This was a lot closer than I would have expected given how the game started against a team missing a ton of starters, but it should serve as a reminder of how hard it is to win a game in the NFL.
Here’s three big points that came out of this week’s game:
Role Players Playing Big
Ty Lancaster has been a little bit of a disappointment after how well he played at the end of last year, but recovering the fumble that he forced by stripping LeSean McCoy was the turning point of the game. Similarly, Chandon Sullivan’s pass defensed on 3rd down (the last play the Chiefs would run on offense) was enormously impactful. Getting big plays from role players is critical to winning close games and the Packers have been doing it all year.
Matt LaFleur’s Offense
I was on the LaFleur bandwagon long before he was even linked to the Packers. Still, I never expected this. The production he is getting out of this team (with or without Davante Adams) is beyond anything that could have been expected. He is the reason the Packers don’t need to mortgage the future by trading for an old receiver in a bad market.
The Other Guys
Adams is out? We’ll throw to the other starting receivers. Other receivers are locked up? We’ll throw to the backs. Backs are finally covered? We’ll pick you apart with the backups. Jake Kumerow had an amazing catch and Marcedes Lewis did a Jared Cook impression for a critical conversion. Those are just a couple of the big plays that unheralded guys are making in the passing game. Good luck covering all these guys – Green Bay’s offense is (and I will use this phrase that I hate so much because it is such a perfect description) a matchup nightmare.
I’ve been saying it all year, but there is a special energy around this team and it gets more fun to watch every week.
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For more postgame coverage from Week 8, check out Prediction Results: Packers at Chiefs – 2019 Week 8.