The Green Bay Packers will continue their charge towards a perfect season on Sunday when they play the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs have a record of 5-8, and are completely out of the playoff hunt. With the instability the Chiefs organization is experiencing right now, things aren’t too rosy in Kansas City right now.
The Chiefs have been in the spotlight all week with the firing of former head coach Todd Haley, and the installment of defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel as interim head coach. Haley had a record of 19-27 in almost three seasons with the Chiefs. Many believe firing Haley this late in the season and right before the Chiefs take on the Packers wasn’t the smartest decision, but honestly what do they have to lose?
Kansas City has had a rough season and it seems likely to only get worse this weekend. The Chiefs lost starting quarterback Matt Cassel to a hand injury and after struggling under Tyler Palko, they now have a serious decision to make at the quarterback position. After suffering a finger injury two weeks ago, recent addition Kyle Orton is now available for use on Sunday against the Packers.
Crennel is currently wrestling with veteran Orton or their rookie quarterback, Ricki Stanzi. Palko has been demoted to third string, after leading the Chiefs to only two touchdowns in the past four games. Crennel has stated that if Orton remains healthy in practice this week, he will be the starter against the Packers on Sunday.
The Chiefs have another enormous obstacle to overcome: they haven’t scored more than 10 points in their last six games and the Packers haven’t scored less than 24 points all season. The Chiefs hope that making a change at quarterback, and head coach, will help them put more points on the board, but playing the defending champs is a tall order. The Chiefs injury list is quite short, giving them a little bit of good news. They will be playing the Packers at Arrowhead Stadium without safety Jon McGraw and defensive lineman Glenn Dorsey.
Kansas City has history on their side, with a record of 6-3-1 in their last ten meetings with the Green Bay Packers. They are also 3-2 against the Packers at home at Arrowhead Stadium. But this is a very different Packers team, and a very different Chiefs team, so history isn’t the best guide.
The Packers are currently on an 18-game winning streak and have overcome injuries upon injuries this season, as well as last. Aaron Rodgers is having one of the best seasons any quarterback ever has, and they are coming off a 46-16 win over the Oakland Raiders. The Chiefs defense will have their hands full with Rodgers and the Packers offense. The numbers Rodgers has put up in their last 18 straight wins are astronomical. He has completed 422 of his last 605 passes (70 percent) for 5,571 yards, 51 touchdowns and has thrown just 8 interceptions. He is playing better than any other NFL quarterback right now, including Tom Brady, and is on target to break or challenge multiple records this year, including single season passer efficiency and passing yardage.
The Packers injury list has been incredibly intimidating for a good amount of the season, and now one of Rodgers favorite wide receivers, Greg Jennings, is out after their win over Oakland on Sunday. Luckily, Packers head coach Mike McCarthy stated that Jennings will only be out for 2-3 weeks with a knee sprain, a much less serious injury than originally thought. Three formerly injured Packers team members are expected to be back on the field at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday, which makes their dreams of perfection seem even more reachable. Linebacker Desmond Bishop, linebacker AJ Hawk, and defensive lineman Ryan Pickett are all supposed to play against the Chiefs. Running back Brandon Saine, guard Josh Sitton, running back James Stark, and tackle Chad Clifton are all most likely not going to participate on Sunday in Kansas City.
The Green Bay Packers are obviously hugely favored in this match-up with the Chiefs and this team has plenty of support. In spite of their strength, more fans than not want to see this team go undefeated and have it go down in history; however, any team can win on any given Sunday, so the Packers will have to avoid overlooking an obvious “should win” game like this weekend to keep their perfect record intact.
