Green Bay beats defending champs to even record at 6-6
At Lambeau Field on Sunday night, the Green Bay Packers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs, the defending Super Bowl winners, 27-19, taking the lead from the very first drive.
With this victory, the Packers’ record was even at 6-6 and they were in a strong position. It was their third straight victory. The Chiefs led 14-6 at the half after the Packers, who had fallen behind 8-4, fought back, stopping the Chiefs from scoring two field goals on their first two drives. Early in the second half, the Chiefs cut the advantage to 14-12, but the Packers rallied and maintained their edge.
Following an all-out blitz by the Chiefs, Christian Watson of Green Bay made a daring play to score a third touchdown, bringing the score to 21-19.With a touchdown of their own, the Chiefs tied the score at an exciting 21-19. However, the Packers answered with a field goal and a crucial stop on defence to win 27–19.
After adding a field goal, the Packers’ defense, led by CB Keesin Nixson, thwarted the Chiefs’ QB Patrick Mahomes, extending their lead with another field goal, making it 8 points. With just over a minute remaining, the Chiefs had one final drive, reaching the Green Bay 33-yard line, but Mahomes’ Hail Mary attempt fell short in the last play of the game.
For the Packers, QB Cubie Jordan Love had a stellar performance with 267 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions, and an impressive passer rating of 118.6.Despite suffering an injury late in the game, Watson managed to finish with 71 yards and two touchdowns. Defensive players like Romeo Dobs and TE Ben Sims showcased their skills, with Sims making his first career catch count.
RB A.J. Dillon carried the ball for 73 yards in 18 carries, while RB Patrick Taylor contributed 29 yards in two rushes.
On the Chiefs’ side, Mahomes threw for 210 yards, one touchdown, one interception, and had a rating of 79.1 on 21 out of 33 attempts. Isia Pacheko, Travis Kells, and Rashie Rice made notable plays, but the Packers’ defense held strong.
The Packers secured an early lead in the first quarter, going ahead 7-3. Their balanced offensive strategy, involving all five receivers, three tight ends, and two running backs, orchestrated a 13-play, 75-yard scoring drive, with Roice Newman catching a touchdown pass.
An important play later, Ben Sims’ 1-yard touchdown pass at the goal line extended the Packers’ advantage to 7-0. With a duration of 7 minutes and 47 seconds, this was the Packers’ longest offensive scoring drive of the season.
Additionally, Lucas Van Ness made a crucial play that stopped the Chiefs’ momentum and set up the field for Green Bay’s next offensive drive by sacking Mahomes for an eight-yard loss.
Green Bay’s lead was down to 7-3 at the end of the first quarter when Kenny Clark and Rashaan Gary combined to put pressure on Mahomes, forcing him to settle for a 34-yard field goal by Harrison Butker after two games.
The Packers won their third straight game and evened their record at 6-6 because to their clever play-calling, tenacious defence, and standout individual performances.
Packers lead Chiefs 7-3 after first quarter
The first coin toss was won by Kansas City, who delayed. During a 13-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to open the game, the Packers used all five of their receivers, three tight ends, two running backs, and had Royce Newman report eligible.
On a third-and-four slant, Jordan Love found Dontayvion Wicks for a 7-yard pass, one of his six completions for 45 yards. The longest play of the series was a 19-yard toss to Christian Watson; AJ Dillon gained 30 yards on seven carries and converted an early third down.
The play-action pass on the goal line to Ben Sims, who gained one yard, put the Packers ahead of the Chiefs 7-0. Newman was in the formation with Dillon, Sims, tight end Tucker Kraft, and fullback Henry Pearson.
The Packers’ longest offensive scoring drive of the season lasted seven minutes and forty-seven seconds. Luke Musgrave, Tucker Kraft, and Sims, three rookie tight ends, all caught touchdown passes, making the Packers the first team in the Super Bowl era, according to Elias.
On its subsequent series, Kansas City advanced down the field, driving the ball to the Green Bay 5, whereupon Mahomes was sacked by Lukas Van Ness for a loss of eight yards.
After two plays, Kenny Clark and Rashan Gary teamed to sack Mahomes on third down, forcing the Chiefs to settle for a 34-yard field goal by Harrison Butker to trim Green Bay’s lead to 7-3 at the end of the first quarter.
Packers lead Kansas City 14-6 at halftime
The play-action pass to Kraft for 19 yards was the first play of the second quarter for the Packers. Since James Robinson was the play’s running back, every player in a skill position got an offensive snap.
Love then hit Dontayvion Wicks with a deep play-action pass that was good for 27 yards. On the following play, Green Bay drove into the Kansas City red zone with a 9-yard pass to Kraft.
Dillon had consecutive carries for nine yards. Love’s nine-game winning streak comes to an end on a botched pass to Watson on second-and-five, but with 10:39 remaining in the first half, he eluded pressure and found Watson for a 9-yard touchdown pass to increase the Packers’ lead to 14-3.
Watson completed 10 of 11 passes for 109 yards and two touchdowns (147.5 passer rating) over the first two series.
On their second possession, the Chiefs drove down the field once more, but Green Bay stopped Kansas City in the red zone once more.
With 2:19 remaining in the first half, the Chiefs had moved to the Packers’ 8 when a holding call on Creed Humphrey and a third-down sack by Preston Smith forced Kansas City to settle for another 34-yard field goal from Butker to trim the Green Bay lead to 14-6.
With a 9-yard pass to Watson on third-and-3, the Packers converted their first first down on their third possession, going 4-for-4 on third down in the first half.
With 32 seconds remaining in the half, third-year running back Patrick Taylor broke a career-long 24-yard run to the Kansas City 32. With 18 seconds remaining in the half, Daniel Whelan punted from the Packers’ 39 yard line, which was as far as Green Bay would get. Ford won the Kansas City 3 game.
Packers lead Chiefs 21-12 after three
The news that Kansas City linebacker Drue Tranquill was out due to a concussion opened the second half.
Travis Kelce caught a 21-yard pass from Patrick Mahomes to start the game, but the Chiefs countered with two penalties of their own: a holding penalty, an illegal motion, and 15 yards back in penalties.
Mahomes came up and connected Kelce for 27 yards to help Kansas City convert a third-and-18 and continue the drive.
Despite a 1-yard touchdown run by Pacheco, the Chiefs trailed 14–12 with 9:39 remaining in the third quarter following an unsuccessful two-point conversion attempt.
The Packers’ fourth series began with Love hitting Dillon underneath for 14 yards after the game had started at Green Bay 33. Bryan Cook, a safety for the Chiefs, was hurt on the play and taken to the locker room.
After Jayden Reed’s 8-yard pass, Green Bay was faced with a fourth-and-one situation. Working off play-action, Doubs held onto the ball despite a safety bearing down on him and looked in on a 33-yard pass from Love.
With 5:23 remaining in the third quarter, Kansas City drove the crowd crazy on second-and-11.With just enough time remaining, Love lofted a 12-yard throw up to Watson, who scored the game’s second touchdown to give the Packers a 21-12 lead.
The Chiefs were at the Packers’ 2-yard line at the end of the quarter.
Packers close out Kansas City 27-19, improve to 6-6
With 14:51 remaining in regulation time, the Chiefs opened the fourth quarter when quarterback Kirk Mahomes found tight end Noah Grey for a 2-yard touchdown on third-and-goal, cutting Green Bay’s lead to 21-19.
With 11:36 left in the game, the Packers were forced to punt after gaining two first downs, including back-to-back passes to Watson. However, the drive stopped due to a delay of game penalty.
But first, the defence of the Packers forced a three-and-out by holding Isiah Pecheco to a 2-yard gain on first down. With 10:41 remaining, Green Bay took possession at their 23.
Using a corner route and a 28-yard pass to Doubs, the Packers converted on second-and-16. After that, Green Bay moved 13 yards to the Kansas City 43 by running a double reverse to Watson.
Following a pull up the middle by Dillon that gained 10 yards, Love found Malik Heath on a short stop route that the rookie wide receiver took up the field for 15 yards.
With 6:03 left, Anders Carlson made a 40-yard field goal to increase the Packers’ lead to 24-19 after Love was sacked on third down.
After a defensive pass interference penalty pushed Kansas City to the 49-yard line, Keisean Nixon intercepted a Mahomes throw intended for Moore, returning it to the Packers’ 35-yard line.
After Doubs caught a 7-yard catch in the flat to start the game, Green Bay converted the first down on a 6-yard Dillon run over the middle. The ball was advanced to the Kansas City 41 by a Love sneaky third-and-one rush and a 9-yard screen to Wicks, forcing the Chiefs to use their first timeout.
With 3:16 left, Kansas City called for its second timeout after Dillon ran for seven yards on a first down. During a reversal, Watson was hurt at the conclusion of the play, despite having taken the first down. With 3:08 remaining, the Chiefs called their last timeout.
The ball was advanced to the Kansas City 20 by two four-yard runs by Dillon as the game approached the two-minute warning. With 1:09 left, Carlson hit a 48-yard field goal to increase Green Bay’s lead to 27-19 after Love was sacked for a 10-yard loss.
Kansas City began at its 25 by using a fair catch. Mahomes stumbled out of bounds, and Owens was flagged for a late hit by referee Brad Allen’s crew. Rashee Rice received a 10-yard pass, and Isiah Pacheco was dismissed.
With five seconds remaining, the Chiefs faced a fourth-and-10 from their 33, but the Packers swatted the ball down in the end zone.
