3 Takeaways from the Packers’ 27-19 Victory Over the Chiefs
Who had the Packers beating the Chiefs on their 2023 bingo cards? No one. Well, that’s what happened on Sunday night.
The Packers defeated the reigning Super Bowl champion, the Kansas City Chiefs, 29-17. This victory was not a fluke either, as the Packers led the Chiefs from start to finish. The Packers offense began the night with a dominating touchdown drive and followed that up by holding the Chiefs offense to three points on their first drive. This back-and-forth play continued the whole night, with the Packers having counterpunches for every Chiefs score.
A competitive victory over a bonified contender like Kansas City was important for this Packer team that has been playing well the past few weeks. As it will help build even more confidence in what they are doing. For the Packers to continue their success, they will need to look at the three biggest takeaways from their impressive victory over the Chiefs.
Jordan Love continues to impress
Photo Credit: Evan Siegle, Green Bay Packers
In the past two weeks, Packers quarterback Jordan Love passed for 528 yards, five touchdowns and zero interceptions. These stats show improvement for Love after he struggled in his first ten games of the season. However, was improved play against the Chargers and the Lions thanks to these teams’ weaker defenses, or was Love finally understanding how to play quarterback in the NFL?
Having these questions entering the Chiefs game on Sunday was scary because if it was the latter, then the Packers were in trouble against a top-five defense.
Thankfully, for the Packers, it does seem like Love has turned the corner and improved his game. He threw for 267 yards and three touchdowns against the Chiefs. Yes, Love still did not surpass 300 yards passing, but he was completing insane passes that led the tram down the field. On top of Love’s crazy passes, he was also making changes to the plays at the line.
While this is standard for any quarterback, seeing Love do it shows that his understanding of the game is improving. If Love can finish the season playing like this the Packers could be set at quarterback for the next decade.
AJ Dillon rumbles
Photo Credit: Evan Siegle, Green Bay Packers
Entering this game, one of the keys for the Packers was to get running back AJ Dillon going early. Giving Dillon the ball early and often against the Chiefs wears down their defense because he is a big bruising back. Well, that is exactly what the Packers did giving Dillon seven carries on the first drive. He turned those seven carries into 33 rushing yards, giving him an average of 4.7 yards per carry.
Dillon’s dominant first drive helped set the tone for the game, as he ended with 18 carries for 73 yards. Even though Dillon did not score a touchdown his rushing success was a major reason the Packers won the game.
Packers Defense got after Mahomes
Photo Credit: Evan Siegle, Green Bay Packers
The Packers have had issues creating pressure and sacking opposing quarterbacks all season long. That was a concern entering this game against the Chiefs because they have a strong offensive line to protect quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Not pressuring Mahomes at all would have led to demonization of the Packers' defense because he would have done whatever he wanted.
Thankfully, the Packers' defense was consistently causing pressure Sunday night, forcing Mahomes to throw passes away. The pressure also led to three red zone sacks. Those red-zone sacks led to stops and were a big reason the Packers won this game.
This needs to be a building block game for the Packers' pass rush because, without a pass rush, the Packers won't make it far if they get into the playoffs.