Packers vs. Steelers Preseason Opener Prediction: Jordan Love and a Crowded Pittsburgh QB Battle Headline NFL Preseason Week 1

Preseason football is finally back, and Thursday night’s Lambeau-to-Latrobe road trip in reverse brings the Green Bay Packers into Acrisure Stadium for a matchup that carries more intrigue than the typical exhibition opener.

Quick take:

• Pick: Packers +1.5 (some books have it Steelers -1.5)
• Why: Green Bay is bringing a more complete starting unit than Pittsburgh, which is without both projected top receivers
• The number to watch: Three Steelers quarterbacks are expected to see the field

Green Bay enters at 0-0 with head coach Matt LaFleur confirming Jordan Love will suit up and play in his fourth straight preseason opener, a departure from how many contenders shield their franchise quarterback this time of year. Pittsburgh, breaking in first-year head coach Mike McCarthy, will be without starting receivers DK Metcalf and Michael Pittman Jr., both sidelined by injury, which changes the complexion of whatever snaps Aaron Rodgers gets under center. The Packers are still working Micah Parsons, Tucker Kraft and Zach Wyatt back from injuries that ended their 2025 seasons, while the Steelers are dealing with their own camp attrition on the back end.

Why the Line Barely Moved All Week

Market makers have treated this one as close to a coin flip, and for good reason. Books opened Pittsburgh as a 1.5-point favorite with a moneyline near -130, while other shops flipped the number the other way, listing Green Bay as a 2.5-point favorite depending on the book. The total settled in the high 30s, another signal that nobody expects a track meet when backups and camp bodies are rotating in and out every few series. Preseason lines are notoriously thin — limited liquidity, no clear starter-usage guarantees until kickoff, and injury notes that change hourly — so treat any preseason number as a soft one rather than a sharp read on team quality.

[game_center league=”nfl” teama=”GB” teamb=”PIT” date=”20260813″]

The Real Storylines Beneath the Scoreboard

Love has played in all three of his preseason openers since becoming Green Bay’s starter, throwing touchdowns in two of them, and LaFleur has stressed that snap counts across the roster will stay fluid rather than scripted. That approach extends to the offensive line, where LaFleur said several competitors for starting jobs would actually see more snaps than the established starters as the staff sorts out its front five. Running back Josh Jacobs and cornerback Carrington Valentine are both expected to sit this one out, pushing extra reps to the second and third groups, including rookie corner Brandon Cisse, who has drawn praise all camp for how quickly he has picked up the defense.

On the Pittsburgh side, this game doubles as the unofficial kickoff of the most closely watched position battle in training camp. Coach McCarthy has indicated the Steelers will use three separate quarterback groups, and third-round rookie Drew Allar is expected to handle the second half after Rodgers and Mason Rudolph split the earlier series.

Rudolph enters camp with 19 career starts across six NFL seasons, while Howard has yet to take a regular-season snap.

That number matters because it frames exactly what’s at stake for Pittsburgh’s QB2 job — experience against untapped ceiling, with only a handful of preseason series left to settle it. Whichever passer wins that battle behind a 42-year-old Rodgers has outsized importance for how the Steelers navigate an entire season with virtually no proven fallback plan at the position.

Green Bay’s defense, retooled under new coordinator Jonathan Gannon, has reportedly outplayed the offense for stretches of camp, and this is the first live look at how that unit’s aggression translates against a Pittsburgh offense that’s still figuring out its receiver pecking order beyond Metcalf and Pittman. Keep an eye on how much burn safety Xavier McKinney and the front seven get before the rotation turns over to reserves.

Prediction and Best Bet

Green Bay’s decision to play its top unit longer than Pittsburgh — which is missing two starting receivers and will burn through three quarterbacks by design — tips this toward the Packers doing more with their early-game reps. Love has a track record of moving the ball efficiently in these settings, and with Pittsburgh’s passing offense stripped down to backup weapons for a chunk of the night, Green Bay’s early execution should be the difference before both sidelines empty their benches.

The pick:

1. Prediction: Packers 20, Steelers 16
2. Best Bet: Packers +1.5

Preseason results rarely age well as predictors of anything in September, but for bettors looking at DraftKings promo code offers to get a stake down on night one of the exhibition slate, Green Bay’s deeper first-unit reps make them the sturdier side of a game nobody should be circling on their regular-season calendar. If you’re shopping around for the best number before kickoff, checking sportsbook promotions across multiple books is the smarter move given how much these preseason lines can shift.