Packers’ offense vs. Chiefs’ defense
While the Chiefs’ offense gets the majority of the attention due to Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes heading up that unit, the Chiefs’ strength this year has been on defense.
Chris Jones is one of the best interior pass rushers in football, but they will line him up all over the formation in obvious passing situations.
Jones is going to be one of the biggest tests for this Packers offensive line that is coming off a great performance against Aidan Hutchinson and the Lions’ pass rush.
Across from Jones is former first-round pick George Karlaftis, who has come on this season. He has seven sacks on the year and has proven to be a great sidekick for Jones in rushing the passer.
In the secondary, Trent McDuffie is playing as well as anyone at cornerback, and he’s flanked by L’Jarius Sneed. McDuffie and Sneed combined to hold AJ Brown to one catch for eight yards in their matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Coordinating the defense is former Super Bowl champion Steve Spagnuolo. Spagnuolo is known for coordinating the defense that shut down Tom Brady in Super Bowl XLII.
He’s as respected as anyone in his position.
The Packers’ offense is coming off what is probably its best performance of the season. That’s something you’ve been able to say for the last three weeks.
Perhaps the short-term pain is turning into a long-term gain right in front of our eyes.
Jordan Love threw three touchdown passes to three different receivers against the Lions. He spread the ball around to all of his pass catchers. Seven different Packers caught a pass on Nov. 23.
Christian Watson had his best game of the season, hauling in a 53-yard pass to start the day and finishing with five catches for 94 yards.
Watson, Jayden Reed and Tucker Kraft all provided touchdown receptions, and the Packers piled up 29 points with 377 total yards.
Love played clean football again, and he looks to be proving that he is the Packers’ quarterback of the future.
The run game is still struggling, and that may be the case all season. AJ Dillon was flanked in the backfield by James Robinson and Patrick Taylor.
It’s likely that will be the team’s backfield again when the Chiefs come to town, as Aaron Jones would seem unlikely to play just two weeks removed from a knee injury that he originally thought might cost him the rest of his season.
The Chiefs are likely the best defense Green Bay will play between now and the end of the season. This is an excellent test for the Packers’ young offense.
Packers’ defense vs. Chiefs’ offense
Mahomes and Kelce are still one of the best duos in all of football.
That is no surprise. The issues in Kansas City have been at the receiver position. Tyreek Hill left before last season, and the Chiefs did not miss a beat, winning Super Bowl XVII.
This season has been a different story. Mahomes has struggled to build chemistry with Skyy Moore, Kadarius Toney and Rashee Rice, among others.
Rice has had some nice moments with Mahomes, but he’s a rookie and prone to the ups and downs of being a young player in the NFL.
Where the Chiefs might lean in this game is on a ground game that just gashed the Philadelphia Eagles for 168 yards.
The Packers have had their struggles against opposing ground games. They’ve allowed more than 200 yards rushing in three games this season. Andy Reid knows that, so he’ll likely test them early and often.
The Packers’ defense is coming off a solid game against Detroit. They held the Lions to 14 points until the final drive of the game when the team began to play soft to help bleed the clock.
Rashan Gary had three sacks and two forced fumbles. The Packers forced three turnovers and held the Lions to 1-5 on fourth-down conversions. That situational excellence is something that has been missing from Green Bay this season.
As great as Mahomes is, he will put passes in harm’s way. The Packers don’t have an interception against a team’s current preferred starting quarterback since Rudy Ford picked off Jared Goff in late September at Lambeau Field.
They’ll need to force a turnover or two to slow the Chiefs down.
Special teams
The Packers’ kicking game has officially become a problem. Anders Carlson is starting to struggle and has missed a kick in every game except for one since the bye week. He missed two more kicks on Thanksgiving Day, although one was from more than 60 yards. He’s missed a PAT in three straight games. The Packers need him to be better. They cannot afford to leave points on the field against the Chiefs.
Keisean Nixon did not have an opportunity to return any kicks against the Lions. With the indoor stadium that is Ford Field, the Lions were able to kick the ball out of the end zone to avoid him.
That is unlikely to be possible on Sunday. With temperatures expected to dip into the low 30s on Sunday night, Nixon should have some opportunities to make some plays.
The Packers coverage units had a big day against the Lions on Thanksgiving. Henry Pearson and Lukas Van Ness snuffed out a fake punt attempt that gave the Packers the ball deep in Lions territory. That proved to be one of the biggest plays of the game.
The Chiefs’ special teams is led by coordinator Dave Toub. Toub was the special teams coordinator in Chicago during the Devin Hester era. He is one of the most respected special teams’ coordinators in the sport.
The Chiefs have used a variety of returners, but the most dangerous one is Toney, a former first-round draft pick. Toney had a big return in last year’s Super Bowl against the Eagles, and he has the ability to take the ball back for a touchdown any time he touches it.
He’s been banged up as has Mecole Hardman, so it will be interesting to see how the Chiefs navigate that situation.
Harrison Butker remains one of the best kickers in the sport.
The Chiefs ranked 31st in last year’s special teams rankings from Rick Gosselin. Sunday’s matchup could prove interesting as these two teams are volatile in this phase of the game.
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