In a game where neither defense could make a stop, the Packers defense failed last in a 37-36 loss to the Steelers.
QB Aaron Rodgers completed 26 of 48 passes for 383 yards and three touchdowns as the Packers all but abandoned the run and regularly went with empty backfields.
The Packers changed holders but K Mason Crosby missed a 34-yard field goal, making it his fourth straight game with a miss.
Packers LB Clay Matthews burnished his defensive rookie of the year case with two sacks and a third apparent strip-sack that became an incomplete pass after a Steelers challenge.
DB Jarrett Bush was beaten several times on Sunday, a sign of how much the Packers miss CB Al Harris.
Steelers WR Mike Wallace only had two catches, but made them count by scoring touchdowns on the game’s first and last plays.
Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger threw for 503 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions and joined Warren Moon and Y.A. Tittle as the only quarterbacks in NFL history to throw for 500 yards, three scores and no interceptions in one game.
Coach Mike Tomlin bluntly explained that the Steelers defense’s inability to make stops influenced his decision to go for an onside kick with four minutes to play.
It looks like the Steelers will need a new long snapper after Greg Warren suffered a serious knee injury on the final extra point of the game.
Said Steelers LB James Farrior, “I’m upset with the points that we gave up. I thought we could have played a lot better. When our offense is putting up points for us, we have to hold our end of the bargain up and keep teams from scoring. But they did a great job responding to every score that Green Bay had. I’ve got to give our offense a lot of credit. They kept us in the game today and pulled it out.”