After the Green Bay Packers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night, Patrick Mahomes’ affection for Lambeau Field was diminished. Mahomes, who came into Wisconsin praising the Packers’ home field, not only left with a loss. He left the Packers as the single most powerful team against which he continues to struggle.
Green Bay Packers vs. Patrick Mahomes
For someone with Patrick Mahomes’ resume and accolades, the Green Bay Packers defense under Joe Barry has done a good job of making the star QB look not only far from an MVP caliber player, but also below average.
Their last meeting was in 2021, when Jordan Love also started and Joe Barry was the defensive coordinator. While the coordinator has been chastised for some recent performances, it is impossible to deny how well he has prepared his defenses for Mahomes’ skill set.
Mahomes had a 74.8 rating in their first meeting, with only 160 yards passing and one touchdown. He only managed a slightly better 79.1 rating this past Sunday, while throwing for one touchdown and one pick. While he was able to complete more passes for a total of 210 yards, what hurt him the most was this team’s ability to sack him three times.
Even when they couldn’t bring Mahomes down, this defense made him uncomfortable on pass plays by putting him under pressure and forcing him to move out of the pocket without the busts in coverage that other defenses would allow for big plays.
The Green Bay Packers limit scoring opportunities.
This defense has been effective at preventing opponents from scoring touchdowns when they enter the red zone, allowing only 20.3 points per game against this season. They forced two field goal attempts, as they did against the Chiefs, and allowed two touchdowns on very short yardage plays from inside the 5. All while putting a stop to the two-point conversation, which proved to be a valuable conversion stop.
While they did allow some gains in the running game, the defense did an excellent job of containing the Chiefs offense. The secondary, in particular, did an excellent job of maintaining discipline while Mahomes extended plays. Even on shorter completions, the Green Bay Packers defense rallied to the ball and tackled well in space.
Defensive Standouts for the Green Bay Packers
Here are a few standouts from a list of people who had strong defensive performances.
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Corey Bellentine had ten tackles while under constant pressure as a corner, containing big QB runs and maintaining his coverage assignment. Kenny Clark was all over the field, making Patrick Mahomes’ life as difficult as possible. He finished with five tackles, half a sack, and one tackle for loss. But it was his ability to get in the face of the quarterback that really stood out, as evidenced by his two QB hits.
Darnell Savage’s pass breakup from his safety position allowed only one completed pass in coverage all evening. Keisean Nixon had his first interception of the season, and Quay Walker led the team with 13 tackles.
For a defense that passed the test against a Chiefs team that can go off at any time, it will be interesting to see if the Green Bay Packers can maintain this level of play as the games become more important as the season progresses.
