Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers offense delivered an efficient performance against a very good and aggressive Kansas City defense, and a key element was how well Green Bay handled the pressure packages that the Chiefs threw at them.
The Chiefs entered Sunday’s game ranked second in pressure rate this season, and often were able to generate those hurries, hits, and sacks through blitzing. Kansas City blitzes at the sixth-highest rate in football, and as running backs coach Ben Sirmans said prior to the matchup, there isn’t anyone on that defense who is off limits when it comes to blitzing. The Chiefs will send pressure from anywhere and they do a good job of disguising it as well.
However, Love and the Packers offensive line did a good job of handling those blitzes for the most part. Kansas City blitzed from all parts of the field, and went all-out on a few occasions, including plays that resulted in a 33-yard pass to Romeo Doubs on fourth-and-one, along with the following touchdown pass to Christian Watson on that same drive.
“They brought some pressure,” said Matt LaFleur post game, “they brought some all outs (and) he got us in the right checks. I thought the guys up front did a pretty good job for the most part on the night. There were a couple instances where they were able to get some pressure, but even when they did, you know, that fourth down play to ‘Rome’ (Romeo Doubs) there was a little bit of pressure in his face, and what a catch by Romeo Doubs, what a play by him. That was certainly a big play in the game.”
Love finished the day completing 25 of his 36 passes at 7.4 yards per catch with three touchdowns, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 118.6. That success begins pre-snap, with Love and the offensive line diagnosing what the Chiefs are doing and making the correct protection adjustment calls. From there, it’s about all 11 being on the same page—a true group effort.
The offensive line, for the most part, was able to hold their own, along with help from tight ends Ben Sims and Tucker Kraft. Love was also much better equipped – mainly through experience – to handle this type of defense at this stage of the season compared to earlier on, as were the receivers, in terms of knowing where and when to be when facing pressure.
According to LaFleur and quarterbacks coach Tom Clements this past week, two areas where Love has shown the most growth this season is pocket awareness and feel, along with his decision-making, specifically knowing when to find his check down. Both of those elements are crucial when it comes to finding success against the blitz.
“I think me personally,” said Love after the game, “it’s just being able to see the stuff. I’ve got more reps, I’m more comfortable, understanding where I need to go with the ball. I think the O-line is doing a great job just being able to pick this stuff up. It’s not easy when they’re bringing all- outs, some of these blitzes, things like that, but they’ve been doing a great job giving me time and then receivers obviously, they’re having awareness of when they need to be open and how long I’ve got and then just going out there and making plays.
“It’s definitely something we as a team practice. We know some teams are going to bring it and we’ve got to be able to execute and go out there and make sure they don’t do it again.”
It also helped having a run game to lean on. AJ Dillon and Patrick Taylor averaged over 5.0 yards per rush as a duo, with Dillon shouldering the workload at 4.1 yards per carry. This helped keep the offense ahead of the sticks and out of predictable passing situations, while also helping to set up play-action opportunities as well. When a defense has to worry about both the run and the pass on a given play, as Jenkins said afterward, that slows down the pass rush.
The last time Love faced off against the Chiefs in 2021 it was on the road and his first career start on short week no less. LaFleur still shoulders the blame for how that game unfolded by not making enough changes to the game plan once they found out that Aaron Rodgers wouldn’t be playing. Although the Chiefs didn’t send nearly as many all-out pressures this time around, Sunday Night’s performance shows just how far Love has come.
“It’s way different,” said Jenkins about Love’s performance compared to two years ago. “I feel like they respect him more because they weren’t sending as many all-outs. But he was still directing what they were doing and throwing good balls. Making good reads, making good checks, when they’re blitzing. It’s night and day between the (first) time to this time. It’s just big ups to him, the process, and all the things he overcame with these past weeks.”