NFL Week 9 Game Recap: Kansas City Chiefs 13, Green Bay Packers 7

Neither offense was particularly impressive, but the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Jordan Love-led Green Bay Packers 13-7 at home in Week 9.

All eyes were on Love during his first career NFL start to gauge his chances of holding up as Aaron Rodgers’ successor after the 2021 season. However, the 2020 first-round pick seemed overwhelmed in the moment and struggled with ball placement at times.

Special teams was an issue all game for the Packers and proved to be costly. Their field-goal unit missed two field goals, while Malik Taylor inadvertently touched the ball on a punt return that led to great field position for the Chiefs.

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Kansas City Chiefs

Quarterback

Patrick Mahomes played a clean game for the first time since Week 1, but his stat line won’t look overly impressive. He led the Chiefs to a touchdown on their opening possession but failed to repeat that success on any of their following 10 drives. Still, Mahomes completed 20-of-37 passes for 166 yards, with nearly 57% of those yards coming after the catch.

Running Back

Darrel Williams received the bulk of the carries and went for 70 yards on 19 rushing attempts, with nearly half of his yards coming before contact. However, Williams was relatively inefficient as a receiver, and only five of his 20 total touches went for a first down.

Jerick McKinnon caught three passes as a receiver and averaged 10.3 yards after the catch per reception.

Wide Receiver/Tight End

Travis Kelce proved effective against the Packers, hauling in five of his eight targets for 68 yards and a touchdown. Forty-seven of his 68 yards came on two receptions, which were the only explosive receptions for the Chiefs' receivers and tight ends.

Tyreek Hill was quiet for most of the game but made a play when the Chiefs needed him. Hill caught four receptions for 37 yards, including a 13-yard reception with under two minutes to seal the game. No other Kansas City receiver accounted for more than 20 receiving yards.

Offensive Line

The Chiefs' offensive line put together another strong performance, as the unit only allowed three pressures in the game. Creed Humphrey and Joe Thuney kept a clean slate in pass protection and are expected to earn 80.0-plus pass-blocking grades.

Andrew Wylie was the only blemish on the offensive line, as he allowed one pressure and was responsible for six of the unit’s eight total losses.

Defensive Line

Chris Jones totaled five of the unit’s 17 pressures and was the only member of the defensive line to receive a 70.0-plus pass-rush grade. Against the run, seven members created a defensive stop, led by Jones with two.

Recently acquired Melvin Ingram III had a quiet game in his Chiefs debut, as the former Steeler generated two pressures on 21 pass-rush snaps.

Linebacker

Four Chiefs linebackers played at least 25 snaps, but nobody particularly stood out. Anthony Hitchens was targeted twice in coverage and was credited with a defensive stop after allowing one reception for negative yardage. Hitchens notched two defensive stops in the game while receiving a few positively graded plays against the run.

Secondary

Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo knew he was up against an inexperienced quarterback and made sure to dial up blitzes. The Chiefs brought the heat on 56.4% of Love’s dropbacks, which led to Tyrann Mathieu creating the only sack on Love in the game.

Everyone played a sound game in coverage and nearly pitched a shutout until Daniel Sorensen missed a tackle and allowed a 20-yard fourth-quarter touchdown to Lazard. Despite this hiccup, every defensive back conceded fewer than 60 yards in the game.

Green Bay Packers

Quarterback

Love put together an up-and-down showing in his first NFL start. In a tough environment, he struggled to move the ball down the field, finishing the game with 5.3 yards per attempt on average.

Love proved to be inconsistent when throwing the ball down the field, as both his touchdown and interception were on passes thrown beyond 10 yards. Accuracy also proved to be an issue for Love, as his receivers created some separation, but he struggled to put the ball on target.

His first start ended in a loss, but he completed 56% of his passes for 190 yards and a 69.5 passer rating.

Running Back

With an inexperienced quarterback on the road, Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon were called upon early and often to help move the chains. Jones carried the ball 12 times for 53 yards with three broken tackles and four first downs.

Dillon spelled Jones and averaged 5.8 yards on eight attempts while also notching the team’s only explosive run in the game. Dillon also helped Love in the passing game, catching all four targets for 44 yards and two first downs.

Wide Receiver/Tight End

It was difficult for any of the Packers' receivers to establish a connection with Love. Davante Adams was targeted 14 times, but only six of the balls thrown his way were deemed catchable.

Still, Adams caught a team-high six receptions for 42 yards and four first downs. Randall Cobb caught a wobbly pass down the field for a 35-yard gain, while Allen Lazard shed a defender inside the 10-yard line and darted to the end zone to put the Packers on the board.

Offensive Line

It was a night to forget for Lucas Patrick, who gave up eight of the team’s 14 pressures on just 39 pass-blocking snaps. Patrick allowed five quarterback hits and earned a 2.4 pass-blocking grade on first review. Outside of him, only Royce Newman conceded more than one pressure for the Packers.

Jon Runyan, Elgton Jenkins, and Billy Turner all received 80.0-plus pass-blocking grades upon first review.

Defensive Line

Rashan Gary was the only member of the Packers' pass rush to break through consistently. The former Wolverine beat his defender five times while generating four pressures and one sack. Gary also created one defensive stop and one tackle for loss against the run.

Linebacker

De’Vondre Campbell and Krys Barnes combined for seven defensive stops and three tackles for loss but had a difficult time in coverage. Both linebackers gave up at least four receptions for over 40 yards, with Campbell allowing a touchdown to Kelce. Barnes’ highlight play came in the second quarter when he leveled Williams at the 2-yard line to prevent a touchdown.

Secondary

The Packers' secondary held its own against a streaky Chiefs passing attack but gave up big plays at the end when they needed one more defensive stop for their offense. Darnell Savage allowed one reception for negative yards while forcing two incompletions. Kevin King gave up three receptions for 21 yards while also dropping a diving interception on a drive the Chiefs eventually scored on.