GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers have looked like only a slightly above-average team since their 2-0 start. They will have to deliver a significantly above-average game to end their 54-year losing streak in Pittsburgh against the Steelers.
For Green Bay to win, these 10 players must step up.
No. 10: WR Christian Watson
Christian Watson will be playing his first game in 294 days as he completes his comeback from a torn ACL. Watson isn’t going to play 50 snaps. Heck, he might not play 25. But he will be a key player with Dontayvion Wicks out with a calf injury and Matthew Golden perhaps limited by a hip injury.
Watson isn’t just a premier stretch-the-field player for an offense that likes to stretch the field. He’s also an excellent point-of-attack blocker. Whether he’s catching the ball or blocking, he needs to play a big role in a few big plays.
No. 9: LG Aaron Banks
Steelers defensive tackle Cameron Heyward is one of the best in the business. Last season, he was selected for his seventh Pro Bowl and was a first-team All-Pro with eight sacks, 12 tackles for losses, 20 quarterback hits and an incredible 11 pass deflections.
Heyward lines up almost exclusively at right defensive tackle, meaning a lot of snaps against left guard Aaron Banks, Green Bay’s big-budget free-agent acquisition. Heyward has only 1.5 sacks, two tackles for losses and four quarterback hits this season, but he’s eighth in pass-rush win rate among defensive tackles, according to Pro Football Focus.
“Good D-tackle,” said center Elgton Jenkins, who will have to help Banks. “Knows how to rush the passer, knows what offense wants to do. He’s smart, strong. We just got to go out there, execute and do our job and compete.”
No. 8 DT Devonte Wyatt
Devonte Wyatt is back after missing the last two games – and most of the last four games – with a knee injury. He’s Green Bay’s best player at the position. Among defensive tackles, he is second in pass-rush win rate.
“I think it’s a huge impact,” defensive end Micah Parsons said. “I think he makes my life easier. He understands how to rush, how to play, his play style. I just think he brings guys along. His energy’s contagious. He sets the standard in the room. You can tell he learned after some really good guys, and he just carries it with him every day.
“He has that ‘G’ mentality, that dawg mentality and he’s just fun to play with.”
No. 7: LB Quay Walker
Linebacker Quay Walker entered Week 8 ranked 11th with 59 tackles. He has 1.5 sacks, four tackles for losses, five quarterback hits and two pass deflections.
Walker will play a big role in limiting Pittsburgh’s sputtering running attack and its premier group of tight ends. Pittsburgh’s three-headed tight end attack scored four touchdowns in last week’s loss to the Bengals.
Walker is playing for his next contract and is well on his way to getting it.
“Thank you for asking about Quay,” defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley said. “I think Quay is playing at an elite level right now. His communication, the way he’s calling things out, the way he’s studying the game, the way he’s practicing, his leadership on our team, to me, is at a whole different level on the field and off the field.
“And then you see what he’s able to do in the run game and then last week, when he had an opportunity to go one-on-one with some of those backs and really do a nice job on the pressures, he’s taken a step and I really do believe there’s more room. I believe he’s going to get better and better, and I think there’s more ways that we can use him to do that the more that he can absorb and he’s been able to do that. I love being around the guy right now and I give him a ton of credit. He’s doing an awesome job.”
No. 6: RB Josh Jacobs
Josh Jacobs is the heartbeat of Green Bay’s offense. After playing through illness in a win against the Bengals and a calf injury in the win against the Cardinals, he’s mostly healthy and ready to roll against Pittsburgh’s inconsistent run defense.
In the second half of our weekly two-story package, here are three reasons why the #Packers will beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh for the first time since Bart Starr was Green Bay's quarterback. ⬇️https://t.co/X4OI9qbCbR
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) October 26, 2025
Green Bay’s running game has run hot and cold, but eight of his 11 runs of 10-plus yards have come in the last three games. He’s coming off a third consecutive game of two rushing touchdowns. He’ll be tested by Pittsburgh’s fourth-ranked red-zone defense.
“Anytime you get down towards the goal line we can hand the ball to Josh Jacobs, and I think we’re all confident we’re going to be able to punch that in,” quarterback Jordan Love said.
No. 5: S Xavier McKinney
Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has made a living by making big plays but avoiding big mistakes. As he goes against his former team, chances are he’ll be looking to push the ball downfield a bit more than usual.
Packers safety Xavier McKinney is a big-play eraser. He is superb in his centerfield role. Plus, he’s missed only two tackles, which will be hugely important against the Steelers’ best game-wrecker on offense.
“At this point, everybody knows what they’re going to do and how they want to do it,” McKinney said. “So, it’s not much of a guessing game or trying this out or trying that out. Pretty much everybody’s tried what they’re going to try. They have a certain way they want to look and want to run, and that’s what we’re going to do.”
No. 4: CB Nate Hobbs
Steelers receiver D.K. Metcalf lines up more at left wide receiver than right receiver, which could mean more snaps against Nate Hobbs than Keisean Nixon.
To win tonight, the #Packers must deal with this Steelers game-wrecker, writes @JacobSlinkman. ⬇️https://t.co/F1jtx1DK0D
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) October 26, 2025
Metcalf is No. 1 in the NFL in yards per catch and No. 1 in YAC per catch among receivers this season, and was No. 1 in catches on passes thrown 20-plus yards downfield last season. He is as big as a linebacker and as fast as any defensive back on the field.
Hobbs only gave up one catch in his first two games but has been victimized the past few games. The coaches, however, remain supremely confident.
“He is hard on himself, he’s extremely competitive, he’s talented,” defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley said. “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.”
No. 3: TE Tucker Kraft
Last week, the Packers targeted Tucker Kraft 10 times – the most of his career – including on almost every one of Jordan Love’s passes in the fourth quarter, when the Packers rallied at Arizona.
With Dontayvion Wicks out and Matthew Golden perhaps limited, Kraft could be a featured part of the passing attack again. The Steelers have been vulnerable against opposing tight ends. Their 67.2 receiving yards per game allowed is the fifth-most in the league. Only three teams – the Packers among them – have allowed more touchdowns than the Steelers’ four.
No. 2: RT Zach Tom
Here’s this week’s heavyweight showdown. In one corner, it’s T.J. Watt, the three-time NFL sacks champion. In the other corner is Zach Tom, the Packers’ best lineman. Of Watt’s 349 defensive snaps, 345 have come from the defense’s left side or against the right tackle, so finding Watt shouldn’t be a problem.
Blocking him will be the challenge.
“I would say the get-off and the bend” are what stand out about Watt’s game, Tom said. “Obviously, we’re on the road, so he’s probably going to be timing the cadence up, so we’ve got to be ready for that. He’s got good bend around the edge. You’ve got to be able to bend your knees and push him by. He’s got good power, too. He’s pretty much got the full package. Just got to be ready to go.”
Tom is an even-keel player but that doesn’t mean games like this don’t be just a little bit more.
“You definitely get up for them,” he said. “Sh**, they’re money games, but you can’t change anything you do. It’s not like I’m going to go out there and try to two-hand punch him in his chest and get beat just off ego. I feel like you get up for the game knowing that you’ve got to use really good technique all day and, sh**, just play football.”
No. 1: QB Jordan Love
No quarterback in NFL history has been as good at avoiding interception as Aaron Rodgers.
For three years, Jordan Love soaked it all in. After throwing 22 interceptions in 21 games during his first two seasons as the starter, Love’s thrown only two in six starts this season.
He’ll be challenged by Pittsburgh’s pass rush – Love has struggled under pressure – and the Steelers are fifth with 10 takeaways.
“That’s a huge part. My first two years coming into it, I don’t even know his stats off the top of my head, but his two back-to-back MVP years were crazy,” Love said this week. “Seeing a guy throw for that many touchdowns and that few interceptions, I think there’s so many lessons you learn watching him, the way he’s able to take care of the ball and I think it obviously translates to winning games, and I think that’s what we did in those couple years.
“Just the decision-making, being smart, that’s what he did every day. He didn’t throw a lot of picks in practice and that translated to the games. But I think that’s just the experience that he has, understanding defenses, understanding where he needs to go with the ball and not making bad choices with it. So that was definitely something that was cool to see.”
In the first half of our weekly two-story package, here are three reasons why the #Packers will lose to Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers tonight. ⬇️https://t.co/JLsb4r94u0
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) October 26, 2025
