Keisean Nixon outsmarted the guy who might go down as the best quarterback of all time.

He saw Patrick Mahomes tap his knee and knew exactly what was coming. Nixon stared down receiver Skyy Moore in the slot to the right of the formation. Rashee Rice lined up to Moore’s right with rookie cornerback Carrington Valentine in press man coverage. Rice ran a five-yard stop route to the inside and Moore curled around him to run a fade.

Sure enough, Mahomes lofted the ball to Moore down the right sideline. It almost looked like Nixon was the receiver on the play with how well he read it, beating Moore to the spot as the Chiefs slot receiver looked back for the ball. The Packers’ nickel cornerback picked off Mahomes with 5:16 remaining in the game, Green Bay clinging to a five-point lead and the Chiefs just inside Packers territory.

“He checked,” Nixon said of Mahomes. “We were watching mannerism tape earlier in the week and he tapped his knee and they put two off the ball and I’m like, ‘Oh, I’ve seen this before.’ I knew he was going to run it and he ran it.”

On the ensuing drive, the Packers took four minutes and five seconds off the clock, using 11 plays to gain 35 yards before Anders Carlson’s 48-yard field goal gave the Packers an eight-point advantage that held firm in a 27-19 upset of the defending Super Bowl champions at Lambeau Field on Sunday night.

Read more here.

Packers QB Jordan Love finished with three touchdown passes and zero interceptions in Sunday’s win, his second straight three-TD, 0-INT game and fourth this season.

Love’s four games with at least three touchdowns and zero interceptions are tied with the 49ers’ Brock Purdy for most in the NFL this season.

The Packers’ win over the Chiefs was their 16th straight in the month of December, the longest active streak in the NFL and the longest overall since the Chargers won 18 straight December games from 2006-09.

Green Bay’s last loss in the month of December came in Week 17 of 2018, the final game before Matt LaFleur was hired as head coach.

The 49ers looked like the class of the league in their dismantling of the Eagles on Sunday. The Packers, meanwhile, wrapped up the day with a huge win over the Chiefs. Robert Mays and Nate Tice are here to break it all down on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.

Watch the live stream here.

The Packers fell to 2-5 on Oct. 29, the team’s worst seven-game start since 2005 (1-6). Since then, Green Bay has gone 4-1 to climb back to .500 and into the No. 7 seed in the NFC playoff standings.

The Packers’ 4-1 record since Week 9 is tied for third-best in the NFL over that span.

Patrick Mahomes’ Hail Mary attempt on fourth-and-10 from the 33-yard line falls incomplete as time expires and the Packers hold on for the 29-17 win. Green Bay improves to 4-1 in its last five games and 6-6 on the season.

Wild sequence in Green Bay. After Chiefs WR Rashee Rice appeared to fumble, Packers CB Corey Ballentine picked up the ball and ran 68 yards for the touchdown.

During the return Chiefs RB Isaih Pacheco got into it with Packer CB Keisean Nixon and Pacheco was ejected for throwing a punch.

The fumble was reversed upon review and Kansas City resumed possession first-and-10 at the 50-yard line.

The Chiefs are driving late but have to do so without one of theit top players.

Chiefs take over down eight with less than two minutes to play.

Patrick Mahomes is seeking his 17th career fourth-quarter comeback (including playoffs) and second such win this season (Week 4 at Jets).

After going 2-4 on field goals the previous two weeks, Packers kicker Anders Carlson is now 2-for-2 tonight following that 48-yard make (also hit from 40 earlier in fourth quarter).

That Christian Watson slide did not look great. He tried going down to keep the clock going and did, but now he’s being checked by trainers.

Packers CB Keisean Nixon picks off Patrick Mahomes, Nixon’s first interception of the season and second of his career.

Mahomes has been picked off six times in six road games this season, matching his season high.

Keisean Nixon with an incredible interception of Mahomes.

After the Chiefs cut into the Packers’ lead once again on a 2-yard Patrick Mahomes touchdown pass to Noah Gray, the defense gets a stop and gives the ball back to the offense.

Kansas City is looking to open the second half with three straight TD drives for the first time since Week 7 of last season against the 49ers.

Isiah Pacheco with a wild 13-yard run down to the 1-yard line, thanks to some help from his teammates.

Packers run defense getting bullied again tonight. Couple times they’ve been pushed a couple more yards downfield after first contact.

The Packers just had to burn a timeout on defense in the third quarter because they had 10 guys on the field.

Head coach Matt LaFleur NOT happy with Keisean Nixon, who was on the sideline.

Jordan Love has matched his career high with three touchdown passes, a total he’s hit in four games this season.

Aaron Rodgers had one three-touchdown game all of last season.

Just like that, the Packers answer the Chiefs’ score with a seven-play, 67-yard scoring drive of their own, capped by a 12-yard touchdown pass from Jordan Love to Christian Watson, their second of the day.

Watson now has more touchdown grabs in the last five quarters (three) than he had in his first seven games this season combined (two).

The Chiefs cut into the Packers’ lead with a nine-play, 75-yard scoring drive coming out of halftime capped by a 1-yard rushing touchdown by Isaih Pacheco.

It’s the second straight game that Kansas City has scored a touchdown on their first offensive drive of the second half and its fifth such TD this season, tied with the 49ers and Commanders for most in the NFL.

Cart coming out for Chiefs safety Bryan Cook, who appeared to injury his left ankle.

The Chiefs snapped a three-game second-half scoreless streak in last week’s come-from-behind win over the Raiders (outscored Las Vegas 17-3 after half).

Despite last week’s rally, Kansas City still entered the night averaging a league-low 6.4 second-half points per game this season.

Rookie left tackle Wanya Morris is starting in the second half in place of Donovan Smith.

Donovan Smith is questionable to return with a neck injury.

Taylor Swift is back. The superstar musician is in Green Bay for Sunday night’s matchup between the Packers and Kansas City Chiefs. Swift is in a relationship with Chiefs All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce.

The Chiefs are 4-0 in games Swift has attended this season, averaging 28.5 points and 432.3 total yards per game. Kelce has 34 catches for 432 yards and two touchdowns in that span, an average of 108 yards and 8.5 receptions a contest. He only averages six receptions and 50 receiving yards a game when she is not in the stadium.

The Chiefs (8-3) are in the hunt for the top seed in the AFC postseason. They currently trail the Miami Dolphins and Baltimore Ravens, both 9-3. The Packers (5-6) are looking to grab a final NFC wild-card spot.

Read more here.

The Chiefs moved the ball inside the 10-yard line, but the Packers forced a field goal thanks to a third-down sack, Green Bay’s third of the game.

It’s the first time Patrick Mahomes has been sacked three times in the first half of a game since Week 15 of 2020 against the Saints (also three) and tied for the second-most sacks Mahomes taken in the opening half of a game in his career (four vs. Cardinals in Week 10 of 2018, three in Week 15 of 2019 vs. Broncos).

For the second straight week, the Chiefs face a double-digit first-half deficit (down 14-3 tonight, trailed Raiders 14-0 in Week 12).

Dating back to the start of last season, Kansas City actually has a winning record (4-2) in games it trailed by 10 or more in the first half including a win last week against Las Vegas.

Chiefs left tackle Donovan Smith is back on the field.

The Packers extend their lead on a 9-yard touchdown pass from Jordan Love to Christian Watson, Love’s second passing touchdown of the game.

Love has thrown multiple touchdown passes in four straight games, tied with Jared Goff for the second-longest active streak in the NFL. Only Dak Prescott (six) has a longer streak.

The most dramatic part of the Chiefs’ opening drive is that Donovan Smith watched the end of the possession with his hands on his hips & without his helmet on.

Smith was a full participant with a neck injury during the practices leading up to tonight’s game.

Chiefs RB Isaih Pacheco gets going early with a 26-yard run on his second carry of the night. It’s Pacheco’s longest rush since Week 4 against the Jets (48 yards).

The Packers jumped in front 7-0 on a 1-yard touchdown pass from Jordan Love to rookie tight end Ben Sims.

The touchdown was the first of Sims’ career and gives Love a touchdown pass in seven straight and 11 of 12 games this season.

Seven minutes, 47 seconds. On second and goal from the 1, they have three TEs, an extra O-lineman and AJ Dillon. No wide receivers.

And undrafted rookie TE Ben Sims is wide open off play action for the TD.

Packers 7, Chiefs 0

Tranquill, a five-year veteran, was hit in the head by the left knee of Packers running back AJ Dillon, who leaped in the air to avoid the tackle. Tranquill was starting in place of linebacker Nick Bolton, who has missed the past five games with a wrist injury. After a quick stint in the medical tent, Tranquill walked back to the Chiefs’ locker room under his own power.

Last Sunday, before he left Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes shared a thought unprompted: He couldn’t wait to play in Lambeau Field.

Yes, the Chiefs had just beaten the Raiders and Mahomes was already looking ahead to what was next on the team’s schedule, a prime-time matchup against the Packers. As Mahomes explained Wednesday, he’s been in Lambeau before. But those games were in the preseason, and he didn’t play.

Even at age 28, Mahomes has accomplished plenty in his seven-year career — two MVP awards, two Super Bowl rings and a host of impressive statistical records. Yet Lambeau is one of the last venues Mahomes has yet to play in. He gets his opportunity tonight, a game that would help the Chiefs regain position atop the AFC standings with a victory. Leading the Chiefs to victory could be a continuation of his stellar performance in Las Vegas when he passed for 298 yards and two touchdowns without committing a turnover.

Mahomes will also likely target speedy receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling a few times for deep highlight-worthy completions. Valdes-Scantling, a six-year veteran, is playing against the Packers, his former team, for the first time in his career.

The Packers have scored touchdowns on their opening drive in two of the last three games after failing to do so from Week 2-9.

Starting fast has been key for Green Bay as the Packers are 3-1 this season in games they have taken the first lead and 2-4 in games in which their opponent has scored first.

Drue Tranquill is down on the field. Many of his teammates are knelling on the field. Tranquill was able to get up. He’s being helped off the field.

Much of the attention might be on Taylor Swift being in attendance tonight. But don’t forget decorated gymnast Simone Biles, who is married to Packers safety Jonathan Owens. Biles is also in attendance.

For those considering placing a wager on tonight’s Chiefs-Packers game, here are some odds trends courtesy TruMedia:

• Green Bay is 5-1 against the spread as a home underdog since 2018. The Packers are listed at +6 points for this matchup, per BetMGM.
• Green Bay is 18-8 against the spread as an underdog since 2019.
• Green Bay’s home games have hit the under in total points in four out of five contests this season. The over/under for total points in this matchup is 43.5, per BetMGM.
• Kansas City’s games have hit the under in total in six of its last seven contests.
• Kansas City is 31-7 on the road since 2019.
• Kansas City is 4-0 against teams with losing records this season.

Expect a cold and somewhat snowy night in Green Bay. It’s the kind of game Lambeau Field was made for

Taylor Swift has arrived in Green Bay for “Sunday Night Football.”

The Broncos pulled themselves back into the AFC playoff picture, but fell to the Texans in a 22-17 loss today. The Chargers defeated the Patriots in a 6-0 win. The Raiders are on a bye.

Jaire Alexander and Aaron Jones are inactive

Jayden Reed, De’Vondre Campbell and Darnell Savage are active.

Deguara, Caleb Jones, Toure and Cox the other inactives.

No surprises for the Chiefs’ inactive players list.

The division-leading Lions continue trending upward after a 33-28 win over the Saints today. The Bears and Vikings are on a bye this week. The Packers, of course, have their eyes on the NFC wild card race as well.

Where did the Chiefs and Packers rank in The Athletic‘s Week 13 power rankings? Check out where they stood heading into Sunday here.

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Jayden Reed’s phone read “Scam Likely” on the night of April 28, 2023. He was quietly watching the second round of the NFL Draft but didn’t figure it was anything important. After all, he thought he’d be a fourth-round pick based on feedback from scouts during the pre-draft process.

Reed’s agent made him pick up the phone, however, and the Packers were on the line.

Reed, the Packers’ dynamic 23-year-old receiver, wouldn’t need to try hard to name all the wideouts taken ahead of him in April. There were only five: Ohio State’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba to the Seahawks at No. 20, TCU’s Quentin Johnston to the Chargers at No. 21, Boston College’s Zay Flowers to the Ravens at No. 22, USC’s Jordan Addison to the Vikings at No. 23 and Ole Miss’ Jonathan Mingo to the Panthers at No. 39. But Reed doesn’t seem to care who was taken ahead of him at No. 50 in the second round.

“I don’t really look at that, nah,” Reed told The Athletic on Monday. “I just think everything happens for a reason. Everybody gets put in a certain position, certain place for a reason. I’m just grateful for where I got drafted. I honestly didn’t think I was gonna go as high, but I did. Thank the lord and my hard work has paid off.

“I’m not a hater in any sort of way. Some people can do that, but I just don’t think that’s gonna help me focus on what I need to get better at, so I don’t really pay attention to that.”

Read more here.

LAS VEGAS — The Kansas City Chiefs knew they needed to clear this type of hurdle at some point this season, one that required them to orchestrate a comeback victory.

Inside Allegiant Stadium, the Chiefs ran just seven offensive plays Sunday before they started their third drive. At that point, the Las Vegas Raiders, their archrival, held a two-touchdown lead, a surprising start for both teams.

The situation forced the Chiefs to produce their best concentration, their best execution, their best complementary collaboration between offense and defense.

In a 42-minute stretch, the Chiefs summoned a swift rally, turning a potential lackluster performance into a much-needed 31-17 comeback win, the type of victory they hope will propel them into being the consistent contender they strive to be the rest of the season.

“Honestly, it’s all on whether or not we don’t hurt ourselves,” tight end Travis Kelce said. “That was the big emphasis going into this week. You didn’t see very many penalties and turnovers. If we eliminate that, we’ll be just fine.”

Read more from the win over the Raiders here.

The college football regular season is complete and the draft order is starting to take shape, making it a perfect time to unveil my first mock draft of the 2024 NFL Draft process.

Understandably, most readers will be interested in which quarterbacks made the mock and which teams they’re connected to. But the real storyline of this first mock draft is in the trenches, as nine offensive tackles made the cut. All 32 teams could use more help at that position — some more than others — and this will be a great draft to address it early.

Plenty will change between now and April, but this is still an interesting exercise at this point in the draft calendar. The picks don’t reflect my personal rankings or what I would do, but rather this projection strictly goes by what I think teams would do if the draft was tomorrow.

This mock reflects the updated draft order and does not include any trades. (I also included the first picks on Day 2 for teams that currently don’t have a first-round selection.)

Six weeks remain in the NFL’s regular season, and that means a sense of urgency has set in for teams eyeing the playoffs.

The front-runners are trying to strengthen their position atop the standings or overtake others for the top seeds. Then there’s a second tier of playoff hopefuls: Teams that might not lead their divisions but still have a good chance of reaching the postseason. Finally, there are the fringe teams. They are the ones that will do the most moving in the standings between now and the end of the season.

So, what does the playoff picture look like? Who gets in? Who falls short? And who likely has no hope?

We’re breaking it all down, sharing how confident we feel about who will make the postseason.

Packers QB Jordan Love, who just made his 12th career start in Green Bay’s Thanksgiving Day win over the Lions, has thrown for at least 250 yards with multiple touchdown passes in three straight games, the longest active streak in the NFL.

Only three players this century have hit those thresholds in at least four consecutive games within the first 13 starts of their career: 2020 Justin Herbert (five), 2018 Patrick Mahomes (four) and 2004 Billy Volek (four).

The Green Bay Packers look to earn their third straight upset victory as they welcome the Kansas City Chiefs to Lambeau Field for “Sunday Night Football.” Coming off a Thanksgiving Day upset of their division rival Detroit Lions, the Packers are on the playoff bubble at 5-6. Green Bay has won back-to-back games and three of its last four.

Kickoff is set for 8:20 p.m. ET on Sunday. The game will be televised on NBC.

Six guys played more special teams snaps than Isaiah McDuffie in 2021, but the rookie still left an impression with his new coordinator the following offseason.

Rich Bisaccia, after the Las Vegas Raiders didn’t retain him as full-time head coach following the 2021 season, joined the Green Bay Packers as special teams coordinator in February 2022. From the jump, he was enamored with the sixth-round linebacker out of Boston College.

“He was my first call after watching all the tape,” Bisaccia said.

McDuffie didn’t play a single defensive snap as a rookie while playing 192 on special teams. In 2022, he played 174 defensive snaps and 263 more on special teams. McDuffie has pulled even more double duty in 2023, filling in when either De’Vondre Campbell or Quay Walker has been injured, playing 408 defensive snaps through 11 games (54 percent of Green Bay’s snaps on defense) and 57 percent of the Packers’ snaps on special teams.

McDuffie has not only stated a convincing case to earn more playing time on defense now but also showed coaches why he’s a piece to keep around for the future for both phases. Defensive coordinator Joe Barry even offered a lofty comparison for his reserve inside linebacker.

Their relationship began with a scenario similar to one of America’s most popular TV shows, “The Bachelor.”

Although Rashee Rice wasn’t participating in a dating show, he was one of the few contestants — a small group of talented receivers who were less than a month from being NFL rookies — on the indoor field in Fort Worth, Texas. Rice and a few other receivers, such as Zay Flowers and Quentin Johnston, were given an opportunity in April to make a strong first impression on Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the league’s reigning MVP.

As part of his usual offseason routine, Mahomes held one of his passing sessions on TCU’s campus, another day for him to continue strengthening his on-field connection with his pass catchers, teammates such as All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce and receivers Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Skyy Moore and Kadarius Toney. Mahomes enjoys the workouts because he serves as a conductor, a quarterback who wants to see how his pass catchers run a bunch of routes based on scenarios he creates, repetitions against various zone coverages that require everyone to use their imagination because no defenders are on the field.

The session also served as one of the final parts of the Chiefs’ pre-draft preparations. Mahomes knew that general manager Brett Veach and coach Andy Reid were intrigued to hear his thoughts on how Rice, Flowers and Johnston performed.

Rice ran every route that day with one goal: making sure Mahomes remembered him.

NFL Week 13 kicks off a make-or-break window across the league. The Philadelphia Eagles, San Francisco 49ers, Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens, Miami Dolphins and Jacksonville Jaguars are inching closer toward divisional crowns and prime playoff seeding. Meanwhile, on the opposite end of the spectrum, the Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns, Denver Broncos, Minnesota Vikings, Green Bay Packers and Atlanta Falcons are battling to keep their seasons alive.

For others, misfortune and poor performance have dashed postseason hopes. We saw a second head coach, Carolina’s Frank Reich, fired in-season this week after his Panthers fell to 1-10. (The Raiders fired Josh McDaniels at the conclusion of Week 8.) Meanwhile, some of their peers are coaching for their lives. The Los Angeles Chargers and Washington Commanders continue to underperform, putting Brandon Staley and Ron Rivera on the hot seat. And Bill Belichick continues to face questions about his future with the New England Patriots. Their players, meanwhile, play for pride and future opportunities. Contrary to some perceptions, there’s no such thing as a meaningless game in the NFL.

Amid the high-stakes matchups, rivalries and teams in survival mode, here are five compelling storylines for Week 13.