Week 8 recap: Green Bay tops Kansas City 31-24 at Arrowhead Stadium on SNF
The game started beautifully for Green Bay as they dominated most of the first quarter, scoring the game’s first 2 touchdowns to go up 14-0 after 1. The second quarter saw Kansas City climb back into it, scoring 17 unanswered points to go up at halftime by three. Rodgers was getting pressured up front by KC’s d-line. He was sacked a total of 5 times in the game; twice in the first half, and three times in the second half. Green Bay’s offensive line wasn’t all that good overall in the game from a pass protection standpoint. They definitely have to protect Rodgers for a bit longer when he’s in the pocket if he has no time to even survey anything, he won’t have time to extend plays. Hopefully, they shore things up for next week’s game against Los Angeles.
One player that has been an absolute star for Green Bay has been running back Aaron Jones. He is tied with Packer legend Ahman Green for 2nd in franchise history for the most touchdowns scored in the first eight games of the season (11). Only former legendary Packer WR Don Hutson has more (14). Pretty impressive company to be a part of for the 3rd-year back out of UTEP. He ended up with 20 total touches for a combined 226 total yards (159 receiving, 67 rushing), and 2 total touchdowns. An absolutely incredible offensive performance. He was definitely an instrumental part of Green Bay’s success Sunday night.
Another player that put up yet another impressive offensive game was quarterback Aaron Rodgers. He ended up with 305 passing yards and 3 touchdowns. 23/33 (69.6%), for 305 yards, 3 touchdowns, and a 129.0 passer rating. Back-to-back games for him with over a 100 passer rating. In the last four games, he’s been absolutely spectacular: 98/137 (72%), for 1,255 yards, 10 touchdowns, 1 interception, and a 121.1 passer rating. Definitely MVP type numbers.
The defense was so-so last night. Tackling was a huge issue, especially in the second half. Another big issue was lapses in coverage during big passing plays for KC. They have to be better prepared in coverage; otherwise, they’ll get burnt on every play downfield. They couldn’t do anything to stop Tyreek Hill; one of KC’s fastest wide receivers. He always seemed to get open in any coverage Green Bay conjured up. Luckily the pass rush ended up getting to Matt Moore enough to rattle him in the second half. He was sacked a total of two times in the game. Both sacks came from OLB Za’Darius Smith, who was an absolute animal for Green Bay on defense in the game. He now has eight sacks in as many games; he’s been very impressive on the field for Green Bay thus far.
Overall, it was a very good and competitive game that came down to the final play. Kansas City, even with a depleted defense and without their star quarterback, definitely came to play. It just goes to show that you absolutely cannot underestimate your opponent in any game, regardless of record or injuries. Hopefully, Green Bay can take the bad from this game, learn from it, grow from it, and perform better because of it heading into the latter part of the season. They have a meeting with the Los Angeles Chargers coming up next week. 7-1 through the first half of the season is great, but from a city named “Titletown”, we want more! Keep winning, keep growing as a team, and most importantly, keep the pedal down! All gas, no brake!
@DieHardPackrFan #DHPF #ParkerMoes @ParkerMoes
