmage in all three games since the Steelers' bye.
• The combination of Harris and Warren have accounted for 645 of the Steelers' 724 rushing yards.
• Inside the red zone, Harris has out-snapped Warren 28 to 13 and has out-touched him 11 to 5. In goal-to-go situations, Harris has eight touches compared to one for Warren.
• The Rams rushed for just 68 yards against Green Bay.
• Pickett has scrambled on just 2.4% of his designed drop backs. Of qualifying quarterbacks, the only ones running less often on designed passing plays are Kirk Cousins, Jared Goff and Derek Carr.
• Only two defenses are seeing a higher percentage of rushing attempts than Green Bay's.
• The Steelers offense averaged 5.4 yards per play on first downs last week.
• Based off EPA, only the Colts, Titans and Cardinals have faced a more difficult slate of defenses than Pittsburgh.

WHEN GREEN BAY HAS THE BALL

• Green Bay's offense averages 5.0 yards per play. Pittsburgh's defense gives up 5.5.
• Pittsburgh's defense is second at 36.3% in the usage of four defensive backs on the field and fifth in its usage of dime at 20.2% with six defensive backs. But the Steelers are 30^th at 38.5% with their usage of nickel with five defensive backs.
• The Packers convert a set of downs into a new set of downs 69% of the time. League average is 70%. The Steelers defense sits at league average, 70%.
• Only the Titans have a deeper average depth of target (9.1) downfield than Green Bay and no defense is seeing a deeper average depth of target (9.5) than the Steelers. The Titans and Seahawks are the only offenses with a higher percentage (14.6%) of their pass attempts 20 or more yards downfield.
• Just three defenses have a lower completion percentage allowed (54.7%) than Pittsburgh. Love's completion percentage of 59.4% is better than only PJ Walker and Anthony Richardson of qualified quarterbacks.
• All of Love's eight interceptions have come over the past six games and he has thrown just six touchdowns over that stretch of games. All eight of Love's interceptions have come on passes attempted 10 or more yards downfield.
• Pittsburgh has allowed just two passing touchdowns over its past four games and just one to a wide receiver during that time. However, the Steelers give up 137.1 (fifth-most) yards per game to receivers aligned on the outside as well as the fifth-most (92.8) to receivers aligned in the slot.
• The Packers have seven players with at least 10 receptions. Against the Rams, nine different Packers were targeted with Aaron Jones leading the way with six, his highest target total of the season.
• Christian Watson played 42 or a possible 47 snaps in Week 9 before leaving with injury. But Watson was targeted just once against the Rams.
• Romeo Doubs matched a season-low with three targets last week. He has failed to top 36 yards in four-straight games and in six of eight this season. Over his past four games, Doubs has just 10 receptions for 88 yards. But he does have the NFL's second most (10) end zone targets. Doubs has 14 more targets than any other Packers pass catcher.
• Jayden Reed's 333 receiving yards leads the Packers. He and Puka Nacua are the only two rookies leading their team in receiving yardage. Green Bay is the only team in the league with two rookies with 200+ receiving yards in Reed and tight end Luke Musgrave.
• Musgrave set a career high with 51 receiving yards last week. He also caught his first touchdown. He averaged 2.04 yards per route run against the Rams.
• Last week, Green Bay had five plays that gained 20 or more yards. That was its highest number of 20-yard gains in a game this season.
• Eleven different Steelers defenders have recorded a sack this season. Last week, Will Levis was sacked four times and he was pressured on 46% of his dropbacks. Love was sacked four times in Week 9. Pittsburgh's defense is fourth in pressure rate. However, the Packers' 22.1% pressure rate allowed is the best in the NFL.
• TJ Watt has 7.5 sacks in his five home games this season and needs one sack in his next five games to pass his brother, JJ Watt, for second most sacks for a player in his first 100 career games.
• After last week, Alex Highsmith now has five career games with two or more sacks. Highsmith was credited with 10 pressures last week, the most of any single player in Week 9.
• Green Bay ran for 184 yards last week with Jones leading the way with 73. Four different Packers got at least four rushing attempts. This was the first time Jones received 20 or more carries since Week 10 of last year and the first time in 2023 that Jones got double digit carries.
• Love is the Packers' second leading rusher with 164 yards on the ground through eight games. AJ Dillon leads the team in rushing with 266 but averages just 3.1 yards per carry. Just 4.8% of Dillon's carries have gone for 10-plus yards, which ranks 44^th of 47 backs with at least 50 rushing attempts. Dillon played less than 50% of Green Bay's offensive snaps last week for the first time all season. Dillon's touches and scrimmage yards have fallen in three straight weeks.
• Cameron Heyward played 41 snaps in his first game back off injured reserve.
• With Cole Holcomb getting injured early in the game, Kwon Alexander ended up playing 86.5% of all the defensive snaps last week. On first and second downs, Alexander was on the field 93% of the time against Tennessee.

SPECIAL TEAMS

• Green Bay has had extremely fortunate field goal luck this season. Their opponents have attempted 22 field goals but have made just 16.

MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT

February 6^th, 2011: Packers 31, Steelers 25, Cowboys Stadium, Arlington, TX Super Bowl XLV

Coming into this game, Green Bay held the most NFL Championships (nine league championships before the Super Bowl era and three Super Bowl titles), while the Steelers held the most Super Bowl wins with six. Green Bay jumped up to a 21-3 early lead, but the Steelers did score before halftime to make it a 21-10 halftime deficit. Pittsburgh cut the lead to 28-25 midway through the fourth quarter, but a Mason Crosby field goal was the final score of a game in which Aaron Rodgers was named MVP after throwing for 304 yards and three touchdowns. Jordy Nelson had 140 receiving yards and one of the touchdown catches. Neither team has returned to the Super Bowl since.

KEY MATCHUPS

Packers RB Aaron Jones vs. Steelers Inside Linebackers - Last week, Green Bay's offense went through Jones on the ground and through the air. He's an excellent all-around running back with long speed and big-play ability. Pittsburgh lost Holcomb for the season, leaving Alexander and Roberts as a duo rather than a linebacking trio. Jones will be provide a stiff test for these two.

Steelers OT Broderick Jones vs. Packers DE Rashan Gary - Gary will work off the edge from either side of the formation but will see plenty of action against Jones, the Steelers' first-round pick. Jones is already a major force in the run game but is a work in progress in pass protection. Gary is an incredibly gifted athlete with great power that keeps getting better and better.