Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Division leaders meet with star QB missing
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — It was supposed to be a celebration of two of the NFL’s most storied franchises, the Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs, teams that played in the first Super Bowl and each led these days by transcendent quarterbacks.
That last part was thrown for a loop last week. Everything else remains the same.
The Packers (6-1), fresh off their blowout of the Raiders and with Aaron Rodgers seemingly hitting his stride, are still headed to Arrowhead Stadium for a showdown of division leaders. But his opposing quarterback will be journeyman Matt Moore — not Patrick Mahomes — after the league’s MVP dislocated his kneecap in the Chiefs’ road win over the Broncos.
“I love putting on the film and watching him and his arm angles and throwing ability and eye manipulation,” said Rodgers, who got to know Mahomes while they starred together in commercials. “He’s an extreme talent in the league and the league’s obviously better when he’s playing.”
The Chiefs (5-2) insisted that was a possibility until finally ruling him out Friday.
Mahomes couldn’t stand when he hurt his knee while sneaking for a first down in Denver. The kneecap was jerked back into place while he was still on the field, and he appeared to be walking better as he returned to the locker room. X-rays and an MRI exam showed no damage to any ligaments. Mahomes spent the long weekend off with the training staff at the team’s facility.
When practice rolled around Wednesday, he was throwing passes alongside Moore in the portion open to reporters. But only the Chiefs knew for sure how much work he did the rest of the day. It became clear by the end of the week that Mahomes would need at least one game off.
It’s not as if Moore doesn’t have experience in this precarious situation. He started dozens of games for Carolina and Miami, and he has plenty of experience preparing as a backup quarterback.
He was solid if unspectacular
in the second half against Denver and that may be all the Chiefs need him to be. He threw a long touchdown pass to Tyreek Hill, made no major mistakes and, perhaps most importantly, rallied the Chiefs around him when their best player limped off the field.
“Watching Pat, it’s easy to want to play like him, which I can’t,” Moore said. “You have to adapt to the offense, I think, and you have to adapt to the guys around you. Some things are being taught maybe different than you’ve had them in the past and so, yeah, we’re adapting every day.”
The Chiefs also will be without defensive end Frank Clark because of a neck injury. Left tackle Eric Fisher (groin), left guard Andrew Wylie (ankle), defensive tackle Chris Jones (groin) and cornerback Kendall Fuller (thumb) also remain out. Wide receiver Sammy Watkins (hamstring) is expected to play.
On the other sideline, the Packers still hope wide receiver Davante Adams will return this week. He’s been out the past three weeks, sending Green Bay scrambling for reinforcements.
“I think it could go right up to game time, to be truthful,” Packers Coach Matt LaFleur said. “I’m not quite sure where we’re at right there with him right now.”