Despite the scoreboard, rookie kicker Trey Smack’s long-range accuracy and a healthy showing from MarShawn Lloyd provided vital sparks during an otherwise quiet night in Pittsburgh for the Green Bay Packers.
A loss is a loss, but the beautiful thing about the preseason is it doesn't matter. The Green Bay Packers' 28-9 preseason loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers was nothing more than a glorified practice.
Sure, they wore their game jerseys and the game was played in Pittsburgh's Acrisure Stadium. And yes, Aaron Rodgers and Mike McCarthy were on the other sideline, so it felt a bit more unique than your typical preseason game.
And yet, the loss means nothing.
There were several in-game "wins" that stood out amongst the 28-9 score, though. These were hooks the Packers can hang their proverbial green and gold hats on as they battle through the rest of the 2026 preseason.
It's a grind, for sure, but moments like this provide greater hope for the season ahead.
Trey Smack looked like a bona fide kicker
Aug 13, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Green Bay Packers place kicker Trey Smack (28) kicks a field goal against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the third quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images.The Packers traded up to select Trey Smack out of Florida with the 216th pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. He was considered the top kicker in the draft, and the Packers saw his big leg and SEC experience and wanted in on the action.
All accounts from OTAs and early on in training camp have been that Smack has been inconsistent, but he was anything but against the Steelers.
He made 3-of-3 kicks with a long of 58. In fact, he made two 58-yarders, but the first was negated because of a roughing the snapper penalty on the Steelers, which gave the Packers a fresh set of downs.
"I think it'll build some confidence," Smack said after the game, according to Wes Hodkiewicz of the team website. "Every day's a new day. You gotta figure out what kind of ball you're gonna hit that day."
MarShawn Lloyd stayed healthy
The Packers are putting a ton of faith in MarShawn Lloyd's ability to stay healthy in 2026. They're expecting him to be their RB2 behind Josh Jacobs, who has a bit of injury history himself and also has a potential legal issue hanging over his head.
The scary thing is that Lloyd only has ten regular season snaps to his name as a pro. The rest of his two years in the league have been spent injured.
Lloyd got four carries against the Steelers and turned those into 13 yards, averaging 3.3 yards per carry.
Most importantly, he finished the game healthy.
The Packers' first unit defense showed up
The final score would suggest that the defense got beat up, and yes, the second and third string players struggled to cover a bit -- especially in the second half.
What really matters was the one series put together by the first unit, though, and those three plays looked nice.
There was a sack thanks to A-gap pressure from new linebacker Zaire Franklin. Two players later, the first team defense had forced a three-and-out and they were able to take the rest of the game off.
"We made it a point of emphasis to put our effort on tape and our physicality on tape and we came out fast," defensive lineman Lukas Van Ness said. "We all knew this is kind of the reality of the preseason. If we get a three-and-out, we could possibly be hanging the pads up for the rest of the day.
"We all came out hot. We got that three-and-out early, which was nice. I'm just proud of the guys."
