Green Bay Packers Loss Was Just Glitch in Matrix, Not Blueprint for Beating Them

The Green Bay Packers' shocking 19-14 loss to the 6-8 Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday showed that Aaron Rodgers and company can be beaten—but don't expect it to become a pattern. 

The Packers were playing a road game in December in what is always a tough environment. Arrowhead Stadium is always difficult on opponents, even when the Chiefs are terrible. Green Bay was also without its best receiver (Greg Jennings) and top running back (James Starks), and it still almost pulled out a win.

Don't get me wrong, the performance on Sunday was awful.

The Packers defense allowed Kyle Orton to throw for 299 yards and couldn't stop the run when it mattered late in the game, giving up 139 yards on the ground.

On offense, Rodgers completed just 17 of 35 passes for 235 yards. His quarterback rating for the day was 80.1, by far his worst of the season. While he wasn't great, his receivers were credited with a ridiculous seven drops, five of which went to tight end Jermichael Finley. 

Green Bay's receivers are known for their excellent hands, and Rodgers is probably the league's most accurate quarterback, so yesterday's problems have to be considered an aberration. Finley has struggled to hang on to balls of late, and that is certainly a concern, but I don't think anyone thinks Rodgers will suddenly become an inaccurate passer.

To me, all yesterday showed was how incredibly difficult it is to go undefeated in the NFL. When you are unbeaten, teams will give you their best shot every week. The Packers finally had an off day and got nipped by a desperate Kansas City team. 

At 13-1, the pressure to go unbeaten is now off Green Bay, and I expect the team to be refocused for the final two games of the season. 

While they have legitimate concerns defensively, the Packers still have to be considered Super Bowl favorites.