Week 9 Recap: Packers vs Chiefs

(Photo cred: USA Today)

Coming off their biggest win of the season to this point against the Arizona Cardinals in the desert, the Packers were set to go on the road, as they were going to face Pat Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. Arrowhead Stadium is another tough place to play as the fans there are rowdy and will let you hear it. Even though the Chiefs have had a struggling season so far, they still have some serious potential as they were the Super Bowl champions just two seasons ago. After the big win against Arizona, the Packers confidence level was at an all-time high as Rodgers was converting without some of his best targets. The Green and Gold were looking like they could beat anyone at this point regardless of who Rodgers had to work with.

However, there was just one catch coming into week nine of the season... Aaron Rodgers tested positive for covid-19. The entire game plan had shifted as Green Bay was without their big leader coming into another big week. To make matters worse, he was unvaccinated even though he previously claimed to Packers medical staff, as well as the media that he was indeed vaccinated. Instead of getting vaccinated, he tried some other alternative treated. Clearly that is going well for him... NOT!! Now he is facing heavy fines from the NFL for violating league protocols, potential loss of endorsements, and of course playing time as he is out due to being ill.

Anyway, back to the Packers vs Chiefs. Not only was Rodgers out, but wide receiver, Allen Lazard, caught the virus as well and was forced to sit out the week in quarantine as well. As Rodgers was out, this meant that the backup quarterback, Jordan Love, was finally about to get his chance in the spotlight as he was going to make his first career start. Love was drafted just two years ago in the first round by the Packers as the Green Bay management was looking at him as the potential replacement at quarterback after Rodgers retires. It was time for Love to prove why he was drafted in the first round. Many fans and media members believed that playing against a struggling Chiefs team would be a good way to start his career and work his way up.

As the game started, the Packers got the ball first and were forced to a quick three-and-out, as they had to punt the ball to Kansas City just over a minute into the game. Once Mahomes got the ball, the Chiefs instantly took off. Over the course of the next 15 plays, 64 yards, and 7 minutes and 55 seconds, the Chiefs were in the lead right away as it was 7-0 Kansas City. After a drive like that, it looked as if the Chiefs were setting the tone for the game by absolutely dominating the clock like that.

Once the Packers got the ball back, they were looking for revenge. This time Love and crew took the ball 53 yards down the field, however, were set to attempt a 40-yard field goal by Mason Crosby. As Crosby has not had quite the consistent season that we expected him to have, he went out and missed the field goal wide left.

The Packers defense went out to make up for their failed last drive, where they gave up seven points. This time it was a success, forcing the Chiefs offense off the field after just four plays. Just like that, the Packers offense was back on the field. Love had still not found his groove yet, but he helped the offense manage to get into field goal position once again. This time Mason Crosby was set to kick from 37 yards out. He was out for redemption after missing wide left in his previous attempt. This time the snap was good, and Crosby was in a good position to kick one through, however, it was blocked by the Chiefs special teams.

Kansas City started to go on a roll after that. They scored two more field goals on back-to-back drives without allowing the Packers to score and the score quickly became 13-0 Chiefs at the half. Jordan Love had no love as he was not able to convert the entire half and the Packers looked as if they were starting to drain both physically and mentally.

Fast forward all the way toward the end of the third quarter and early fourth quarter, the Jordan Love was finally getting something going. The Packers had the ball for 14 plays, driving the ball 68 yards down the field, and had possession for 6:54. However, Love just could not catch a break. Once the Packers were near the goal line, Love threw a pass intended for Davante Adams that ended up being picked off by L’Jarius Sneed of the Kansas City defense. The Packers were running out of time.

The Packers defense then came out and forced another quick three-and-out series. Love got another chance to redeem himself. This time the drive looked a little different. After 10 plays, 53 yards, and having possession for 2:57, Love finally converted. Love connected with Allen Lazard for a 20-yard touchdown, with the addition of a Mason Crosby extra point making the score 13-7 Kansas City. Love finally threw his first touchdown pass of his career. Maybe this could be the start of something big?!

Unfortunately, we learned soon after that that it was not, at least for this game. The Packers ran out of time as Kansas City was able to maintain possession of the ball for the rest of the game and held on to win the game by the score of 13-7.

Even though this was an ugly loss for Green Bay, it was luckily a game that they could afford to lose as they have been dominating for most of the season prior to that game. Love did not do much. He still has room for improvement, but he will keep improving the more he works. Hopefully by next week, Rodgers will be back, and we can put this all behind us.