Kansas City Chiefs vs. Green Bay Packers: What's the Game Plan for Green Bay?

For the second straight week, the Green Bay Packers will be on football's center stage in a prime-time showdown with a playoff-caliber team—this time a matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday Night Football. 

The Packers (2-0) will try to extend their perfect start to the season in the comfort of their home Lambeau Field, while the visiting Chiefs (1-1) are sure to be hungry to bounce back after a tough loss to the Denver Broncos a week ago.

Green Bay is coming off a huge home victory over their conference rival Seattle Seahawks in Week 2—a game that came down to clutch play from quarterback Aaron Rodgers and resilient defense in the fourth quarter.

Monday night should bring a competitive, down-to-the-wire contest between two teams among the best in their respective conferences. The Chiefs lead the all-time series with Green Bay, 7-3-1, and have also won their last three games at Lambeau. On the other hand, the Packers are 4-1 on Monday night under head coach Mike McCarthy with Rodgers sporting a 116.3 passer rating over those five games. 

Let's take a look at strategies the Packers could use on both sides of the ball in their matchup with Kansas City in Week 3.

Offensive Game Plan

Although we're dealing with small sample sizes in the just the third week of the season, the Chiefs defense has been stronger against the run compared to the pass. The unit ranks eighth in the league in rush defense, allowing just 79.5 yards per game on the ground after two games, but it has given up the 10th-most passing yards, at 268, a game.

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

And if Eddie Lacy doesn't suit up—he was limited in practice Saturday and listed as questionable on the Packers' most recent injury report (via NFL.com's Kevin Patra)—it goes without saying Green Bay is better off going to the air Monday.

Even if he is healthy enough to play, Lacy has struggled as the lead back so far. He's averaging 47 rushing yards per game and has scored just once in limited action after exiting last week's game in the first quarter with an ankle injury. 

His backup did fill in nicely, though. James Starks ran for 95 yards on 20 carries in the Packers' victory over Seattle in Week 2.

Green Bay's offensive success will ultimately come down to their All-Pro quarterback—as it usually does. Rodgers has a 128.4 passer rating so far this season, with a 76.8 completion percentage. 

With a banged-up offensive line in front of him—and elite Kansas City pass-rushers sure to be in his face all night—Rodgers will have to take it upon himself to make plays. The quarterback was forced to do so against a Seattle defense that frustrated Green Bay's starting tackles Don Barclay and David Bakhtiari for 19 combined sacks, hits and pressures on Rodgers last week (via Jason Wilde of ESPNWisconsin). 

Defensive Game Plan

The key to stopping Kansas City's offensive attack is bottling up tailback Jamaal Charles. The All-Pro rusher, who racked up 125 yards on the ground against Denver last week, will face a Green Bay rush defense that's one of the worst in the country.

The Packers have allowed the league's second-most rushing yards per game this season—154 per contest—despite limiting Seattle's Marshawn Lynch to 41 yards on the ground in Week 2. 

The deciding factor could be whether or not Morgan Burnett plays on Monday. Without its starting strong safety in Week 1, Green Bay allowed the Chicago Bears' Matt Forte to run for 141 yards. When Burnett played against the Seahawks, well, Lynch wasn't much of a threat. 

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Burnett was added to the Packers' injury report after re-injuring his calf in practice this week. Wilde reports there is serious uncertainty whether Burnett plays Monday or not: 

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#Packers S Morgan Burnett's calf re-injury must be serious enough that team doesn't know if he'll play Monday. He is listed as questionable.

— Jason Wilde (@jasonjwilde) September 26, 2015"

If the Packers find success in stopping Charles and the Chiefs' rushing attack, they must also worry about covering tight end Travis Kelce. The 6-foot-5, 260-pounder is Kansas City's leader in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns through two games.

Again, Green Bay's fate could hinder on Burnett's availability. In Week 1, Chicago's Martellus Bennett caught five passes for 55 yards and a touchdown without Burnett in the lineup. His presence the following week saw Seattle's star tight end Jimmy Graham held to just one reception and no scores.

If Burnett is a no-go, the responsibility of covering Kelce and stopping the run will fall heavily on free safety Micah Hyde's shoulders. The third-year defensive back had a rough go of it in Week 1, and he'll likely have another tough test Monday night.

Players and Matchups to Watch

OLB Clay Matthews

Against Seattle in Week 2, Matthews found himself dropping into coverage more often than rushing the quarterback. Defensive coordinator Dom Capers had Matthews blitz just three times in the game and instead used him to cover Jimmy Graham and Marshawn Lynch on pass plays. 

Wesley Hitt/Getty Images

According to Capers, Matthews should expect to see a similar role in this week's game plan to counter Kansas City's playmakers in Jamaal Charles and Travis Kelce. 

Capers said, per Tom Silverstein and Michael Cohen of the Journal Sentinel:

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People look for matchups, and people aren't going to get a real good matchup with them trying to put Graham on Clay or put Lynch (who) is a really good receiver just like Charles is this week (on Matthews). Now all of a sudden if you have a guy out there who hasn't been out there before, who doesn't have the savvy of Clay to be able to cover those guys, that's a big-time matchup (advantage) for them.

"

WR Ty Montgomery

If Davante Adams is unable to play—he's currently listed as questionable after spraining his ankle last week—Aaron Rodgers will need other weapons in his receiving corps to step up. You can bet the Chiefs will focus their attention on Randall Cobb and James Jones in Green Bay's passing offense. This could open the door for Montgomery to see an increase in targets Monday night. 

Montgomery was a key replacement against the Seahawks after Adams left in the second quarter. Silverstein put his Week 2 performance in perspective: 

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In 25 snaps, Montgomery caught four passes for 37 yards, including an impressive 13-yarder on third down in which he broke a tackle to get past the marker. Not only that, he drew a 52-yard pass interference penalty on cornerback Richard Sherman, provided a key block on another play and worked out of the backfield once.

"

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RT Don Barclay vs. OLBs Justin Houston and Tamba Hali

Starting in place of the injured Bryan Bulaga last week, Don Barclay had to deal with Seattle's ferocious pass-rushers. The right tackle will have another big test in front of him this time around when Justin Houston and Tamba Hali visit Lambeau. 

Houston, who had an NFL-high 22 sacks a year ago, has three so far this season in just two games. Hali, meanwhile, is no slouch himself in getting to the quarterback—the veteran has 7.5 sacks in seven of his nine seasons. 

Thankfully for Barclay, his quarterback is one of the best at getting rid of the ball and eluding would-be sacks. We'll see how much Barclay struggles against a couple of top pass-rushing outside linebackers. 

Game Prediction

Kansas City may have the head-to-head advantage coming into this game, but Aaron Rodgers is on an unreal tear right now. 

He hasn't thrown an interception at home since Week 13 of 2012. That's pretty hard to beat. The streak has spanned 18 games, 545 pass attempts and 43 touchdowns—all NFL records. 

However, this game could come down to the other side of the ball where Rodgers has no control over. The Packers will have to stop Charles, Kelce and the K.C. offense to even give their quarterback a chance to maintain a lead. 

For that reason, this Monday night showdown could come down to the wire in a back-and-forth, close contest. The Packers will be losing late in the fourth quarter, but Rodgers will lead them to a victory just as he did in Week 2 against the Seahawks. 

Green Bay wins by a touchdown.

Final Prediction: Packers 30, Chiefs 24