The Kansas City Chiefs are preparing to host the Green Bay Packers this week in a game that was supposed to be the ultimate contest of the regular season, one in which even casual football fans would find themselves drawn into the battle between two conference powers and, more specifically, perhaps the two most talented quarterbacks in the game today.
Patrick Mahomes will be ready to roll on Sunday afternoon, but unfortunately, Aaron Rodgers won’t be joining him on the field. Rodgers came down with COVID-19, which means the Packers will roll with former first-round pick Jordan Love for the first time in over a year-and-a-half in the team’s offensive system.
So how should the Chiefs approach things on Sunday? We recently asked Paul Bretl, who covers the Packers for Cheesehead TV and Dairyland Express, to tell us more about the Packers’ growth this season, their current win streak, and what to expect from Jordan Love.
This game has been circled on the calendar since it was first revealed. Has your opinion about how things will likely turn out changed at all since the preseason?
It has quite a bit, especially with the recent Aaron Rodgers’ news. In my preseason prediction article, I did have Kansas City winning this matchup in a close contest. However, as of Tuesday of this week, I would have picked Green Bay to win, once again, in a close matchup.
The Chiefs have not played up to their lofty standards, but more so I was changing my tune because of what we’ve seen from this Packers team. Role players and backups on both sides of the ball have stepped up despite injuries while it looked like Green Bay would be getting healthier with the potential return of Allen Lazard, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Davante Adams, and David Bakhtiari–all of whom could be available on Sunday.
The defense has continued to improve each week in Joe Barry’s system, and for much of the Arizona game, the unit looked impressive against that high-powered offense. The Packers have been without a number of key players but have found new ways to win each week, and have yet to play their best football—they’ve pushed all the right buttons over these last seven games.
However, we now know that Rodgers will not be playing, so I again am picking the Chiefs to win. There were throws he’d want back, but for the most part, Jordan Love held his own during the preseason. He looked comfortable, commanded the huddle well, and was going through his progressions with rhythmic footwork. But, of course, making your first NFL start at Arrowhead is a lot to handle and overcome—even if Green Bay does get several of their offensive weapons back.
What have you learned about the Packers in this current win streak that you didn’t know before?
This defense is better at this point in the season than I thought they would be. In a new system, you never truly know what to expect, other than that there is going to be a learning curve—which there has been, don’t get me wrong. But the system is eliminating the big-play, which it is designed to do, and overall, this defense has been very advantageous when it comes to turnovers. Green Bay still hasn’t allowed a 100-yard rusher either, something that caused them issues in recent years, and they are getting after the quarterback with regularity.
De’Vondre Campbell, a late offseason addition, has been one of the best inside linebackers in football while rookie Eric Stokes continues to make strides each week and has handled the CB1 responsibilities fairly well all things considered. Role players such as Dean Lowry, Chandon Sullivan, and Rasul Douglas have all consistently made plays, and of course, the stars of this defense, Rashan Gary, Preston Smith, Kenny Clark, and Adrian Amos, have all been playing at a high level as well.
Despite giving up 38 points to New Orleans Week 1, Green Bay ranks ninth in points per game allowed with 20.9 and they rank seventh in total yards per game given up. If there is one area they’ve struggled with, it’s been in the red zone where they didn’t get their first stop until Week 7 against Washington. However, to their credit, they don’t allow many red zone visits, and overall, I’ve been very happy with what we’ve seen from this side of the ball–especially without Jaire Alexander and Za’Darius Smith.
What should Chiefs fans make of the current Packers injury report?
Well, it’s a lot shorter than what it has been over the last month or so. I would say the two names to keep your eyes on are Kevin King and Dean Lowry.
King was a full participant on Wednesday and Thursday. While many fans will be happy to discuss their frustrations about King’s play, getting him back is important—this CB room is very thin. Green Bay is of course without Jaire Alexander, and Isaac Yiadom is on the reserve/COVID list. Despite King’s ups and downs, he is going to see playing time and he gives the Packers an experienced player to lean on alongside Rasul Douglas and rookie Eric Stokes. I’ll also quickly point out that King is coming off his best performance in sometime when he last played in Week 5 against Cincinnati, so hopefully that continues.
Lowry did not participate on Wednesday and was a limited participant on Thursday. You can often find Lowry doing the dirty work along the defensive front—eating up space and occupying double teams — but over the last month, he has been filling the stat sheet as well—generating good push against the run while also logging some sacks and pressures. When Lowry plays well, Kenny Clark, the edge rushers, and linebackers all benefit.
What sort of offensive changes are you expecting in the scheme knowing Love is under center?
I anticipate Green Bay leaning on the run game with Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon—although I do think that was going to be an important part of the game plan even with Aaron Rodgers under center as winning the time of possession battle is going to be important. We will also likely see fewer shots downfield and more of the quick passing game with on-time and in-rhythm throws. Lastly, Rodgers is someone who typically avoids the middle of the field, but I’m expecting that Love attacks that area more frequently.
The game plan for Love is going to be different, he’s not Rodgers after all, but I don’t think it will be drastically different. Matt LaFleur shouldn’t go out of his way to protect him. Love is a former first-round pick who has been in the system for a year and a half now. Let’s see what he can do and what the Packers have.