The Kansas City Chiefs were a mere minute away from starting the season 2-0 and sitting atop the AFC West with a win over the Denver Broncos in Week 2. But in that final minute, just about everything went wrong for them. Peyton Manning hit Emmanuel Sanders for a 19-yard touchdown with 36 seconds remaining on the clock. That tied the game, and on the ensuing possession, Jamaal Charles fumbled the ball and Bradley Roby took it in for a 21-yard touchdown to give the Broncos the lead and the win.
Chiefs vs. Packers 2015 live stream: Time, TV schedule and how to watch online
The Chiefs are hoping to rebound from a terrible last-minute loss in Week 2, but they have a tough Week 3 opponent in the Packers.
Now the Chiefs are 1-1 and have to be incredibly bitter at losing that important game at home against a rival, especially in that fashion. In Week 3, they'll be under the bright lights of Monday Night Football up against a 2-0 Green Bay Packers team that just took down the Seattle Seahawks in convincing fashion.
No, that doesn't make up for last year's NFC Championship loss, but Aaron Rodgers and company are definitely feeling a whole lot better than Alex Smith and the Chiefs.
The first thing the Chiefs can do to ensure that kind of thing doesn’t happen again this week is simple: clean up the mistakes. The Chiefs were penalized multiple times and had five turnovers in their Week 2 game. That includes the game-losing fumble by Charles, who also fumbled earlier in the game. Protecting the ball needs to be the number one job at this stage, especially with Rodgers on the sidelines just begging for more time with the football.
It will be tough to get to Rodgers and force him to make mistakes, especially with him so comfortable at Lambeau Field. Rodgers hasn’t thrown an interception at Lambeau in 18 consecutive games, and the Packers have a 10-game winning streak there (counting the playoffs) on top of that. Rodgers has thrown 43 touchdowns and no interceptions over his last 18 home games.
In other words, it's an incredibly tough place to play, and the Chiefs can't be making the same kinds of mistakes they made in Week 2. Instead, they'll need to play more like the team that beat the Houston Texans in Week 1, though they're hardly a measuring stick for quality given their issues at the quarterback position. Dueling with Rodgers is a lot tougher than dueling with Brian Hoyer and Ryan Mallett, after all.
If there's one thing in Kansas City's favor, it has eight sacks through two games and Justin Houston is playing in top form after notching 22 sacks in 2014. He has three sacks already this season, and he'll be facing a Green Bay offensive line that is already depleted due to the loss of right tackle Bryan Bulaga due to a knee injury. On top of that, the Chiefs will be facing a Packers offense that either will not have Eddie Lacy, or will have a hobbled one. Lacy is dealing with a sprained right ankle, and if he plays the Packers will likely limit his workload.
How to Watch:
When: 8:30 p.m. ET
Where: Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisc.
TV: ESPN
Announcers: Mike Tirico, Jon Gruden, Lisa Salters
Online: NFL Game Pass, WatchESPN
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