Packers @ Steelers: Official Game Thread

In week 11, the Steelers put 40 points on the scoreboard and defeated the Titans at home. Now the Steelers remain at Heinz Field to host the Packers.

For the Steelers to win:
The Steelers need to play a complete game (Offense, Defense, Special Teams for 60 min.).
The Steelers need to avoid playing down to the competition.
The Steelers defense needs to pressure Brett Hundley.
The Steelers offense needs to run the ball effectively.
The Steelers offense needs to compensate for J2S2 being out.
The Steelers offensive line needs to protect Ben.
The Steelers need to score TDs and not settle for FGs.
The Steelers need to win the turnover battle.
Coty Sensabaugh needs to continue to be the next man up.


From Steelers Depot:
Steelers Versus Packers Week 12 Projected Inactive List

Joshua Dobbs – Nothing new to see here. Dobbs hasn’t been active for a game this season and that’s not going to change Sunday night at Heinz Field. The Steelers will have five regular season games remaining after Sunday night and Dobbs’ needs to hope the finale against the Cleveland Browns is a meaningless contest if he wants a chance at dressing this season. That, of course, assumes that starter Ben Roethlisberger and backup Landry Jones both remain healthy in the meantime.

Jerald Hawkins – Hawkins has still yet to dress for a game this season and even though starting right tackle Marcus Gilbert has been suspended for the teams next four games doesn’t mean the status of the former fourth-round draft pick is going to change. With Gilbert out, tackle Matt Feiler will likely be the one to dress in his place.

JuJu Smith-Schuster – The Steelers rookie wide receiver was ruled out for the Sunday night game with a hamstring injury on the team’s Friday injury report after failing to practice all week. Head coach Mike Tomlin hinted this past Tuesday that Smith-Schuster might be limited in practice this week because of his injury that he must have suffered in the team’s Week 11 home win over the Tennessee Titans. This will mark the first game this season that Smith-Schuster has missed and him being down Sunday night will likely result in fellow wide receiver Justin Hunter dressing and getting a helmet.

Joe Haden – Haden, who suffered a fractured fibula in the team’s Week 10 win over the Indianapolis Colts, will miss his second game of the season Sunday night. Its still unclear as to exactly when Haden will be healthy enough to resume playing but he did post a video of himself riding a stationary bike this past week on his social media account. With Haden out again, cornerback Coty Sensabaugh is expected to start in his place again on the left side.

Vance McDonald – An ankle that McDonald suffered during the teams game against the Colts will once again force McDonald to be inactive. McDonald, who failed to practice again this past week, was officially ruled out for the Sunday night game against the Packers on the team’s Friday injury report. With McDonald out again, backup tight end Xavier Grimble will likely play a handful of snaps.

Mike Mitchell – After practicing fully on Wednesday, Mitchell then proceeded to be limited on both Thursday and Friday and thus ended the week listed as questionable on the team’s final injury report. The fact that he went backwards easily leads one to believe that he might ultimately miss the game Sunday night with his ankle injury. Mitchell injured his ankle against the Colts and missed the Week 11 game against the Titans. Should he ultimately sit out Sunday night it will mark the third game he’s missed this season due to an injury. He had yet to miss a game with the Steelers until this season.

James Harrison – I really am not sure which way this final inactive will go Sunday night. It could be Harrison, defensive tackle Daniel McCullers or rookie cornerback Cameron Sutton. Besides, all of this assumes that all of my other six guesses are correct. Being as I’m unsure, I will go with the player I would choose to be the seventh inactive and that’s Harrison. He doesn’t play special teams and remains the team’s fifth outside linebacker. On top of everything else, he hasn’t played in a game in several, several weeks and hasn’t even broken the 30 snap barrier this season. Why dress him if he’s only likely to play nine defensive snaps at the most? If, however, Harrison is allowed to dress, I think Sutton might be the seventh inactive. We’ll find out for sure a little more than 24 hours from now.

 

Tunch Ilkin's 3 keys to the game:

Key # 1: Build On Momentum
Key # 2: Stop The Run
Key # 3: Block Defensive Playmakers

 

As brother Gideon says, the key will be the Steelers scoring more points than the Packers.




I will be very disappointed if our beloved Steelers do not win this one convincingly. Hundley is awful, and their defense is very beatable.

Not having J2S2 and Gilbert will hurt. That should not prevent us from blowing this team off the field. However, every opponent is dangerous and capable of pulling an upset especially if the favorite decides to just throw their uniforms on the field.

I like that Tomlin has focused of late in the draft on bringing in players who love playing the game of football. That goes a long way. More and more of those types of players, please. I feel like when you look at the Pats, they focus more on those types of players: ones who are very disciplined, even prioritizing that over players with off the charts athleticism. The results speak for itself.

I wonder if our Steelers will go no huddle this game (off and on) for a few quarters. I think it is critical that we get home field advantage throughout the playoffs so the coaching staff is more inclined to run more no huddle. We used to run it just fine on the road. Tomlin and OCs have been reluctant to use it on the road. I recall that game in Denver in which Hines Ward jumped over a defender in route to the end zone, a game in which Arians at the time did not want to run no huddle. Well, Benny the Bomber went over Arians’ head and straight to Tomlin at halftime, who approved the use of the no huddle in the second half ON THE ROAD against a good Denver team in a prime time night game. We flipped the script on them and instead of getting beat, we destroyed them in the second half. Funny though, as if to prove a point to nobody but himself, Arians shelved the no huddle even more after that game.

Big Ben is what he has always been, for whatever reason he is better out of a no huddle. I get that the coaches want to keep him safe and call plays that increase the chances of that, so it is a delicate balancing act as to when and how much to use the no huddle. Hopefully they find the right balance.

 

Strongly agree, my exact thoughts.
Our beloved Super team “should” destroy this team from start to finish, not just from halftime to the end of the game. With JuJu-licious out look for M. Bryant to possibly have a big game.

 

I'll play it safe and set my expectations to a 27-20 win for our team.

 

The Steelers game is at night. Better get out of your friends house by then.

 

I'm halfway listening to the pregame show on the FAN in Green Bay and the announcers are absolutely despondent about the Packers. The Steelers better wail on them. I actually like the Packers but the Steelers need this game and GB is thinking about next year.

 

James drops wide open first down pass


Refs get us with an illegal shift on another first down throw

 

If Hundley can throw a 50 yard pass on this overrated team of ours then we will be destroyed by Brady or other great QB

 

Ben forcing a throw on third and long and looks like a pick at mid field

 

Ridiculous. Packers have no business being in this game

 

Maybe we don’t want a first round bye...this team sucks coming off long down times.

 

We can blame Ben all we want but this is not a championship caliber defense, horrendous.

GB’s offense has been shutdown by every team they’ve faced without Rodgers and they’re making Hundley look like Rodgers.

 

We better turn it around now

 

Sounds like Ben is playing well, but his receivers can’t catch a ball to save their asses...maybe it’s good I can’t see this crap...

 

There have been a bunch of drops tonight

 

Ben is really reading the D. Gotta finish

 

Everyone put your defibrillators down

 

2 3 & outs

 

For Week 11 there were three teams playing at home that were a two touchdown favorite:

1. Philadelphia - they won convincingly, their game was never in doubt.

2. NE - they won convincingly, their game was never in doubt.

3. Pittsburgh - oh, the unnecessary shenanigans and theatrics