After the loss of Aaron Rodgers, everything looks to Jordan Love in the Green Bay Packers’ top game against the Kansas City Chiefs. But Green Bay’s key to success isn’t necessarily the quarterback.

Kansas City – The Aaron Rodgers case has somewhat eclipsed the sporting action ahead of Sunday’s top game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Green Bay Packers, starting at 10:25 p.m. live.

Yet there is a lot at stake for the Packers without Rodgers as well as for the host Chiefs. So after Rodgers’ temporary retirement, his backup Jordan Love takes centre stage.

“I’m going to be nervous for sure,” Love said ahead of the clash with the 2019 champions, though there’s one – or rather one – Green Bay’s young quarterback can rely on, as always: his mother.

Anna Love at every Jordan game

Mama Love is there for every game her son plays. Even when he’s not playing.

“I’ve told her many times, ‘Mom, I’m not even playing.’ But she always says, ‘No, I’ll come. I want to see you.’ She is just great. She was there for every game,” Love says, looking back on his college days.

Now, at Arrowhead Stadium’s Geha Field, she gets to see her Jordan in his debut as an NFL starter.

But what awaits her son there? What does it all come down to? The answers to the questions.

What is the starting position with the Packers?

Green Bay is the best team in the league with a record of 7-1 before game day, defeating the Arizona Cardinals, the only unbeaten team to date, on the previous game day.

But that was all with the MVP of the preseason, Aaron Rodgers. Even if he ran out of starting pitches. Now Davante Adams, Allen Lazard and perhaps Marquez Valdes-Scantling return from the Covid or IR list.

And Love may have another returnee to look forward to: left tackle David Bakhtiari is back practicing and no longer on the PUP list.

What is the starting position for the Chiefs?

Last year’s Super Bowl contender is no longer in preseason shape. With a record of 4 losses from 8 games, they already have more on their account than in the entire last season, playoffs included.

Things just don’t work out in Kansas City. This is also due to super quarterback Patrick Mahomes. The offensive line in front of him has not yet found itself.

“I have the feeling that he tries to do more than is actually good,” says Kansas City’s former defensive back Mark Collins, who was in the Super Bowl with the Green Bay Packers in 1998, among others, in an interview with ran.

His behaviour in the pocket also no longer seems so confident.

Head coach Andy Reid also knows that the offensive line is a big construction site. “We have a completely new offensive line. The guys have to get to know each other first, know how each other reacts. You’re putting two veterans together with three rookies. The guys have to figure out how they fit together first so they dance the same dance,” he said in the ran interview.

Despite the far from fortunate starting position, the Chiefs are favourites with the bookmakers after the loss of Rodgers.

What matters for the Kansas City Chiefs?

Despite Mahomes’ shaky performances, the Chiefs’ main focus is stopping the Packers’ running backs. Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon combined for 137 rushing yards the previous week against the Cardinals, with Jones adding 51 yards on short passes.

With an average of 121.8 running yards surrendered, Kansas City finds itself 21st in the stats and with 10 rushing touchdowns allowed by opponents, only the New York Jets and Houston Texans have allowed more.

Collins has a measure for that, too: “Chris Jones has to be used again in the interior defensive line,” says the two-time Super Bowl champion at ran, who played 46 games for the Chiefs between 1994 and 1996, throwing nine interceptions.

Add to that the fact that with a non-existent running game, the pressure on quarterback Love increases, not the best condition for a player making his first NFL start.

What matters for the Packers?

The defense has to get to Mahomes. While Kansas City’s quarterback is capable of getting passes off the run to the man, the “doing more than would be good” Collins talked about then comes up more.

And what it looks like when Mahomes is really hounded only has to remember the Super Bowl against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Rashan Gary will therefore be of particular importance. The outside linebacker is the No. 1 option in the Packers pass rush after the loss of Za’Darius Smith.

But new signing Whitney Mercilus and Preston Smith as well as nose tackle Kenny Clark must also provide pressure on Mahomes.