KC Chiefs: Five things we learned in week eight loss vs Packers

Moral victories shouldn’t be a thing, but there is an exception to be made here. The KC Chiefs were a couple of plays away from stealing one that they really had no business being in to begin with.

The Kansas City Chiefs were starting third or fourth string guys in some places in what was a marquee game for the National Football League. Oh, and the Chiefs were starting a quarterback that hadn’t started a game in almost two years.

A loss is a loss, but there were some things that we learned.

Rodgers is still phenomenal

Let’s get the obvious out of the way, shall we? Aaron Rodgers is one of the greatest quarterbacks to play the game of football. He made plays that only a few can make. We saw his greatness against the Chiefs.

That touchdown near the sideline of the endzone? Only the Chiefs’ own Patrick Mahomes and maybe Russell Wilson can make that kind of throw.

The Chiefs defense was also starting third and fourth-string guys in a couple of spots (more on the defense in a bit), but they held up extremely well given who they were up against. Rodgers put on a show against the Chiefs and even for a loss, it was fun to watch.

Coverage Linebacker Needs To be Addressed

Aaron Rodgers was 11/11 for 183 yards when targeting the Chiefs linebackers. This has been a weak point for the defense and the Packers took advantage of it.

The Chiefs have some tough offenses ahead that like to throw to running backs out of the backfield and on routes. This is going to be exploited by teams.

Jamaal Williams had himself a day as a receiver and it is only going to get worse. The Chiefs do have Dorian O’Daniel on the roster, who is perfect for this role. Will the Chiefs use him? Time will only tell, but let us hope so or it could be tough sledding.

Moore was solid

For a guy who hadn’t started a game in nearly two years, Chiefs backup signal callerMatt Moore played himself a good game. It was clear which guys he had built up some chemistry with running the scout team in practice. His role was to manage the game and not screw it up. He did just that and had himself a game a lot of quarterbacks would love to have.

Now it could have been better if there weren’t a few drops by Travis Kelce and Sammy Watkins, but Kelce seems to be a guy that needs to get used to the quarterback that is throwing to him. Not excusing Kelce dropping half of his targets, but it took him a couple of games last year to get in rhythm with Mahomes.

Andy Reid has a history of getting good games out of backup quarterbacks and that was on full display against a decent Packers defense.

Chiefs depth is being tested

The Chiefs are on their backup left tackle, third string left guard since Cam Erving was technically Wylie’s backup too, backup right guard if Laurent Duvernay-Tardif is out for awhile, third and fourth string defensive linemen and fourth-string cornerback.

This isn’t college where you have 90 guys that you can pick from; An NFL team can only take so many injuries in certain spots before you just say when. As long as the Chiefs get back a couple of players in the next two weeks, they should be fine though.

Injuries happen in the NFL, but it seems to hit certain teams worse than others. The good news is that it gives those other players some solid reps in games and practice, which only works well in the future.

Defense in general

The defense, despite their shortcomings in certain spots, played extremely well against an explosive offense. The Packers are not the Broncos and Aaron Rodgers isn’t Joe Flacco, so of course, they weren’t going to play as well as they did last Thursday. The defense is clearly better than they were earlier in the year though and that’s HUGE, especially for when Mahomes comes back.

Aaron Rodgers was always going to get his stats, but the Chiefs defense did quite well. Luckily, Kirk Cousins isn’t Aaron Rodgers and while he might have a better supporting cast, it bodes well for the Chiefs for next week.

The pass rush is starting to come around finally and the secondary is playing really good right now. If the Chiefs can get their linebacker situation figured out, then this defense has potential.

CONCLUSION

Overall the KC Chiefs played a lot better than many thought they would against a really good team. With the Raiders losing to the Texans, the Chiefs lost no ground in the division (though the Chargers did win, but they’ve mostly been a dumpster fire this year).

This was a game many expected to be a loss for the Kansas City Chiefs even with Mahomes healthy, so this close loss bodes well for the rest of the season.

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