Aaron Jones Lifts Aaron Rodgers, Packers Past Chiefs Without Patrick Mahomes

The Green Bay Packers topped a depleted Kansas City Chiefs squad 31-24 Sunday night at Arrowhead Stadium.

The Packers improved to 7-1 and expanded their winning streak to four games. Every win is crucial for Green Bay, too, as the 6-2 Minnesota Vikings continue to surge in the NFC North.

The Chiefs were without quarterback and reigning league MVP Patrick Mahomes, and defensive end Frank Clark, defensive lineman Chris Jones, offensive lineman Eric Fisher, offensive lineman Andrew Wylie, offensive lineman Greg Senat and cornerback Kendall Fuller were all also inactive.

The 5-3 Chiefs remain atop the AFC West, as the other three teams in the division will leave Week 8 below .500. 

Notable Fantasy Stats

Green Bay

QB Aaron Rodgers: 305 yards, 3 TD; 6 rushes, 29 yards

RB Aaron Jones: 13 carries, 67 yards; 7 catches, 159 yards, 2 TD

RB Jamaal Williams: 7 carries, 22 yards, 1 TD; 3 catches, 14 yards, 1 TD

WR Jake Kumerow: 2 catches, 48 yards

WR Allen Lazard: 5 catches, 42 yards

Kansas City

QB Matt Moore: 267 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT

RB LeSean McCoy: 9 carries, 40 yards

RB Damien Williams: 7 carries, 30 yards, 1 TD

WR Tyreek Hill: 6 catches, 76 yards; 1 carry, 5 yards

TE Travis Kelce: 4 catches, 63 yards, 1 TD

WR Mecole Hardman: 2 catches, 55 yards, 1 TD

Aaron Rodgers Leans on Aaron Jones to Enhance Packers Offense

The Chiefs opted to punt the ball back to the Packers with just over five minutes remaining in regulation—a decision by head coach Andy Reid that many maligned—and Green Bay didn't let them see the ball again. 

The Packers ran out the clock because of running back Aaron Jones. Green Bay called seven straight runs—six to Jones—to get to the two-minute warning and set up Rodgers' eight-yard pass to Jones (who else?) on 3rd-and-5 to end it.

Prior to that, Jones scored the game-winning touchdown on a screen pass from Rodgers that he took 67 yards:

In the first quarter, Jones scored two touchdowns—one featuring a celebration in which he did the worm across the end zone—that were nullified due to penalties. However, the 24-year-old third-year back bounced back and accomplished plenty more worth celebrating throughout the next three quarters:

After the game, Rodgers told NBC's Michele Tafoya, "I didn't do a whole lot besides get the ball to [Jones] and let him do his thing" (h/t The Packers Wire's Zach Kruse).

Jones accounted for 226 of the Packers' 374 offensive yards, which was not only impressive but crucial given Green Bay's banged-up receiving corps. Most notably, Rodgers' top target Davante Adams sat out his fourth consecutive game due to turf toe.

In Adams' absence, according to Wes Hodkiewicz of Packers.com, Jones notched 159 receiving yards against the Chiefs after having just 228 receiving yards through his first 24 regular-season appearances.

Jones' production takes pressure off Rodgers and will only make the Packers offense more dynamic once Rodgers has both Jones and Adams to work with.

Chiefs Defense Holds Their Own Against Aaron Rodgers

The Chiefs had a lot of compensating to do with star quarterback Patrick Mahomes on the sideline after suffering a dislocated kneecap in Week 7, and both sides of the ball stepped up.

However, even in a loss, it was the defense that impressed the most. 

Kansas City's defense has been its Achilles' heel with Mahomes under center, but the unit kept the game close Sunday night for as long as it could without Mahomes. 

The Chiefs sacked Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers five times. For a stretch, Rodgers was contained as best as Kansas City could have hoped for after the Chiefs fell behind 14-0 in the first quarter:

There's only so much any defense can do to stop Rodgers, though, as evidenced by this ridiculous touchdown pass to help give the Packers a 24-17 fourth-quarter lead:

But the defense did what was necessary to keep the Chiefs in the game without their own playmaking quarterback to rival Rodgers on offense. Not to mention, Kansas City's defense had injury concerns of its own with Alex Okafor (ankle) and Bashaud Breeland (shoulder) exiting during the game on top of Chris Jones, Frank Clark and Kendall Fuller ruled out prior to the contest's start.

Reid entered the game with a reputation for success when forced to start backup quarterbacks, but the lopsided time of possession in the second half in favor of the Packers kept the ball out of backup quarterback Matt Moore's hands—who had 174 yards in the second quarter, most he'd ever thrown in a single quarter (h/t ESPN's Rob Demovsky)—and exhausted the Chiefs defense.

"Don't underestimate Andy Reid with a backup QB," former Philadelphia Eagles and Cleveland Browns president Joe Banner tweeted Sunday morning, "but it only works with D playing well."

And the Chiefs defense did play well, until it was forced to play for too long.

Things began to break down for the Chiefs when the Packers held possession for 8:33 in the third quarter. Chiefs running back LeSean McCoy fumbled the ball late in the third quarter, and the Packers capitalized to take a 24-17 lead.

There are no moral victories in the NFL, but the defensive deficiencies Mahomes usually masks were markedly improved for the Chiefs against one of the best quarterbacks in football.

What's Next? 

The Packers will travel to face the 3-5 Los Angeles Chargers next Sunday, scheduled for a 4:25 p.m. ET kickoff.

The Chiefs' task won't be any easier next Sunday as they host the 6-2 Minnesota Vikings, scheduled for a 1 p.m. ET kickoff.