🏈Opening Kickoff
Coming off of a much-needed palate-cleansing win at Lambeau, the Packers headed to Phoenix looking for their first road win of the season—and they did exactly that, edging out Arizona 27-23 to push their record to 4-1-1. After a Monday Night loss for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Packers now sit alone in first place atop the NFC.
🗞️The Headline Recap
It wasn't pretty, and the Packers didn't take the lead until just under two minutes remained, but it was the kind of gritty performance that matters later in the season. No team is perfect, and sloppy performances are simply going to occur. But true contenders find a way to win, which the Packers did.
A game that was supposed to be an easy win was not without its drama. The defining moment came on a crucial, gutsy decision from Matt LaFleur, who chose to go for the win on 4th & 2 with 2:32 remaining rather than safely opting to tie it at 23. The gamble from the recently highly criticized playcaller paid off on a Jordan Love connection with Tucker Kraft, leading to Josh Jacobs' go-ahead TD score with 1:50 to go. The defense ultimately held off one final attempt from Arizona to win the game, with the biggest play being Micah Parsons' third sack of the game to stop all momentum on the Cardinals' attempted game-winning drive.
Early on, nothing seemed to click. The Packers were the worse team for the first two quarters and were lucky to be trailing only 13-6 at the half thanks to a miracle kick from Lucas Havrisik. But when the game tightened up, they made the plays that counted. Every win is worth the same amount. The Packers still have areas to clean up, but this victory proved they can deliver under pressure.
🤓By The Numbers
The Packers have not defeated the Steelers in Pittsburgh since 1970 when Bart Starr was their QB. 55 years ago!
Matthew Golden leads all rookie wideouts (min. 15 targets) with a 60.9% success rate, 78.3% catch rate, and an impressive 10.8 yards per target. It might be time to get him the ball more! (h/t Zach Kruse)
New record alert: In just his second game with the team, Packers kicker Lucas Havrisik set the franchise record for longest field goal made in franchise history with a 61-yarder. The record was previously held by the Packers' all-time leading scorer, Mason Crosby, at 58 yards.
📈Stock Report 📉
Stock Up
Micah Parsons – Three sacks for the man himself against Arizona, including one in crunch time when the Cardinals were trying to win the game. Not that he wasn't making a big difference before, but where are the naysayers about trading for him now that his impact is so evident in the stat sheet?
Josh Jacobs - He fought through a calf strain (and through the training staff in a pregame heated exchange) to record 55 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Jacobs then gave an emotional postgame speech about how badly he wanted to be out there for his teammates. He is the heart and soul of this team.
Lucas Havrisik - See above.
Stock Down
Nate Hobbs – In addition to just being visibly carved up, Nate Hobbs allowed a 109.7 passer rating when targeted on Sunday…against Jacoby Brissett. Yeah, it's time to just send Carrington Valentine out there instead.
Elgton Jenkins - I guess it would be fair to blame the Packers staff for this one since they forced the transition under the assumption that he would become a "Hall of Fame" level player…but since Jenkins moved to center full time, he has gone from one of the most impactful offensive linemen in the league to just another guy out there.
Jeff Hafley - The Packers defense is still quite good. But after two weeks, it was looking like Jeff Hafley was going to be a prime candidate for head coach interviews this cycle. I'm not worried about that happening anymore.
🔥 Quick Hits
Penalties remain a major issue for Green Bay. LaFleur labeled the 10 flags for 94 yards against Arizona as "controllables" that must improve.
The Packers are likely to be without two key pieces of the defensive line again on Sunday, with EDGE Lukas Van Ness and DL Devonte Wyatt both still sidelined with injuries.
Matt LaFleur: "We're playing the Pittsburgh Steelers, who happen to have Aaron Rodgers. It's as simple as that." Yeah. Sure it is, Matt…
🏆 The Big Take from Brian
Let's cut the bullshit, as David Bakhtiari bluntly put it. This week is about the Packers playing Aaron Rodgers, whether any of us like it or not, so I will be spending no further words talking about how the Packers beat the Cardinals as they were expected to.
Every time the Packers have a big playoff matchup (think NFC Championships, not a wild card game where they are an underdog or something), I wake up with chills thinking about how, for better or worse, I'll remember the outcome of the game that day for the rest of my life. This game has a very similar feeling.
The obvious comparison to make is when Brett Favre beat the Packers in his return to Lambeau with the Vikings in 2009—Packers fans have actually uniquely been in a very similar situation to this. But this one feels different. The Packers and Rodgers had a far more amicable split. It is well documented that Rodgers was a mentor to Jordan Love in their three years of sharing a quarterback room, and that unlike Favre with him, he really made an effort to make him feel welcome. Not only that, Rodgers has gone out of his way to say how much love he has for the franchise many times and has vocally cheered on Jordan Love and company from afar. If you were around, you'd remember that wasn't exactly how things were with Favre after he left, at least for a while. The point here is that even if the matchup is Rodgers vs. the Packers, that doesn't mean we have to manufacture tension to go along with it.
While I of course subscribe to the idea that any "real" Packers fan is cheering solely for Green Bay Sunday with no second thought, I also reject the recent trend of fans who've spent their days hating on Rodgers and trying to make it clear how much better off we are without him, and making a point of the fact that they no longer cheer for him in ANY capacity even when he isn't playing Green Bay, as if cheering for him would be abnormal and disloyal. Look, of course it got a little messy and exhausting at the end there. That is to be expected when a franchise ships out a legend against his will.
Think about all the good times. For nearly 15 years, this guy was Green Bay Packers football. Every game and every season we had a chance solely because he led our team, no matter how bad things were. He gave us something to believe in. He extended the era of legendary Packers QB play. He gave us more good times and memories than I can count with his immeasurable talent to throw a football. He is, in my opinion, the greatest player to ever play the position of QB (call me biased, I don't care) and has a guaranteed place on the Packers' Mount Rushmore. Sunday sight should be a celebration of and appreciation for all of that. AND you can still want the Packers to kick the Steelers' ass!
👀Looking Ahead
In my opinion, this should and will be the NFL game with the highest ratings of the entire 2025 NFL regular season. I’ll be thinking about it every day and night until then. The world will be watching, and us Packers fans will be remembering for years to come. I can’t wait.
👇Final Thoughts
Till next time,
Packerscoverage
Brian Pedretti