Thursday’s contest against the Pittsburgh Steelers wasn’t a particularly fun one for Matt LaFleur and the Green Bay Packers. The Packers offense failed to reach the end zone, and the defense allowed three second-half touchdown drives.
Yet, LaFleur still saw positives in new Packers quarterback Kyle McCord.
“Great poise. I thought he went out there, I mean, to operate in that two-minute drive the way he did, I don’t believe he’s had that, live yet in that situation,” LaFleur told reporters after Thursday’s game. “We’re in a down, down clock situation. He rifled the inside slant, and to have the urgency to get up and spike the ball — what was there, one second left?
“I thought that was just incredible execution not only by him, by all 11 that were out there.
McCord led the Packers with twice as many passing attempts as any other Green Bay quarterback Thursday. The second-year quarterback went 12 of 16 for 102 yards with no touchdowns and two sacks.
“I thought that other thing that he did a really nice job was just hanging in the pocket,” added LaFleur. “Obviously, took a hit, delivered the ball to, I think it was Isaiah Neyor on that one.
“So I thought he did a lot of good things.”
The Packers signed McCord to a futures deal in January. The signal-caller is battling to stay on the Packers roster as a QB3. Green Bay is expected to start Jordan Love and have veteran Tyrod Taylor open the regular season as his backup.
The Packers also have rookie Kyron Drones on their roster.
QB Kyle McCord Makes Packers Debut Thursday
GettyQuarterback Kyle McCord led the Green Bay Packers in passing yards during Week 1 of the NFL preseason.
Love led the Packers on a decent first drive. The possession, though, ended with a field goal attempt at the 19-yard line.
The Packers then didn’t get any closer to the end zone the rest of the night.
With that in mind, it’s hard to imagine any Packers quarterback played well. Statistically, they really didn’t. McCord completed 75% of his throws but averaged only 6.4 yards per pass.
But as LaFleur explained, there were some situational victories that the Packers can be pleased about after Thursday. The biggest one with McCord was the two-minute drill.
McCord needed just 45 seconds to move into field-goal range before halftime. Excluding a spike, the quarterback went 4-for-4 with 35 yards on the abbreviated possession.
McCord spiked the ball with one second left on the second quarter clock.
Packers QB Depth Chart for 2026 NFL Preseason
GettyGreen Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur addressed quarterback Kyle McCord’s performance in Week 1 of the NFL preseason.
Entering the preseason, Drones appeared to have an outside chance of earning the QB3 role ahead of McCord. But Thursday, Drones really showcased that he’s a very raw prospect.
Drones threw one incomplete pass without a completion Thursday. He also took three sacks.
McCord took two sacks himself. But the second-year quarterback still looked a lot more prepared to competed at the NFL level than Drones.
The Packers signed Drones as an undrafted free agent in May. At Virginia Tech last season, he threw for 1,919 yards with 17 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
McCord spent three seasons at Ohio State and one at Syracuse during his college career. For Syracuse, McCord posted 4,779 passing yards with 34 touchdowns in 2024.
The Philadelphia Eagles selected McCord at No. 181 overall in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL Draft.
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