The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Green Bay Packers this afternoon in an unexpected 19-14 win and with it went the historic wind in the sails of a team that hadn’t been beaten in a near NFL-record 19 games. While most teams and players generally gloss over accomplishments as accoutrements on a season that fail to matter, the Packers players were quite honest in their appraisal of today’s loss — that it’s frustrating to miss the chance for historic greatness.
“It would have been special, make no mistake,” cornerback Charles Woodson said. “When you have a shot to do something like that, you do it. We certainly felt like our chances were good to come in here and win today, and we didn’t get it done. … Guys would have loved to do it. We would have loved to do it.”
Defensive tackle B.J. Raji agreed, ""You can’t underestimate the opportunity to chase history. It was definitely huge. We didn’t shy away from the topic. Our coach didn’t shy away from it. He addressed it. I can’t belittle the challenge to go 16-0, but obviously that’s behind us now."
Wide receiver Donald Driver added, “It hurts because that’s something special. We always talk about, if you get the perfect season, then you’re part of greatness. But you take it for what it’s worth. Right now, the only thing we can do is go 18-1. If that’s 18-1 and you’re the Super Bowl champs, I don’t think anyone cares about the perfect season after that.”
The Packers are still the class of the NFL and the team to beat come February in Indianapolis. But it’s also clear that today revealed a missed opportunity for the team — one that they’re all feeling right now.