4 Green Bay Packers Flaws That the Kansas City Chiefs Exposed

The Green Bay Packers' pursuit of an undefeated season was ended by the Kansas City Chiefs, who came away with a 19-14 win at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday.

Having not lost a game since December 19, 2010, the Packers went almost an entire year without a loss and were hoping to keep the streak alive. However, there is a reason that a perfect season has been accomplished just once ever by an NFL team, and that is because it is no easy feat.

In beating the Packers, the Chiefs may have done Green Bay a favor by exposing some of their flaws. 

Nobody's Perfect

With a 13-0 record, a quarterback with an average passer rating of 123, and a display of dominance for most of the season, the idea of the Packers going undefeated, completing a perfect season, and winning it all again this year was entertained rather frequently before this week's loss.

Then reality set it in. Perfection is something frequently desired but rarely acquired. In the NFL, an unbeaten season calls for a perfect storm. Perfection does not just require a good team loaded with talent, but it means avoiding major injuries, big plays at all the right times, mistakes few and far between, and a lot of good fortune.

On Sunday, the Packers had to deal with injuries, Rodgers wasn't at his best, receivers dropped balls, the defense was just okay and the Chiefs had Green Bay's number. These few factors made for an off day, which was just enough to shake up the Packers' pursuit of perfection.

The Offensive Line Lacks Depth

Before Sunday's game, the Packers' offensive line was not in nearly as much trouble as it was after the game.

Playing without starting left tackle Chad Clifton for a number of weeks now, the Green Bay Packers' offensive line has managed to make do with what they have. However, when right tackle Bryan Bulaga left the game against the Chiefs with a knee injury and his rookie backup Derek Sherrod quickly followed with a broken leg, Green Bay was forced to scramble.

Moving players around and out of position, the Packers made do with what was left. Left guard T.J. Lang moved to right tackle, Evan Dietrich-Smith played left guard, right guard Josh Sitton played banged up, just returning from injury, and rookie Marshall Newhouse remained at left tackle.

The result was not pretty.  The Chiefs' defense managed four sacks on Aaron Rodgers and five quarterback hits, adding to Rodgers' lowest quarterback rating of the season.. 

The Defense Still Needs Work

The Packers' defense has ranked near the bottom in total yards allowed the entire season, while leading the league in interceptions and relying on big plays to bail them out.  

Against the Chiefs, the Packers were not able to pull of the same heroics.  In the 19-14 loss, Green Bay's defense forced zero turnovers and recorded zero sacks.

Failing to put much of any pressure on Kyle Orton, the Packers' defense allowed the Chiefs' quarterback to comfortably complete 23 of 31 passes.

The Packers did prevent the Chiefs from scoring on four different red zone attempts, holding them 1-5 in the red zone, but could not get stops when they needed it most, in the last few minutes of the game.

Averaging more than 30 points a game, the defense did not help the team out on a day when they scored less than have of their average point total.

Receivers Have a Case of the Dropsies

Lately, the Packers' wide receivers, most notably tight end Jermichael Finley, have had a case of the butterfingers. The trend continued again this week against the Chiefs, but this time it may have cost them the win.

In the first half alone, the Packers already had four dropped passes with two belonging to Finley. In the 38-35 win against the Giants, drops were an issue as well.  

For a guy like Finley, who is targeted eight-10 times a game, three drops are simply unacceptable.