Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) faces his former team — the Green Bay Packers — on Sunday Night Football.
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The Green Bay Packers are 4-1-1 and lead the NFC North heading into their Sunday Night showdown in Pittsburgh.
But the Packers haven’t played particularly well since handily defeating Detroit and Washington in Weeks 1-2. In fact, Green Bay hasn’t covered the point spread in four straight games.
By the time Sunday turns to Monday, the guess here is that will be five straight games.
Pittsburgh (4-2) is currently a 3.0-point underdog on its home field. But with Aaron Rodgers fired up to face his former team and the Steelers taking advantage of a suspect Green Bay pass defense, here are three reasons Pittsburgh will prevail tonight.
1. Revenge? Heck yeah!
Former Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers said all the right things this week, including: “I don’t have any animosity toward the organization. Obviously, I wish that things had been better in our last year there, but I have a great relationship with a lot of people still in that organization. This is not a revenge game for me. I’m just excited to see some of those guys and be on Sunday night football again.”
Don’t believe everything you’re told.
Rodgers is one of the greatest competitors this league has ever seen. Whether it’s backgammon, ping pong or football, he wants to win.
“If he was in any type of competition period he wanted to score every time, and that’s what made him great,” Packers defensive end Rashan Gary said.
Rodgers played 18 years in Green Bay, and was the starter for 15. Beating his former team, which would give him wins over all 32 NFL franchises, would mean a lot.
Rodgers didn’t like it when the organization drafted Jordan Love in 2020. And while Rodgers treated Love far better than Brett Favre was to him, there’s nothing he’d love more than to beat the team that sent him packing 2 ½ years ago.
2. Green Bay’s secondary
In Green Bay’s last three games, opposing quarterbacks have averaged 272.3 passing yards per contest and have completed 70.3% of their passes. Those quarterbacks have a passer rating of 108.04 in those games.
Cornerback Nate Hobbs, who signed a four-year, $48 million contract in free agency, doesn’t look like the answer. Hobbs has been picked on relentlessly, and the Packers should be thinking of replacing him with scrappy Carrington Valentine or making a trade before the Nov. 4 deadline.
“He is hard on himself,” Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley said of Hobbs. “He’s extremely competitive, he’s talented. He’s getting into the swing of things after coming back from his knee that he had. I’m excited to see him because he’s a fighter and I believe in him and I believe he’s going to go out there and take a step forward this week.”
Second-year safety Evan Williams has struggled himself and must pick up his game.
Look for Rodgers to exploit the weaknesses in Green Bay’s defense and have a huge night.
3. D.K. Metcalf
The Packers struggled last week with players like Zay Jones and Michael Wilson of Arizona. Imagine what D.K. Metcalf might do?
The 6-foot-4, 229-pound Metcalf ran a 4.33 40-yard dash at the 2019 NFL Scouting Combine. His combination of size and speed are remarkably unique.
Metcalf is off to a so-so start, averaging 67.7 receiving yards per game, 18.5 yards per catch and has four touchdowns.
Metcalf’s best game with Rodgers was a five-catch, 126-yard performance against Minnesota in Week 4. Don’t be surprised if he betters those numbers Sunday.
“He can do it all,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said of Metcalf. “He’s a guy that you just, you better be hyper-aware of what he’s doing, where he’s aligned. And then ultimately, I mean, he’s a big, powerful guy, so he can break tackles, he can drag people he’s going to fight for every inch out on that grass. He’s a hell of a competitor. I just I’ve got a lot of respect for the guy.”
Prediction: Steelers 30, Packers 20
Aaron Rodgers prediction: 22-for-30, 360 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INTs.