Chiefs fall to Packers at Lambeau
Tyler Brown
The Kansas City Chiefs (8-4) simply got outplayed by the Green Bay Packers (6-6) in quarterback Patrick Mahomes' first trip to Lambeau Field. There were two critical plays or turning points in the game that the Chiefs could not overcome in their 27-19 loss to the Packers.
One of the plays was a self-inflicted interception thrown by Mahomes and the other was beyond their control after a brutal non-pass interference call by the referees.
With just over six minutes to go, the Chiefs' defense had just limited Green Bay to a field goal after a long drive ended in a sack by defensive end Mike Danna. The score was 24-19 and Mahomes and the offense had a chance to take their first lead of the game and put their offensive woes behind them.
Instead, cornerback Keisean Nixon read Mahomes target to wide receiver Skyy Moore like a book. Nixon appeared to have a better beat on the ball than Moore did as he hauled it in on just the second play of the drive.
“You can’t make that mistake,” Mahomes said. “… The guy went over the top. I probably should have backshouldered it to Skyy (Moore). That’s just a mistake on my part that you can’t make in that situation.”
From there, the Packers did what they did all night. They put together a long scoring drive. After a defensive end Charles Omenihu sack, the promising drive did end in a field goal, which put Green Bay up eight points with just over a minute left in the game.
Kansas City’s final drive was wild. Parts of it included a Green Bay fumble recovery for a touchdown, which was reversed. On that same play running back Isiah Pacheco threw a left hook at a Packers defender and was ejected from the game. Had he not done that, the Chiefs would have had the ball at the Packers 35 with 57 seconds left.
What ensued that play though, was egregious. Mahomes dropped back on a first and 10 from the 50 and chucked the ball down to wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling. As Valdez Scantling was tracking the ball, Packers’ cornerback Carrington Vallentine played straight through the receiver’s back inhibiting him from making a play on the ball.
“It is what it is,” Mahomes said. “Obviously the guy was probably a little early but at the end of the day they’re letting guys play and I’m kind of about that. I’d rather you let the guys play and let the guys win it on the field. It’s a hard job, man. When we’re in the situation I can’t be wanting the flag. I have to try to go out there and win the game myself and with the rest of my teammates.”
Cris Collinsworth, Mike Tirico and NBC’s Rules Analyst Terry McAulay all agreed that the non-call was wrong, to say the least. Mahomes and the offense were able to gain 17 more yards on the drive, leaving them with a 33-yard hail mary which McAulay also said should have been a Packers pass interference committed against tight end Travis Kelce.
Referees typically try not to call pass interference on hail mary’s, but Kelce could not jump up for the ball as he was shoved forward, and the ball bounced away to seal the Packers' victory.
It was not an awful performance by the Chiefs offense. They scored on their first four drives; other than the drive they took a kneel to go into halftime. They seemed to have officially fixed their second-half woes narrative as they again put up two touchdowns in the second half.
What killed them was the points they left on the board in the first half with the two red zone field goals and the lone interception. After scoring on their first four drives, they came away with zero on their last three. Mahomes finished the day with 210 yards passing and one touchdown that went to tight end Noah Gray.
“We made too many mistakes,” Mahomes said. “They had a good game plan, played a good game. Jordan (Love) played great. But at the end of the day, if you make too many mistakes against a good football team, you lose.”
The receiver's box score looked similar to last week, with Kelce and wide receiver Rashee Rice leading the way. Kelce hauled in all but one of his targets for 81 yards. Rice also caught all but one of his targets and finished with 64 yards on eight catches. The depth issue remains with no receiver in this game other than Rice and Kelce finished with more than 25 yards on the night.
The Chiefs’ best player on Sunday night was probably Pacheco. He ran down the Packers throats all night, finishing with 110 yards on 18 carries and tallied a touchdown. He also brought in three receptions for 13 yards.
The Chiefs’ defense had been carrying the team for several weeks and allowing 17 points against a team with weapons like running back Josh Jacobs and wide receivers Davante Adams and Jakobi Meyers, is nothing to slouch at. There is no doubt though that the Raiders had a good game plan coming in.
At the end of the first quarter, Las Vegas outgained Kansas City 144 to 11. Shortly after that, Jacobs ripped a 63-yard touchdown run and was the first running back to rush for 100 yards on the Chiefs all season.
The Chiefs settled down after that, only allowing three points and 137 yards in the final 42 minutes of the game. To this point, L’Jarius Sneed, Trent McDuffie and company have still only allowed two 100-yard receivers on the season as they limited Adams to 73 and Meyers to 79.
Coming into the week the Chiefs were third in the league in sacks and since Aidan O’Connell had taken over at Quarterback for the Raiders he had been sacked 12 times in the five games. Kansas City did not tally their first sack until Las Vegas’ final drive on third down that essentially sent the Chiefs into victory formation.
On that play, Sneed provided the pressure on a cornerback blitz and George Karlaftis ended it with his eighth sack of the year. Kansas City failed to turn O'Connell over as well after he came in averaging over one per game.
On the injury front, Skyy Moore tweaked his left knee and right guard Trey Smith hurt his right foot, according to Reid. He also noted that the injuries should be nothing too serious. In week 13 the Chiefs head to Lambeau Field to face off against the Green Bay Packers (5-6) for Sunday Night Football. Kickoff will be at 7:20 p.m. CDT on December 3rd.
"Yeah, it was a good day,” Mahomes said. “I still think we can be better. There was plays here and there that we didn't execute at a high enough level. But we're going to be going into Green Bay, playing in a great environment, which I'm really excited about, against a team that's playing really good football right now, and a defense that is playing really good. It'll be another great challenge for us and how can we respond. How can we not have these highs and lows and continue to build throughout the rest of the season."
