Packers fall to Steelers 37-36
December 20th, 2009 | by adamburnett |The Steelers come back to give the Packers a 37-36 heartbreaking loss. The Packers fall to 9-5, while the Steelers improve to 7-7. The Packers pass defense was exposed as Ben Roethlisberger completed 29 of 46 for a team record 503 yards and 3 scores, 2 for Mike Wallace and 1 to Mewelde Moore. Roethlisberger completed passes to 7 different receivers as he abused Packers defensive backs Tramon Williams, Jarrett Bush, and Josh Bell. The inadequacies in the secondary have been talked about for weeks and came to fruition today. Hines Ward caught 7 balls for 126 yards, while Heath Miller hauled in 7 balls for 118 yards. The Packers did pressure Roethlisberger and sacked him 6 times. The outside linebackers played very well as Clay Matthews had 7 tackles and 2 sacks, Brad Jones made 5 tackles along with 2 sacks, and Brady Poppinga had a sack. Cullen Jenkins had 2 tackles and a sack, but was after Roethlisberger for much of the game. The Steelers had 537 total yards with only 65 coming on the ground.
The Packers accumulated 436 total yards with 60 on the ground. The Pack didn’t get much going on the ground, but the rushing attack did contribute scores by Ryan Grant and Aaron Rodgers. He also did a lot of damage through the air completing 26 of 48 for 383 yards and 3 scores. Rodgers also completed passes to 7 different receivers. Jermichael Finley had 9 catches for 74 yards and a score. Greg Jennings caught 5 for 118 including a beautiful 83 yard scoring strike. He was the inside receiver on trips left set and ran down the middle of the field. Rodgers hit him in stride, he was able to make a couple of guys miss and take it to the house. James Jones had 2 catches for 36 yards and a touchdown.
This ends up being a loss for the Packers, but as a football fan I found this game very entertaining. It was a back and forth matchup that left me on the edge of my seat. The Packers host the Seahawks next week. Seattle is coming off a 24-7 loss at home to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It will be a matchup of the two teams to have lost to Tampa next Sunday.
