GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers’ deep backups over the course of the final 19 minutes of Thursday’s preseason game at the Steelers turned a 9-7 lead into a 28-9 loss.That sentence, of course, is irrelevant to the big picture of the upcoming season. Kyron Drones, MJ Devonshire and Shemar Barthlomew won’t be on the field in a game that matters.Still, the preseason is about overreacting to games in which the top players barely play (if they play at all) and all the good schematic stuff from the practice field is left right there on the practice field. So, let’s dive into one of our regular weekly features.1. Restart Cornerback CompetitionAt a practice on Sunday, Benjamin St-Juste replaced Keisean Nixon for one period with the No. 1 defense. At a practice on Monday, St-Juste and Nixon essentially split the first-team reps. On Tuesday, Nixon took all the first-team snaps. On Thursday night, Nixon started with Brandon Cisse and St-Juste paired with Jaylin Simpson with the No. 2 defense.The story of Nixon’s career has been playing with a hot motor – sometimes a too-hot motor. He’s not a lockdown cornerback but he’s never backed down from the challenge of having to play that role.However, something seems different this year. He’s been torched during one-on-one periods. That, in and of itself, isn’t a big deal. Veterans aren’t always trying to win those one-on-one reps. They might be working on something specific and aren’t particularly concerned about the result.So, how do you explain what happened on Thursday night? On second-and-8, Mason Rudolph threw a short pass into the flat to receiver Germie Bernard. Kitan Oladapo should have made the tackle but didn’t; Nixon should have made something resembling at least a half-hearted effort to help make the play.He didn’t.The result was a 25-yard gain on a play that should have gained 7.it’s hilarious at this point 😂😂25 Keisean Nixon just running around out therenever sure what he’s trying to do but QBs absolutely love his side of the field 💀 pic.twitter.com/fbCc7joOWB— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) August 14, 2026Contrast that to a third-and-7 in the third quarter, when Drew Allar connected with Kaden Wetjen for a gain of 74 to Green Bay’s 3.On the play, Jaylin Simpson was in coverage but slipped as Wetjen made his break. Wetjen, who has 4.47 speed in the 40, caught the ball at Green Bay’s 33 and would have run 67 yards after the catch for a touchdown if not for St-Juste, who was the cornerback on the right side of the field. St-Juste – a veteran with something to prove, no different than Nixon – was at the 28 when the ball was caught but didn’t give up on the play.We've all seen Keisean Nixon's "attempt" to talk Germie Bernard. Here's the 73-yard completion in which Jaylin Simpson (right slot) falls. Benjamin St-Juste is the corner at the top of the screen. pic.twitter.com/CgS36d4PMh— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) August 14, 2026Nixon, who is entering the final season of a three-year deal, would like a new contract worthy of being a starting cornerback. His $6.0 million average ranks 41st among corners. Contrary to popular opinion, Nixon isn’t a bad player. It’s not his fault he’s been asked to be “CB1.”Would St-Juste be a better starting cornerback than Nixon? Maybe, maybe not. But you can’t coach effort and effort should never wane. One player showed max effort. The other showed none. The training camp battle that started this week but was put on the back burner needs to be restarted.2. No. 3 QuarterbackThe Packers will take two quarterbacks into the regular season. Jordan Love will start and Tyrod Taylor will be the backup.But the No. 3 quarterback battle is an intriguing one. Taylor is 37 and is not the long-term answer as Love’s backup. Whoever wins the battle between Kyle McCord and Kyron Drones, presumably, will be given a season-long spot on the practice squad. That could put that player at the front of the line to be Love’s primary backup next season.McCord was sharp. He completed 12-of-16 passes for 102 yards. Two things stood out: One, he didn’t exactly get a lot of help from his friends but made something out of nothing a few times. Two, he looked like a seasoned veteran on the 2-minute drive at the end of the first half.Green Bay Packers quarterback Kyle McCord (18) passes against the Pittsburgh Steelers. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters ConnectActually, calling that a 2-minute drill would be an insult. McCord got the ball at the 25 with 46 seconds on the clock but completed four consecutive passes. The last of those was to Will Sheppard. The ball was snapped with 12 seconds on the clock and no timeouts, but McCord got the offense organized in time to clock the ball.“Great poise to operate in that 2-minute drive with the way he did,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “I don’t believe he’s had that live yet in that situation. We’re in a down-down clock situation (and) he rifled the inside slant, and to have the urgency to get up and spike the ball … I thought that was just incredible execution, not only by him, (but) by all 11 that were out there.“And I thought the other thing that he did a really nice job was just hanging in the pocket. Obviously, took a hit, delivered the ball to I think it was Isiaah Neyor on that one. So, I thought he did a lot of good things.”Drones didn’t show that poise. It was the end of the game and it was chaos, so the cards were stacked against him. He dropped back to pass four times. He threw one incompletion and was sacked three times for a loss of 26 yards.Drones has an intriguing combination of arm strength and athleticism. From that perspective, he has a Malik Willis-esque skill-set. But the pocket presence was lacking on all three sacks. Chalk it up to inexperience and horrendous pass protection, but pocket presence is mostly a natural skill. It seemed lacking.The No. 3 quarterback, obviously, is an irrelevant position in terms of winning and losing games. The No. 2 quarterback is an incredibly important position, as Willis demonstrated on several occasions the previous two seasons. McCord has shown he’s worthy of a longer look to grow into that role.3. Special Teams Will Help Packers Win GamesGreen Bay Packers place kicker Trey Smack (28) kicks a field goal against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters ConnectThe Packers have been plagued by their special teams for the better part of two decades. Sometimes, their special teams have been bad. Other times, their special teams have been horrific.Under new coordinator Cam Achord, Green Bay’s special teams this season will not be bad this season. Actually they might be a reason why the Packers win games. His hands-on approach to teaching specific facets of the game seems to be working.It’s one game, obviously, but look at the numbers.Skyy Moore, who was signed to give the Packers a legit returner, took his only punt back 14 yards. Pittsburgh’s four punt returns, on the other hand, gained a combined 10 yards.Green Bay’s kickoff returns gained 27, 25 and 25 yards for a 25.3-yard average. Pittsburgh’s three kickoff returns averaged 20.3 yards with a long of 25. The average starting field position after a kickoff was the 26 for Green Bay and the 19 for Pittsburgh.The Packers, obviously, have an elite punter with record-setting Daniel Whelan. After a rocky start, rookie kicker Trey Smack has found a bit of a groove. He made all four field-goal attempts against the Steelers – officially, he went 3-for-3 – with a pair of 58-yarders.“They’ve been very supportive when I don’t kick well either in practice and when I do kick well,” Smack said after the game. “That just shows you what kind of coaching staff and players we have here.”Finally, the ingredients are in place to give the Packers a special teams that aren’t ready to implode at a moment’s notice.SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE DAILY PACKERS NEWSLETTERAdd us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow