Lew Nichols' 1-yard touchdown run puts Pittsburgh up at the break

Wes Hodkiewicz

PITTSBURGH Trey Smack nailed a 58-yard field goal as time expired in the first half to cut the Steelers' lead to 7-6 over Green Bay at halftime.

Packers lead Steelers 3-0 after first quarter

Green Bay won the opening coin toss and elected to receive. After a touchback placed the ball at the Packers' 35, running back MarShawn Lloyd saw his first in-game action in a calendar year with a 5-yard run to kick the offense off.

On third-and-4, Jordan Love hit Jayden Reed over the middle for a 19-yard gain to the Pittsburgh 41. On fourth-and-9, rookie kicker Trey Smack made a 58-yard field goal but the drive continued after a roughing the snapper penalty on former Packers defensive lineman Dean Lowry.

Lloyd picked up six yards on two carries, but Love and Reed couldn't connect on third-and-4 at the Steelers' 19. Smack made a 37-yard field goal to put Green Bay up 3-0 with 10 minutes, 9 seconds left in the first quarter.

Green Bay's defense earned an early three-and-out, with Zaire Franklin sacking Mason Rudolph for an 8-yard loss on second-and-6 after coming on an A-gap blitz. Xavier McKinney tackled Germie Bernard after a 7-yard pickup to force the punt.

The Packers pulled Love and several starters after the first drive, with Tyrod Taylor replacing him at quarterback. Green Bay went three-and-out after Bo Melton was tackled at midfield after a 7-yard pickup on third-and-10.

Pittsburgh started at its 15 after a 35-yard Daniel Whelan punt. Brenton Cox Jr. blew past Dylan Cook for a 9-yard sack of Rudolph on first down, but the Steelers worked out of it with a 19-yard completion to Ben Skowronek on third-and-5.

Bernard broke two tackles to extend a 25-yard completion past midway. Pittsburgh converted two more third downs and nearly scored on a Lew Nichols 6-yard touchdown run, but it was called back due to a holding penalty.

The first quarter ended on a slant to Bernard for six yards.

Steelers lead Packers 7-6 at halftime

Brandon Cisse made a touchdown-saving tackle on Nichols in the open field to open the second quarter. Safety Murvin Kenion then pushed Bernard out of the end zone on third-and-goal from the Green Bay 3.

The Steelers turned the ball over on downs after Mark Perry tackles Pat Freiermuth one yard short of the end zone.

Pierre Strong picked up 13 yards on back-to-back carries to move Green Bay off its goal line. Taylor scrambled for the first down on third-and-2 and gained another 15 yards after a late hit from Cole Holcomb.

The Steelers were flagged for another personal foul, but the Packers eventually punted after Taylor and Skyy Moore failed to connect over the middle on third-and-9.

Will Howard took over at quarterback and was promptly sacked by Packers safety Kitan Oladapo on a third-and-11 cornerback blitz to force Pittsburgh to punt the ball back to Green Bay.

Kyle McCord entered the game at quarterback for Taylor, who went 4-of-8 for 21 yards in two series.

McCord found Moore over the middle for 10 yards on second-and-11 and then converted the first down with a sneak. Moore gained six yards off a reverse and McCord scrambled for five yards to the Pittsburgh 37 on third down.

Two Jaden Nixon runs went for a loss of one yard and McCord was then sacked, forcing the Green Bay punt.

The Packers topped Nichols for no gain on third-and-1, but Pittsburgh went for it on fourth-and-inches from its own 30.

Howard hit Skowronek for 17 yards to convert and then found former Packers tight end Robert Tonyan three straight times for 53 yards to the Green Bay 1. During that stretch, Perry was injured but left on his own power.

Nichols scored a 1-yard touchdown 46 seconds left in the first half to propel Pittsburgh into the lead.

Savion Williams caught an 11-yard slant from McCord, who then threw an 11-yard pass to Isaiah Neyor to the Green Bay 47. The Packers used their third timeout after a 6-yard pass to Neyor with 12 seconds left in the half.

A quick pass to Will Sheppard and quick spike with 1 second left set up a 58-yard field goal to make it 7-6 at halftime.