Good evening, everyone. On Sunday afternoon/evening, the Green Bay Packers will take on the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. Prior to Wednesday, this was finally going to be the game in which Aaron Rodgers would face off against Patrick Mahomes. In 2019, Mahomes missed the regular season matchup due to injury. In the previous two years, the Packers and Chiefs were so close to facing off in the Super Bowl. Both times, the Packers came up short while the Chiefs made it to the Big Game. With both quarterbacks injury-free, the stage was set for the first “State Farm Bowl” (they have both appeared in State Farm commercials, usually with some guy named Jake). On Wednesday morning (which was Matt LaFleur‘s birthday), it was revealed that Aaron Rodgers tested positive for COVID-19. Even though he claimed to have gotten an alternative treatment in replacement of the vaccine, the NFL deemed him unvaccinated. Therefore, he has to stay in quarantine until November 13, which is the night before the Packers’ Week 10 matchup with the Seahawks. There could be a chance that he would miss both games. I just pray that Rodgers gets better sooner rather than later. As a result of Rodgers testing positive, Jordan Love is making his first NFL start on Sunday. I still think that this game is winnable for Green Bay. Without any more delay, let’s go into detail on what the Packers need to do to beat the Chiefs and improve their winning streak to 8 games.
On offense, it all starts with running the football. What’s going to make life easier for Jordan Love in his first start is a healthy dose of Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon running all over the Chiefs defense. For the offensive line (who will still be without David Bakhtiari), their job in the run game is to create the holes for the running backs to run through for plenty of yards. I have no doubt that Jones and Dillon will get positive yards on each play, even if the Chiefs plan to stack the box. I have a feeling that Jones and Dillon will combine for at least 200 yards on the day as long as the Packers stick to the run. Running the ball well can keep the defense honest and respect play-action fakes. I have faith that Jordan Love will perform well on Sunday. He needs to make the right throws at the right time while not panicking in the process. It will help matters if the offensive line is able to keep the QB upright. As long as he is kept upright, then he will have plenty of time to find an open receiver. In this matter, Love has plenty of help in Davante Adams, Allen Lazard, Randall Cobb, Marquez Valdes-Scantling (who was activated off of IR), Marcedes Lewis, and the running backs. The receivers’ job is to catch each pass that is thrown by Love (other than throwaways). I am sure that most of the passes thrown will be short ones. There might be situations, however, that a receiver can get open downfield. I have confidence that Jordan Love will make those throws with accuracy (as well as every other pass). The most important thing that the Packers need to do is to sustain long drives that end in touchdowns. Converting third (and fourth) downs and avoiding turnovers can help the Packers offense accomplish this goal. Scoring touchdowns is extremely important in the “Gold Zone.” Last week, the Packers failed twice near the goal line. That can’t happen against a Chiefs defense that has been giving up yards and points left and right all season long. I have all the faith in the world in Matt LaFleur, who has come up with a great game plan along with the assistant coaches. I am sure that some trick plays were put in that game plan as well. As long as mistakes are avoided, including any form of turnover, I think the offense will play well with Jordan Love at quarterback.
On defense, the key for the Packers is to make the Chiefs one-dimensional on offense. Stopping the Chiefs rushing attack is important for the Packers defense, which includes Kenny Clark, Dean Lowry, De’Vondre Campbell, Rashan Gary, and Preston Smith, among others. Tackling the ball carrier for minimum gain is crucial to not allowing any chunk plays, both in run and pass situations. If the defense is able to keep the rushing attack of Kansas City in check, then the pass rush can get after Patrick Mahomes and force him to make many mistakes. There is no doubt that Mahomes is a great quarterback. This year, however, he has been prone to turn the ball over a lot. The defense needs to pressure him to throw errant passes that could easily be picked off. Another way that the Packers could get a pick is that a ball bounces off of a receiver (even Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce) because of Mahomes being too confident with his no-look throws. It’s up to any defender (including Eric Stokes, De’Vondre Campbell, Rasul Douglas, Adrian Amos, and Darnell Savage) to catch the ball for the interception. The pass rush can also force a turnover via a strip-sack of Mahomes. Those fumbles need to be recovered by the defense. Turnovers like these, plus stopping the Chiefs from converting most of their third downs, can help keep them from sustaining long drives. Those turnovers can also give the Packers more chances to score on offense. If the Chiefs are able to make it to the red zone, the defense needs to keep them from scoring touchdowns most of the time. I have confidence that the defense (which will be coached by Joe Barry, plus his assistants) will find a way to make key stops against a Chiefs offense that can still be dangerous.
On Special Teams, the key for the Packers is to limit the amount of mistakes made to a minimum. An example of such is allowing a field goal or a punt to get blocked by the opposing team. Against Washington in Week 7, a field goal attempt by Mason Crosby was blocked, resulting in no points for Green Bay. In order for this to be prevented, the line needs to keep any defenders from getting anywhere near the kick. New long snapper Steven Wirtel needs to snap each ball accurately to punter Corey Bojorquez, who needs to secure the hold. As always, Mason Crosby needs to make each kick when he is called upon. If he is called upon, Bojorquez needs to flip the field on each of his punts, especially when the weather is getting colder. The return coverage unit needs to make sure that no long returns are allowed on kickoffs or punts. An easy thing for Mason Crosby to do is to kick each ball into the end zone for a touchback. For Bojorquez, he can punt it deep into Kansas City territory and out of bounds. On the other side, whoever is returning the kicks needs to make a good decision with the ball and not fumble it. There might be an opportunity or two to return a kick for plenty of yards (maybe a touchdown). The most important thing for the returner is to keep the ball safe and not fumble it. Hopefully the Packers get another blocked kick in their favor on Sunday as well. As long as the mistakes and penalties are kept to a minimum, the Packers should be fine on Special Teams.
This game will be another big test for Green Bay. As of now, this is the most difficult one because of Aaron Rodgers being out due to COVID. I have faith in head coach Matt LaFleur and quarterback Jordan Love. The rushing attack should perform well and the defense can force a few turnovers. I am going to say this for the record: If the Packers go into Arrowhead Stadium and take down the Chiefs without Rodgers, then LaFleur deserves to win the Coach of the Year award. As always, I pray that everyone stays injury and COVID-free from here on out for either team. I’ll be back with my postgame thoughts on either Monday or Tuesday. Have a great night, everyone. Go Pack Go!
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