Heading into the season, the Pittsburgh Steelers game was one of the more anticipated matchups on the Green Bay Packers’ schedule. It’s Aaron Rodgers going up against his former longtime team for the first time. On top of that, this is a standalone game on Sunday Night Football. The Packers (4-1-1) and the Steelers (4-2) have played well and are leading their divisions.
All of the storylines heading into this game focus on Aaron Rodgers vs. Jordan Love and on Rodgers facing the Packers for the first time. As it should be, Rodgers is a franchise legend, and there’s a lot of respect for him in the Packers’ locker room. It’s a huge moment for both the Packers and Rodgers.
However, this matchup is really going to be about Matt LaFleur vs. Mike Tomlin.
For years, Tomlin’s Pittsburgh Steelers teams would drag teams down to their level, no matter how good they were, and that’s no different this year. On the other hand, the Packers have consistently played to the level of their opponents throughout this season, so much so that their game against the Dallas Cowboys ended in a tie.
The Steelers game is likely going to be another one of those games where the Packers are the better team – they’re three-point road favorites – but everything feels harder than it should, as we’ve gotten used to.
It’s going to come down to coaching.
This would be a scenario where Tomlin will have LaFleur right where he wants him, a spot where Tomlin has a lifetime’s worth of experience. To ease the burden, LaFleur will have to find ways to create advantages against a Steelers defense that is leakier than in years past and execute the small things.
LaFleur must be sharp on clock management, aggressiveness on fourth down, late-game scenarios, and calling the right play at the right time. Even though LaFleur has been a successful coach, all of those things have frustrated Packers fans this year.
LaFleur should be able to find advantageous matchups against this defensive scheme. The Steelers play a lot of man coverage. That’s something Green Bay hasn’t seen much of since the first two weeks of the season, when it felt like the offense was clicking. Also, per Peter Bukowski, they’re in the top three in single-high safety looks. That’s something Green Bay has rarely seen because they haven’t been able to get the run game going.
That is partially because Green Bay has struggled with dominant interior defensive linemen this season. Maliek Collins and Calais Campbell have given the interior of the Packers line fits, and Cameron Heyward is no slouch at age 36. The interior of the line must figure out a way to handle these interior guys and get the run game going to open up the back end of the defense in the pass game.
Single high? Welcome back Christian Watson https://t.co/SdgEBxKdai
— Real Quarterbacking
Enjoyer (@Ferd_Turgeson) October 22, 2025
Tomlin is the type of defensive coach who sticks to his ways, no matter what. Green Bay will likely see a fair amount of man coverage and single high. However, to force Pittsburgh to stay in that coverage, they need to run the ball efficiently to truly open up the pass game. However, they don’t need to overrun.
Forcing Pittsburgh into giving the Packers offense single-high looks is one thing; executing on and calling the right plays at the right time against it is another. LaFleur must break some of his tendencies to create an advantage against the Steelers.
Last week, the Cincinnati Bengals got their run game going against the Steelers. Chase Brown had over 100 yards, averaging 9.8 yards per carry. However, he had just 11 carries, and Samaje Perine had seven of his own.
Once they got the run game going, the pass game opened up. With that, the Bengals spammed their two best receivers, something that Packers fans have been begging LaFleur to do. Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins combined for 22 receptions and 33 targets for 257 yards. The running backs ran the ball extremely efficiently 18 times, and they threw it 47 times, hypertargeting their best receivers. It resulted in 33 points and a win.
I don’t expect — or even want — LaFleur to go that pass-heavy. Josh Jacobs is better than Chase Brown, and the Packers don’t have a Chase or even a Higgins. However, Matthew Golden, Romeo Doubs, and Tucker Kraft are clearly the three best pass catchers on this team. LaFleur must avoid certain tendencies to attack a defense whose secondary has been leaky and is giving Green Bay advantageous looks. Green Bay must entertain a more pass-heavy approach and use its best playmakers to take full advantage.
Green Bay must also stay aggressive on fourth down. Tomlin is notorious for being passive on fourth down. That usually makes sense because he usually has a stout defense that you trust to get stops. While the defense is still solid, that hasn’t always been the case this season. LaFleur took a step in the right direction last week, going for it on fourth-and-short late in the game in FG range down just three. That aggressiveness needs to continue to take advantage of Tomlin’s passiveness and keep a leaky defense on the field.
Lastly, late game and clock management are two areas that must be executed. Rodgers and Tomlin are an elite combo when it comes to game and clock management. It’s going to be tough to go against it if it comes down to that situation. However, if Green Bay just does its part, it shouldn’t have an issue. We don’t need to waste timeouts or have a ball bouncing off a receiver to hit the ground with just one second left in field goal range when you need three to tie.
Throughout this season, fans have been frustrated by some of Matt LaFleur’s tendencies: overrunning the ball, not going for it on fourth down when he should, and spreading the ball to too many less-competent receivers. However, this is a game where he must break some of those habits. If he doesn’t, Mike Tomlin will have his team prepared and will have him right where he wants him.