Kansas City Chiefs LB Derrick Johnson talked with NFL Network (H/T Fidelis86) about Sunday's victory over the Green Bay Packers. The question the rest of the playoff contenders are asking themselves is: What did the Chiefs defense do to hold Aaron Rodgers and the Packers to 14 points?
DJ had a lot of really good points to make, among them:
Get to Rodgers. "We definitely mixed it up a bunch but at times we just needed to get Aaron Rodgers on the ground," DJ said. "That was the main part. If we can get him on the ground we can create some problems him and his team." He noted that Rodgers has been getting out of a lot of sacks this year, which apparently didn't matter to the Chiefs defense on Sunday as they racked up four sacks (and three from Tamba Hali).
Keep Rodgers in the pocket: "You gotta corner him in. You gotta keep him in the pocket because he's very fast when he gets out of the pocket." He's one of the best passers while on the run and the Chiefs did keep him in the pocket for the most part.
Keep the Packers offense off the field. DJ says one key was "good team defense", or not giving up big plays, which they didn't (except one 41-yard pass to Jermichael Finley). He also cited the Chiefs offense staying on the field as a big part of their success. KC had the ball for over 36 minutes (and over 20 minutes in the first half).
Press the receivers. "You gotta get up on them and press them because you don't want them to get anything easy."
Get lucky. "You gotta have a little good luck here and there, that definitely plays a part in having success against the Packers." Maybe a few of those drops by Finley and the Packers.