The Green Bay Packers fall to 3-6 on the season and 1-4 on the road. Like many games this year, they had plenty of opportunities to win the game down the stretch. The offense put up points early and looked their best since week one against the Bears. The defense, though missing key starters, was poor against the run.
You could see the team growing in this game, but they have not yet figured out how to win games.
Here are this week’s studs and duds.
Green Bay Packers Studs
Wide Receiver Jayden Reed
Jayden Reed had a massive game on Sunday. Reed finished the game with five receptions, 84 yards, and a touchdown. The highlight from the day was when Jordan Love connected with him on a 35-yard touchdown. He solidifies himself in the offense and makes a case to get the ball more.
On another catch, Reed showed his relentlessness fighting through multiple Steelers tackles.
The Packers found a guy in Jayden Reed who is just getting started.
Offensive Tackle Zach Tom
From the naked eye and the stat sheet, Zach Tom might not pop out as your prototypical stud day. He played a very good game against the league’s premier rusher. He did give up a sack to T.J. Watt, but the Packers did not offer Tom much help on the day.
He looked good in the run game as well. He had a beautiful block that sprung AJ Dillon to a 40-yard run.
The Packers have found their future right tackle.
Running Back AJ Dillon
AJ Dillon has quietly been stacking good games after good games. He has been running how we expected him to run physically. He also broke off a nice 40-yard run, which is a credit to the offensive line. On the day, he had nine carries for 70 yards, averaging 7.8 yards per carry.
Dillon was also excellent in pass protection and has shown to do well picking up linebackers. He has demonstrated his value in the run-and-pass game and brought much value to this team over the past month.
Green Bay Packers Duds
Offensive Guard Jon Runyan Jr.
I am not sure what the Packers see in Runyan. He is not under contract next year and has regressed from last year. At some point, they should move to Sean Rhyan, who looked incredible in a small sample size last week. Runyan had pulled on a counter and was leveled by a linebacker, causing a negative run for Aaron Jones.
He also missed the lone guy on a screen to Jones that looked like it would have been a touchdown. Runyan has struggled most of the year, and the Packers should look to make the switch to Rhyan.
Tight End Josiah Deguara
The Former third-round pick has not found his footing with the team. He has struggled to land his blocks on offense and has not brought value to the team. Sunday, he didn’t try to block an edge rusher on the extra point. The blocked extra point would be crucial towards the end of the game when the Packers had to go for a touchdown instead.
Josiah Deguara may need to find new scenery because it isn’t working with the Packers.
Running Back Aaron Jones
It was not Aaron Jones best day. Jones had 13 carries for 35 yards. Whether that was on him or the offensive line, that’s not like his normal stat line. He also was credited with a drop.
On the last drive, he had caught a pass and, instead of running out of bounds, headed back to the middle of the field. With the Packers having no timeouts, that was a poor decision, as time was running off the clock. For this Packers team to win, they need their veterans to be their best. Today was not Jones’s day.
The Run Defense
Pittsburgh Steelers came in as the 20th-best rushing team in the league, averaging 103 yards per game. Sunday, the Packers gave up 205 yards on the ground. They were giving up almost six yards per carry. The alarming thing about this run defense is they were running stunts to attack the run game.
This is what Matt Lafluer had to say post-game regarding the run defense. “We had a lot of calls designed to stop the run, and they were still gashing us.”
This has been a perennial problem for the Green Bay Packers, and something must be done.
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