NFL Game Recap - Green Bay at Kansas City
Sun Oct 27, 2019 8:20 PM EDT

WAS
9
MIN
19
F
DEN
13
IND
15
F
TB
23
TEN
27
F
ARI
9
NO
31
F
CIN
10
LAR
24
F
NYJ
15
JAX
29
F
NYG
26
DET
31
F
LAC
17
CHI
16
F
PHI
31
BUF
13
F
SEA
27
ATL
20
F
CAR
13
SF
51
F
CLE
13
NE
27
F
OAK
24
HOU
27
F
GB
31
KC
24
F
MIA
14
PIT
27
F
SF
28
ARI
25
F

Oct 27, 2019, 8:20 PM EDT

Final

1

2

3

4

T

Green Bay (7-1)

14

0

3

14

31

Kansas City (5-3)

0

17

0

7

24

Rodgers, Jones star for Packers in 31-24 victory over Chiefs
Mon Oct 28, 2019 12:59 AM

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) It was supposed to be a prime-time showdown between the Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs, division leaders each led by two of the most talented and exciting quarterbacks in the NFL.

Aaron Rodgers and the Packers lived up to the billing.

Patrick Mahomes never got the chance.

Rodgers threw for 305 yards and three touchdowns, two of them to Aaron Jones on a big night for the Green Bay running back, and the Packers held off fill-in quarterback Matt Moore and the rest of the banged-up Chiefs for a 31-24 victory Sunday night.

"I totally trust our quarterback," Packers coach Matt LaFleur said, "and I trust Aaron Jones as a receiver. He made some great plays all night long."

Jones, who briefly left with a shoulder injury, had seven catches for 159 yards and added 67 on the ground - a big chunk of them in the closing minutes, when the Packers (7-1) sealed their first win at Arrowhead Stadium since Nov. 4, 2007.

"He's very talented," Rodgers said, "and I think this scheme is giving him the opportunity to do a lot more out of the backfield. You know, we're splitting him out and throwing the ball to him. We kind of caught lightning in a bottle there a couple of times. Hit him on a slant-and-go for 50 and on a screen pass for 70 or whatever. He's a talented guy. I'm very proud of him."

The Chiefs (5-3) hoped Mahomes could make a miraculous recovery 10 days after dislocating his kneecap in Denver in time to play. But after the league MVP was limited all week in practice, coach Andy Reid announced Friday his franchise quarterback would be inactive for the game.

Moore took the reins of the high-powered offense and fared well, throwing for 267 yards with two touchdowns and no picks in the ex-high school coach's first start in more than two years.

It wasn't the Rodgers-Mahomes matchup everyone wanted, but Moore and Co. made sure it was still an entertaining game between teams with Super Bowl aspirations.

It started like most outside the walls of 1 Arrowhead Drive expected, with Rodgers slicing up the defense and Green Bay marching for two quick touchdowns.

But after a shaky start by Moore, the journeyman quarterback found a groove. He led the Chiefs on an 89-yard drive that ended with a make-it-rain 29-yard touchdown pass to Travis Kelce, then found Mecole Hardman on a 30-yard pitch-and-catch to knot the game.

The Chiefs led 17-14 at halftime, raising some eyebrows across the league.

"Once we got in the flow," Moore said, "we were kind of rolling for a little while."

LaFleur made a couple adjustments, though, and Rodgers and Co. began to move the ball once more. They used a 15-play drive that soaked up more than half the third quarter to get a tying field goal, then got the ball back when LeSean McCoy fumbled on the very next play.

Five players later, Rodgers conjured up more of his magic.

With third down at the 3, he dropped back and was flushed from the pocket. He rolled to his right and threw a blind pass to the back corner of the end zone, where Damien Williams somehow took the ball away from Chiefs linebacker Ben Niemann while tapping both feet inbounds.

Rodgers was lying flat on his back, staring at the sky, as the official signaled touchdown.

"I truly believe he was throwing it away," Chiefs safety Tyrann Mathieu said.

The Chiefs answered with another long drive, and just when it appeared they had finally been stopped, the Packers' Tramon Williams was flagged for illegal use of hands. That gave Kansas City the ball inside the 5, and Damien Williams scored on the next play to tie it again.

It took the Packers all of 56 seconds to score the eventual winner.

Rodgers again found Jones out of the backfield, and this time he found a lane through the entire Kansas City secondary. It was a foot race from there, and the speedy running back hop-skipped over the goal line to finish off the 67-yard touchdown reception.

"He's an explosive weapon," LaFleur said. "You don't find too many running backs that can go out there and produce like that. You don't see many running backs that you can put them on the outside and run a slant-and-go. I think he's dynamic as a runner, a receiver, a pass protector."

The Chiefs were forced to punt on the ensuing possession and never got the ball back.

"We played hard and aggressive," Reid said, "but you know? When two good teams play each other, sometimes a turnover here or there can affect you and that's a little bit what happened tonight. But we can all do better, starting with me and my guys."

HALL OF FAME

The Chiefs honored TE Tony Gonzalez and SS/FB Johnny Robinson, their new entrants into the Hall of Fame, during a halftime ceremony. Both were presented with their Hall of Fame rings.

THE WORM TURNS

Jones twice reached the end zone thinking he'd scored, dropped to the turf and did "the worm." The first was negated by a penalty, though he scored a few minutes later anyway. The second came on a 60-yard reception in which a replay showed Jones had stepped out of bounds at the 10.

STAR SEARCH

Along with Mahomes, the Chiefs missed five other starters: DE Frank Clark (neck), CB Kendall Fuller (thumb), LT Eric Fisher (groin), LG Andrew Wylie (ankle) and DT Chris Jones (groin).

Packers WR Davante Adams (toe) went through pregame warmups before he was scratched. But they did have LB Blake Martinez (hand) and SS Darnell Savage (ankle), who had missed the last two games.

UP NEXT

Green Bay continues its AFC West trip against the Chargers next Sunday.

Kansas City plays another NFC North team in the Vikings next Sunday.

---

More AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL and https://twitter.com/AP-NFL

Passing

GB Att Cmp % TD-Pa Yds-Pa LgPa Int Rat Sk
A. Rodgers 33 23 69.7 3 305 67 0 129.0 5
KC Att Cmp % TD-Pa Yds-Pa LgPa Int Rat Sk
M. Moore 36 24 66.7 2 267 30 0 107.1 2

Rushing

GB Att Yds-Ru Avg LgRu TDRu
A. Jones 13 67 5.2 9 0
A. Rodgers 6 29 4.8 15 0
KC Att Yds-Ru Avg LgRu TDRu
L. McCoy 9 40 4.4 9 0
D. Williams 7 30 4.3 9 1

Receiving

GB Rec Yds-Rc Avg LgRc TD-Rc
A. Jones 7 159 22.7 67 2
J. Kumerow 2 48 24.0 34 0
KC Rec Yds-Rc Avg LgRc TD-Rc
T. Hill 6 76 12.7 21 0
T. Kelce 4 63 15.8 29 1

Team Stats Comparison

GB KC
Points For 31 24
Total Yards 374 337
Rushing Yards 118 88
Passing Yards 256 249
Passing Completions / Attempts 23/33 24/36
Turnovers 0 1
Interceptions Thrown 0 0
Fumbles - Lost 0/0 1/1
First Downs 21 21
Rushing Touchdowns 1 1
Passing Touchdowns 3 2
Penalties - Yards 4/25 3/30
Time Of Possession 33:13 26:47
Third Down Conversions/Attempts 8/13 6/11
Fourth Down Conversions/Attempts 0/0 0/0
Red Zone Conversions/Attempts 3/4 1/2
Sacks Against 5 2
Punts - Average Yards 3/35 3/51
Punt Returns - Average Yards/Punt Return 0/0 1/18
Kickoff Returns - Average Yards/Kickoff Return 3/16 4/24

Scoring Summary

1st Quarter GB KC
GB 06:17 TD Aaron Jones 4 yd pass from Aaron Rodgers (Mason Crosby kick) 7 0
GB 12:51 TD Jamaal Williams 1 yd run (Mason Crosby kick) 14 0
2nd Quarter GB KC
KC 04:05 TD Travis Kelce 29 yd pass from Matt Moore (Harrison Butker kick) 14 7
KC 08:46 TD Mecole Hardman 30 yd pass from Matt Moore (Harrison Butker kick) 14 14
KC 14:04 FG Harrison Butker 28 yd FG 14 17
3rd Quarter GB KC
GB 13:29 FG Mason Crosby 35 yd FG 17 17
4th Quarter GB KC
GB 01:03 TD Jamaal Williams 3 yd pass from Aaron Rodgers (Mason Crosby kick) 24 17
KC 05:59 TD Damien Williams 3 yd run (Harrison Butker kick) 24 24
GB 06:58 TD Aaron Jones 67 yd pass from Aaron Rodgers (Mason Crosby kick) 31 24

Game Information

Stadium: Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri
Attendance: 73,558
Game Time: 3:7
Weather: