Chiefs Enter Division Round With Identity Crisis; the Packers defined it: NFL Instant Replay

The post-season is the framework in which reality usually reaches multiple teams and in the Wild Card Round the identities of multiple were exposed and now it’s the turn of the Kansas City Chiefs and Green Bay Packers to show who they really are.

Last weekend, the reality of their defense level reached the Tennessee Titans and Seattle Seahawks, as the true offensive face of the Chicago Bears was exposed for a solid defense and the Pittsburgh Steelers showed their record of 12-4 in the regular season it was based on a start with 11 wins on poor level teams.

For their part, the teams that ended with the first placement in their conferences arrive with contrasts in relation to the personalities they showed during the regular calendar. While the Packers were more regular on offense and defense and had a more defined identity, the Chiefs improved in some ways, but showed irregularities in others in the latter part of the regular schedule.

Aaron Rodgers led the Packers onslaught and had one of the most efficient and productive seasons of his career and is a clear favorite to win the NFL Most Valuable Player award for the third time in his career, but in addition to his skills, he is also the solid work of his offensive line, which was the best in the league at protecting the quarterback in proportion to the percentage of the win in blocks (blocking the defender for 2.5 seconds or more).

Without being perfect, the Green Bay attack line did a good job of holding off pressure from Rodgers, who got 20 of the 21 sacks allowed by his front line in the regular season and that, adding to the speed with which he throws (release) complicates the defensive linemen’s attempt to at least rush it.

There is no rival more dangerous than the one who succeeds in what you already know he will do and the Packers are proof of that with a Rodgers connecting to their main weapon, Davante Adams, despite the defense preparing to prevent it .

That is the identity of the Packers – a team defined by Rodgers’ success on the field.

In the Divisional Round, the Packers can face the biggest challenge of the season when faced with the solid defense of the Los Angeles Rams, whose introduction takes the pressure of the front line, capable of creating chaos in the efficient backyard of Green Bay. .

For their part, we know that the Chiefs are arguably the most explosive team in the league. They’ve shown that they can score in bulk when they feel like it, but regardless of the final game of the regular season, in which several starters including quarterback Patrick Mahomes, didn’t play, the Kansas City offense has only a glimpse of its prowess shown. .

In his week 15 and 16 games against New Orleans and Atlanta, and though he scored 32 points against the Saints, the Mahomes-led attack struggled to find the Falcons’ end zone and defense, one of the worst in the league, limited the attack in Kansas City by 17 points.

During the second half of the regular schedule, the Chiefs felt that they were playing according to the level of the rival ahead of them and the seven consecutive games with wins with six or less points difference prove that. On the other hand, when the rival asks for it, the Chiefs seem to be finding a way to get more powerful and come out with the win, as evidenced by their streak of 14 wins, including Playoffs, against teams that duel with a winning point.

The Chiefs’ identity is that of a team with an explosive attack, but in recent weeks that attack seems to be out of sync and they need to fix it to counteract the team’s greatest weakness, the defense against flight, which it must compete against the powerful and prolific running game for the Cleveland Browns.