Green Bay Packers v. Kansas City: 3 Keys to Victory with Jordan Love
By Paul Bretl
The Green Bay Packers head to Arrowhead Stadium for a matchup with the 4-4 Kansas City Chiefs. Without Aaron Rodgers, it will be Jordan Love who is the commander of this Packers’ offense–and if Green Bay is going to come away with the win, here are my three keys to doing so.
Green Bay Packers Key to Victory No. 1: Lean on Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon
Even if the Green Bay Packers were with Aaron Rodgers this week, I still would have thought that there should be a big emphasis on the run game, but that rings especially true with Jordan Love under center.
Through eight games, the Chiefs’ defense is allowing 4.6 yards per carry–the fifth most in football and the 121.8 rushing yards per game ranks 21st. On top of that, by Football Outsider’s DVOA metric, the Kansas City run defense ranks 29th while by PFF’s grading system, they rank 32nd. In five of their eight games this year, the Chiefs have allowed 100 or more rushing yards, although recently, they did hold the Giants to just 72 yards and Washington to 94.
A well-established run game can do so much for Jordan Love and this passing game. It will create manageable third-down situations, set up play-action and some possible shots downfield, and in general, open up the passing game as defenders creep closer to the line of scrimmage.
If we know this is coming, obviously the Chiefs do as well, so don’t be surprised if we see loaded boxes from the Kansas City defense daring Love to throw the ball–although Arizona did that at times last week as well, and Green Bay still found success on the ground; however, there will certainly be times where Love is going to have to beat this defense with his arm.