Packers look to get past Kansas City without Aaron Rodgers
The Packers are off their “mini-bye” and travel to Kansas City for their late-afternoon matchup with the Chiefs.
The Packers are 7-1 after their thrilling 24-21 win at Arizona while KC is 4-4 after winning 20-17 at home vs the New York Giants on Monday night.
The big news obviously is that Aaron Rodgers will not play due to testing positive for COVID-19. It is unclear at this time how many games he will miss.
Patrick Mahomes is definitely capable of having a huge game, but he has looked very ordinary at times this season. It’s not easy to live up to that incredible standard he set for himself his first three years as a starter. As long as you have Mahomes, Tyreek Hill, and Travis Kelce, you have a decent chance in any game. The Packers have another huge task on defense ahead of them this week.
With Rodgers sidelined, it looks like we will finally see what Jordan Love brings to the table. Fortunately for him, the Packers are expected to have their top receivers back for this game. Despite that, I look for them to give KC a heavy dose of the running game. It’s also possible that they will have David Bakhtiari back as well. They will need what they can get in order to keep Love upright and create holes for the runners.
This will be the second game between these two teams since Mahomes became the starter, and he missed the first one with an injury. Perhaps seeing Rodgers and Mahomes in the same game is not meant to be.
The news about Rodgers came as a shock to all of us, but in this age of COVID-19, just about any type of scenario is possible. It hits us like a punch to the stomach sometimes, but we have to find ways to adapt and keep moving forward.
Barring any other type of news between now and Sunday, we will finally see Love take meaningful snaps in an NFL game. The front office had better pay close attention too because we may get a glimpse of life without Rodgers. Are they ready to let Rodgers go after this season, or will they do anything they can to make sure he stays in Green Bay?
Almost no one will give the Packers a chance to win this game. Very few game them a chance to win at Arizona, but we know that is a different scenario when they still had Rodgers taking the snaps. Before the news broke, I had a feeling this would be a tough one for GB. KC is 4-4 and barely looks like a playoff team, let alone a Super Bowl contender. I looked for them to bring their best effort on Sunday. Now that Rodgers is out and Love is in, does KC bring that same intensity? They obviously should but we know it doesn’t always work out that way.
I guess in an ironic twist, it’s fitting that this happened during the Packers’ “extra” game this season. This is the game they added when the NFL switched from 16 to 17 games. Much like Thursday Night Football, I am not a fan of this extra game, but we have to play by the rules.
Rodgers or not, the Packers have a game to play and try to win. Let’s see a good game plan and make plays on the field. All gas, no brake for 60 minutes on Sunday is what we need. Let’s make it happen Green Bay!
Go Pack Go!
@DieHardPackrFan #DHPF #GregGoshaw @gg901
