The Packers got the lead by passing, and let Pittsburgh come back by punting on all 3 third-quarter possessions due to first-down runs (with one first-down pass in there that got 18 yds). It was exactly what I said would happen–get a lead by passing, then get conservative and let the other team come back. Every major play was a pass, and maybe one was set up by a run. Receivers were open all day. If they don’t drop about 7 passes, Rodgers is 31 for 39 with over 400 yards, and that’s in 3 quarters since they ran all third quarter! That’s a pace of over 500 yards!!!
The Steelers had momentum at the end of the half when they scored a TD, so I said the Packers had to regain momentum by throwing on first downs when they got the ball to open the second half. I said if they run on first down, they’d punt and the Steelers would score a TD to pull within 21-17, and that’s exactly what happened.
When the 4th quarter started, they then threw on every first down and scored an easy touchdown.
They then put Shields in press coverage with no safety help in the 4th quarter, and Wallace scored a TD to pull the Steelers within 3. This has burned them time and time again, but McCarthy never learns.
And McCarthy is considered a good coach? He made no effort to score in the third quarter when he could have put the game away, letting Pittsburgh hang around and get momentum. This is exactly what I told everyone BEFORE THE GAME that he would do.
Additional verification that what I’ve been saying all along is true. I say the Packers should pass on every first down and rarely run at all, and the response is always that if the other team knows you’ll do this, they’ll defend against it, and it won’t be successful. I also hear that if you don’t have the threat of a run, play-action won’t set up successful passing. Almost everyone says to me that you have to have a balanced attack. My response has always been that the Packers have a great passing attack that can’t be stopped, and they don’t run the ball very well. On those occasions that they do run well, they don’t score and the games come down to the wire, a number of which are lost as a result. This has held true during both the Favre and Rodgers eras.
This is what Sports Illustrated had to say about the Super Bowl: Both staffs examined the Steelers’ 37-36 win over the Packers on Dec. 20, 2009, at Heinz Field. The teams combined for 973 yards in that game, but only 125 were on the ground. In the regular season this year, Pittsburgh’s defense allowed only 62.8 rushing yards per game, the best in the NFL by nearly 30 yards. “They’re not even going to try to run it this time,” Steelers nosetackle Casey Hampton said four days before the game. “They know what happens when teams try to run on us: They don’t make any yards.” Hampton was right. Green Bay had no intention of trying to win the Super Bowl by running, and Rodgers handed off just 11 times.
So, let’s analyze this. The Steelers came into the game with the best defense in the NFL. They knew the Packers would be passing on almost every play, and set up their defense against this (which is why Polamalu didn’t do much). The Packers were missing their tight end, who is probably the best tight end in the league, Driver, one of their top receivers went out early in the game, Ryan Grant, their top running back was out, removing him as a receiving threat, and they had injuries on the offensive line. There was also talk that Rodgers’ hurt shoulder from the bear game might not be fully healed. Despite all of this, and again, Pittsburgh’s great defense knowing they would be passing on almost every play, Rodgers threw for 304 yards. Had the Packer receivers, who were open all day, not dropped a number of passes, he would have thrown for over 400 yards. The thing to keep in mind is that this is only over 3 quarters! McCarthy ran on first down 3 times in the third quarter, with one 18-yard first-down pass thrown in, resulting in 3 stalled drives and three punts. Once McCarthy started throwing again in the fourth quarter, the Packers started scoring again. Had McCarthy thrown in the third quarter and had they not had all the drops, Rodgers would have thrown for over 500 yards! This is against the best defense in the league statistically, and with that defense knowing they would be throwing on every play. I guess this proves what I’ve been saying all along, just as the Atlanta playoff game did, where the Packers threw on almost 75% of their plays in the first 2-1/2 quarters, and built up a big lead. Again, this was against the number 1 seed in the NFC, on the road, with a team that knew they’d be passing.