An Aaron Rodgers-less Green Bay Packers had a shambolic overall offensive display as they suffered a 7-13 defeat to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. The Packers trailed the Chiefs 0-13 after three quarters, marking the first time in third-year coach Matt LeFleur’s tenure as Green Bay’s coach that his side has been shut out through three quarters.

Although the primary reason for the Packers’ downfall wasn’t the performance from their quarterback position. Jordan Love replaced reigning MVP Aaron Rodgers, who is out after contracting COVID-19.

Last year, quarterback Aaron Rodgers was taken by surprise when Green Bay Packers signed Jordan Love, his future replacement.

Aaron went on to have a stellar year and won league MVP but was held out this summer to show his unhappiness. The situation was resolved a few days before the start of the NFL season when Aaron decided to come back one for one last year. This year, he’s led them to a 7-1 record so far. But in a twist, because Aaron did not take the coronavirus vaccine, he could not play today. 

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Ahead of Sunday’s game, Love had thrown seven passes in his short career. His lone regular-season game appearances came when he played the fourth quarter of a 38-3 season-opening loss to the New Orleans Saints, and took three kneel-downs at the end of a 35-17 victory over Detroit.

Tonight, Love threw 19 of 34 for 190 yards and a TD pass, not far off the numbers put up by Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes, who’s completed 20 of 37 throws for 166 yards and a short touchdown toss to Travis Kelce. However, the 23-year-old also threw an interception near the Kansas City goal line a few minutes earlier, another mistake that cost the Packers a chance to escape Arrowhead Stadium with a win.

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The performance puts the Packers in quite a predicament.

Meanwhile, Rodgers has done very little to endear himself to the organisation, its fans and the rest of the league this week when it came out that he was unvaccinated — despite claiming to be “immunised” against COVID-19 earlier in the year. And his loose adherence to NFL rules for unvaccinated players means there could be additional punishment coming down the line.

Then there’s the fact that Rodgers must test negative to return by Saturday at the earliest. That means a tight window for him to return against Seattle next week; otherwise, Love would get his second career start. While the Bakersfield-born might have not impressed in his first outing with the Packers, an extended run could cause some worry for Rodgers’ playing time throughout the rest of the season.