The Packers’ preseason opener will bring back more than Aaron Rodgers. It will also put Green Bay on the same field with Mike McCarthy, the former head coach who won a Super Bowl with Rodgers and left behind a complicated legacy in Green Bay.
Before the matchup, Matt LaFleur made it clear he holds McCarthy in high regard. Citing ESPN’s Rob Demovsky, LaFleur said, “Green Bay Packers, Dallas Cowboys, Pittsburgh Steelers.
That’s pretty special." He also showed plenty of respect for the way McCarthy has handled him over the years.
That kind of mutual regard gives the game a little more weight than the usual preseason tune-up. Both teams are expected to give their starters meaningful reps, which should make this one feel more like a real test than a standard exhibition.
Even so, neither side is expected to show much. The offense and defense figures will stay pretty basic as both teams try to get ready for the regular season without revealing too much.
McCarthy’s run in Green Bay still speaks for itself. He finished 125-77-2 in the regular season with the Packers, added six division titles, and stacked up double-digit postseason wins. Not every chapter ended the way either side wanted, but his accomplishments are hard to ignore.
For Green Bay, the reunion offers a chance to look back on the best stretch of the McCarthy-Rodgers era while also acknowledging why the franchise moved on. LaFleur and Jordan Love now represent the hope of a long Super Bowl window, something the aging Pittsburgh duo never quite had.
That’s part of what makes the NFL so unforgiving. Even great coaches and star players rarely get to script their own ending. Still, there’s value in the respect between LaFleur and McCarthy, and in a preseason game that finally brings actual football back to the field.
In Other News...
Packers Have Early Answers And New Concerns After Steelers Loss
The preseason opener offered the Packers a useful first look at where they stand, and not just because of the final score. Green Bay came away with some encouraging individual showings, including strong work from Trey Smack and Brandon Cisse, while the staff also got a clearer read on players competing for roles and roster spots as the games begin to count in that way.
Keisean Nixons uneven night stood out on a defense that gave up too much through the air, and the injury list only added to the early concerns. Anthony Campbell and Mark Perry both went down, leaving the Packers with a mix of promising tape and a few issues they will need to sort through quickly as the preseason continues. [Read more 🡒]
Luke Musgrave Still Has One Big Chance To Matter In Green Bay
Luke Musgraves Packers career has never really found steady ground, and the latest chapter has only added to the uncertainty. Since arriving as a 2023 draft pick, the tight end has dealt with injuries and uneven production while trying to carve out a bigger role in Green Bays offense, leaving his value more tied to projection than proven weekly impact.
Even so, there is still a path for him to matter. If Musgrave can get back on the field and show he is healthy, the Packers are expected to give him a chance to compete for the TE2 job in 2026, a reminder that his story in Green Bay is not finished yet. For a player who has already logged 65 catches for 649 yards and one touchdown, the next stretch could decide whether he finally turns promise into a real role or gets squeezed out of the picture altogether. [Read more 🡒]
Packers Blowout Loss Got Worse Thanks To A Steelers Rookie QB
A preseason blowout can usually be filed away as just that, but Saturday night got even more uncomfortable for the Packers once Drew Allar entered the picture. Making his NFL debut for Pittsburgh, the former Penn State quarterback looked poised from the start and gave the Steelers another jolt in a game that was already tilting heavily their way.
Allar finished 11 of 13 for 153 yards with two touchdown passes and added a rushing score, a debut that only deepened the frustration for Green Bay as Pittsburgh kept piling it on. His rise comes after a college career interrupted by injury, and his place on the Steelers depth chart remains a reminder that this was only the first glimpse of a quarterback still trying to carve out his spot. [Read more 🡒]