The Green Bay Packers still got the win on Sunday night, but they had to survive a wild final two minutes that included an ejection and at least two controversial calls at Lambeau Field.
The Packers, behind a great night from Jordan Love, beat the Kansas City Chiefs 27-19. The win brought them to 6-6 on the season, and kept head coach Matt LaFleur's career record in December perfect.
But in the final two minutes of the game, while Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs were driving to try and tie it up and force overtime, there were several questionable calls and one blatant ejection in what turned out to be a very chaotic finish.
Isiah Pacheco ejected for throwing a punch
Let’s start here, as this incident was by far the most straightforward.
The Chiefs running back, after a brief scrum with Packers cornerback Keisean Nixon, threw a very clear punch at Nixon’s head on the sidelines.
Though it wasn’t initially shown on the broadcast, which left fans stunned when his ejection was announced, the punch was very clearly thrown. That will lead to an ejection every time.
Other than that, Pacheco had a great night. He finished with 110 rushing yards and a touchdown on 18 carries. He had 13 receiving yards on three catches, too. Nixon had a key interception late for the Packers, and had five total tackles on the night.
Controversial hit on Patrick Mahomes, no-call pass interference
Now for the two controversial calls.
During that final drive, Mahomes started scrambling to the right to try and pick up a first down after the play broke down. He caught a lane and instantly broke toward the first down marker on the sidelines.
Yet right before Mahomes stepped out of bounds, Packers safety Jonathan Owens drilled him hard. That led to a 15-yard personal foul penalty.
Though hitting a quarterback who is clearly giving themselves up, or any player who had already stepped out of bounds, will lead to a penalty every time, Mahomes hadn’t done either of those things just yet. He was still very clearly in bounds when Owens hit him, and he had lowered his shoulder toward Owens in an attempt to gain more yards. The hit was clean, and it should have been legal.
But Owens was hit with the penalty, which extended the drive even further for Kansas City.
Then just plays later, the Packers got away with what easily should have been pass interference. Had it been called, the Chiefs would have been within the 10 yard line and in a great position to tie the game up late.
Mahomes launched a deep ball for receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling down in the middle of the field. But as Valdes-Scantling went to make the catch, Packers cornerback Carrington Valentine very clearly grabbed Valdes-Scantling's back and jumped through him to deflect the pass successfully. By all accounts, that was very clear pass interference that officials did not call.
The Chiefs eventually went for one final shot at the end zone as time expired where there could have been pass interference called again. But officials, as they often do during a Hail Mary attempt, let it go.
After all of that, the Packers grabbed the 27-19 win. They’ve now won three straight and four of their last five, which has undoubtedly kept them in the race for the playoffs. Love went 25-of-36 for 267 yards with three touchdowns for the Packers. A.J. Dillon had 73 rushing yards on 18 carries, and Romeo Doubs had 72 yards on four catches.
Mahomes went 21-of-33 for 210 yards with a touchdown and an interception for Kansas City. He was their second-leading rusher behind Pacheco with 26 yards on the ground. Travis Kelce had 81 yards on four catches, too. The Chiefs are now 8-4 on the year, and have lost three of their last five.
Though the missed calls didn’t end up swaying the game the other way — they sort of evened themselves out in the end — the final drive was incredibly chaotic all around.