The Packers elevated FB Henry Pearson and RB James Robinson to replace Deguara and Aaron Jones, and activated Darnell Savage off of Injured reserve.  The inactive players were Alexander (shoulder), Deguara (hip), Aaron Jones (knee) and Calel Jones, Samori Toure, and Brenton Cox were healthy scratches.  Rudy Ford, Devondre Campbell, Dontayvion Wicks, Jayden Reed, and CB Robert Rochell were all cleared to play.  Sean Clifford and Klu Kelly were active but did not play.

The Chiefs have had some trouble versus the run and the Packers offensive line has had some problems run blocking this season, but in this matchup the Packers offensive line won its match ups.  Running backs averaged 4.95 yards per carry for the game, many coming right up the gut.  Adding in 2 scrambles by Love and 2 reverses by Watson pushed the totals to 129 yards on 25 carries, good for 5.16 yards per carry.  There were only a few negative runs - the Chiefs registered 4 tackles for loss - and the run success rate was good.  The Packers used 21 personnel quite a bit and the TEs actually were helpful in the run game.  

The pass protection was quite good.  The Chiefs had 4 QB hits and 2 sacks.  Due to the general efficiency of both the running and passing game, the Packers often had favorable down and distance situations.  The Chiefs' Defensive Coordinator, Steve Spagnuolo, did dial up some creative blitzes that left the blitzer unblocked but Jordan Love usually got the ball out quickly or threw it away.  The Chiefs don't really have a high-end Edge player, relying on pressure packages and Chris Jones inside.  Jones, matched up primarily against the interior linemen, had a quiet game by his standards.  Jones had 2 QB hits and a couple more pressures but no tackles.  Jones destroyed Sean Rhyan when Rhyan came in for a series, but Jordan Love escaped left and even picked up 8 yards and a first down on the play.          

Dillon gained 71 yards on 18 carries (4.1-yard average) with a long of 10.  A lot of those yards were up the middle.  Dillon ran hard.  He caught his only target for 14 yards on 18 routes run.  Dillon was more effective running up the middle than wide, but some runs have to be designed to go outside.   He did make a nice move on his pass reception to gain those 14 yards.  Taylor gained 29 yards on 2 carries with a long of 24.  I must note that on his long run Taylor seemed to gain as few yards as were humanly possible given the space he had in which to maneuver.  Taylor ran 14 routes but had no receptions on one target.  James Robinson gained 2 yards on his only carry, which was an odd looking play.  He lost 2 yards on his only reception.  

The Packers played 1.41 TEs per play on average against the Chiefs, a higher number than usual.  Initially, it appeared that Kraft was going to assume the role Musgrave enjoyed, as the Packers dumped some passes out to him in space and let him rumble downfield.  Actually, Kraft looked pretty spry with his yards after catch, if not quite the equal of Musgrave.  Kraft gained 37 yards on 6 targets and 3 receptions with a long of 19 yards.  He played nearly every snaps and ran 30 routes.  He also threw some useful run blocks, mostly in space or as a crackback.  A Edge player did put Kraft on roller skates.  Kraft caught 3 passes on 3 targets for 37 yards in the first half, but was shut out in the 2nd half, failing to catch any of his 3 second- half targets.  Sims caught his only target for one yard, but it was a touchdown on a well-designed play during which Royce Newman reported in as an eligible receiver that left Sims wide open.  Sims ran 7 routes.  Pearson had no statistics.

Jordan Love had another very good day, looking both efficient while throwing a couple of big-time throws with no turnover-worthy episodes.  He completed 25 of 36 attempts (69.44%) for 267 yards (7.42-yards per attempt), with 3 touchdowns and no interceptions.  He had a 118.6 passer rating.  Love gained 10 yards on 2 scrambles.  Love threw some beautiful passes, including several to Christian Watson, both for touchdowns and to move the chains.  Kudos to LaFleur for going for it on 4th and one at the KC 44-yard line up 14 to 12, and Love delivered with a 33-yard bomb to Romeo Doubs with 3 defenders around him.  I admit that I held my breath when I saw Love loft that pass off his back foot down the middle, but it fell in Doubs' breadbasket at the 10-yard line.  2 plays later Love threw a 12-yard strike to Watson for a touchdown to push the score to 21-12.

This is what an offense looks like with a functioning run game and a #1 wide receiver on the field.  Christian Watson caught 7 of 9 targets for 71 yards on 29 routes run (2.45 yards/route) with 2 touchdowns.  He caught contested passes, he went up for his touchdown pass, and he made some shorter third-down catches to move the chains, some of which were nice catches.  Watson has shown that he can be a big-play receiver, but if he can become a volume receiver who also moves the chains, that would be big.  Watson grabbed his hamstring without having been hit and left the game.  He was seen on the sideline after the game walking with a fairly normal gait.  Fingers crossed. 

Doubs caught all 4 of his targets for 72 yards (18 yards/target), with a long of 33.  Doubs ran 32 routes (2.25 yards/route).  He found some soft spots against zone coverage for huge plays of 33 and 27 yards.  Reed caught 4 of his 5 targets for 16 yards on 20 routes run.  Reed only plays when the Packers use 11 personnel.  Since the Packers ran a lot of 21 personnel, Reed played just 30 snaps (47%).  He did have a false start penalty.  Wicks caught 3 of his 4 targets for 43 yards on 16 routes run (2.69 yards/route) with a long of 27 yards.  Wicks produces when he is on the field.  Heath caught 1 of his 2 targets for 15 yards on 6 routes run (2.5 yards per route).  He did have a drop. 

The Packers scored 29 points on 7 possessions, punting twice.   

The Packers elected to play 2.24 true defensive linemen per play.  Clark had 5 tackles (2 solo) including a tackle for loss with 2 QB hits and a half sack.  He won his fair share of reps against a pretty good RG in Trey Smith.  Slaton had 3 assisted tackles and a pass defensed.  He did not win his fair share of reps against Creed Humphrey and Joe Thuney.  Wyatt had 1 assisted tackle which was a QB hit and a half sack.  It looked to me like he had a long day against the run.  The Chiefs gained 148 yards on 25 carries for a 5.92-yard average.  RB Isiah Pacheco gained 110 on 18 carries, a 6.11-yard average.  Pacheco gained a lot of yards after contact.  If there were a statistic for yards after contact by 3 or more defenders, Pacheco would have been listed high in such a category.  

Walker led the Packers with 13 tackles, though just 4 were solo.  Campbell had just 4 tackles with just one solo tackle.  The Chiefs were pretty successful at getting a lineman out to put a hat on the linebackers.  McDuffie went from starting to getting no defensive snaps (something that likely will sadden Mike Wahle, who likes his physicality).  Gary had 4 assisted tackles including a QB hit for which he was credited with a half sack.  Enagbare had 3 tackles (1 solo).  Van Ness had 2 solo tackles, 2 QB hits hits, a tackle for loss and was credited with a sack.  Smith had 2 tackles (1 solo), a QB hit for which he was credited with a half sack.  The Packers sacked Mahomes 3 times, two of which I would deem coverage sacks.   There was not a lot of consistent pressure up the middle from the linemen but the Packers still managed to hit Mahomes 7 times, a normal amount for a game.  

Ballentine had 10 tackles (5 solo).  Owens had 5 solo tackles.  His hit though flagged was not a late hit on Mahomes.  His push of Kelce on the last play of the game was not flagged, but it was ill-advised.  Referees are reluctant to throw the flag on hail mary attempts on the last play of the game, but a hard shoulder bump is easier to ignore than a two-handed push.  Nixon had 5 tackles (2 solo) and a difficult interception that was hugely important late in the game.  Nixon also blocked to the whistle against Pecheco, drawing a personal foul and a disqualification of Pecheco.  That was important because the Chiefs' #2 running back, Jerrick McKinnon, was out for the game.  Savage had 4 solo tackles and a pass defensed.  Valentine had 2 assisted tackles and 1 pass defensed, though it may have been the blatant pass interference he committed against Valdes-Scantling that was not called.  He also allowed extra yards to a receiver due to using an arm tackle instead of good form.  Anthony Johnson had an assisted tackle.  Rudy Ford only played 7 snaps.  He was a limited participant in all three practices and was listed as questionable with a biceps injury.  He did play a lot of special teams snaps.   

The defensive backs held up well considering Douglas is gone and Alexander was out due to injury.  Mahomes and Kelce are good, but the rest of the receiving corps is pretty dismal.  Then again, Valentine, Ballentine, Owens, Johnson, and Savage have held up fairly well all season.  The Chiefs had 8 possessions (7 if you discount the kneel down at the end of the first half), and they only punted once, with one interception and they turned it over on downs to end the game.  

SPECIAL TEAMS:

Whelan put two punts inside the 20, including one that was downed inside the 5.  He averaged 38 yards gross and net.  Carlson made both of his field goal attempts with a long of 48 and all three of his extra point attempts.  McDuffie and Welch each had a special teams tackle.  Welch's extinguished a 31-yard kickoff return.

RB: 1.0

TE: 1.41

WR: 2.58

DL: 2.24

ILB: 1.82

OLB: 2.00

DBs: 4.94

Statistics courtesy of Nflgsis and routes run courtesy of Pro Football Focus.

Photo courtesy of Mark Hoffman, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.