Preston Smith eager to begin another consecutive…

GREEN BAY – For seven years and four games, Preston Smith maintained a week-to-week approach with his profession. He kept his focus locked on the next opponent, the next challenge.

It wasn’t until last month the Packers linebacker finally had a chance to breathe it all in. On his way to Lambeau Field for the Week 4 matchup against Pittsburgh, Smith received a text from his wife informing him of what he was about to achieve.

That meeting with the Steelers was the 100th consecutive regular-season game Smith played in the NFL, the second-longest streak among active pass rushers at the time.

“I guess they put something out on the internet and she’s like, ‘This is about to be your 100th game,'” Smith recalled after practice on Thursday. “I just started smiling like, ‘Wow, I was never aware of it.'”

Smith pushed the streak to 102 straight before suffering an oblique strain in Chicago two weeks later. A testament to his toughness and durability, Smith still managed to get back on the practice field later the following week in the lead-up to the Packers hosting Smith’s former team, Washington.

With mounting injuries at outside linebacker and the Packers readying to play two games in five days, Green Bay’s doctors and training staff felt it was in both the best interest of the team and Smith for him to rest against Washington.

It marked the first time Smith had missed a game, at any level, since his junior year at Mississippi State…all the way back in October 2013. It was tough news to take but a conversation with All-Pro left tackle David Bakhtiari, currently working his way back from an ACL injury, helped Smith see the bigger picture.

“We were just talking about it. Just talking about missing a game with an injury,” Smith said. “Having the streak I had and not being able to play due to an injury and being sidelined, he gave me some great words of encouragement.”

The plan worked. After Green Bay pulled out the 24-10 win over Washington, Smith was cleared to return last Thursday in Arizona. He played 35 defensive snaps in the 24-21 win over the Cardinals, who came into the game undefeated at 7-0.