Aaron Rodgers finally went back to where it all began in Green Bay, Wisconsin, to seek his revenge against Matt LaFleur and the Green Bay Packers, but it was ultimately the fifth-year veteran in Jordan Love who managed to walk away with the victory on Sunday night. Thanks to more than 70 total passing attempts, 60 points being scored, and a lone turnover, their prime-time match-up proved to be as advertised, but according to ESPN’s flagship personality, Stephen A. Smith, it’s hard to feel good about any of it in Pittsburgh today.
Advertisement
“I watched Jordan Love move the ball all over the field like the second coming of Joe Montana,” Smith exclaimed during the most recent episode of his self-titled show on YouTube.
“When I look at the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense I’m like, what the hell has happened? I watched the Green Bay Packers last night outscore the Pittsburgh Steelers 28 to 9 in the second half… Kraft looked like he’s Travis Kelce or Gronk in his heyday… There’s nothing to steal or hard about the Steelers’ defense. They are soft as Cottenelle tissues.”
Pittsburgh has allowed an average of 462 yards per game to its opponents throughout the last two weeks, and the 35 points that Green Bay scored are the most that the Steelers have given up in a single game since Week 13 of the 2024 regular season. T.J. Watt, who held out for a historic three-year, $123-million contract earlier this off season, has recorded just seven combined tackles and half a sack since Week 6.
“I don’t understand what’s happening,” Smith admitted. “As a Steelers fan, I expected better… They haven’t won a playoff game since 2016.” Suffice to say, given their most recent string of performances, Smith is no longer envisioning a world where his Steelers can make the playoffs.
However, he is still holding out a bit of hope for the Dallas Cowboys, who he now believes has an offense that’s capable of reaching the conference championship. However, he’s still blaming the team’s owner and general manager, Jerry Jones, for fielding a liability of a defense on a weekly basis.
“A middle-of-the-road defense can propel the Dallas Cowboys, yes, I’m saying it, to an NFC Championship game. It ain’t gonna happen, because there’s a black cat running around that franchise, but they could if they did the right things. If Jerry Jones and his hard-headed self would listen. This is on Jerry Jones. Your defense is trash.”
Unlike Pittsburgh, Smith is still operating under the belief that a mid-season trade could do wonders for this Cowboys team. It’s just unfortunate that this will likely never occur, as Jones has been infamously content with what has been the second-worst defense in the league throughout the first two months of the regular season.
