Packers: Patrick Mahomes ruled out for Week 8 game

The Green Bay Packers won’t be playing against Patrick Mahomes this week.

The reigning MVP won’t be on the field when the Packers play the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium in Week 8.

Patrick Mahomes suffered a dislocated kneecap in Week 7, and despite being able to return to practice this week, he has been ruled out of Sunday’s game, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

It always seemed unlikely Mahomes would be able to return so soon after what is a significant injury. And if he had played, he wouldn’t have been at 100 percent. The Chiefs are in a good position in the playoff picture, and the risk of making the injury worse isn’t worth it.

From Green Bay’s perspective, the odds of victory will certainly increase with Mahomes not available. But the game will still be a real challenge for the Packers, who will need to stop Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce in the passing game, and LeSean McCoy on the ground.

The Saints have shown that it’s possible to win without their star quarterback. The Chiefs’ defense isn’t as strong as the Saints’, but they have so much talent on offense and should still be able to score points with Matt Moore in at quarterback.

It’s disappointing that we won’t get to see Aaron Rodgers vs. Patrick Mahomes, in what could turn out to be the only regular-season meeting between the two players. At least while Rodgers is in the prime of his career. He’ll be 39 or 40 when the teams next meet in the regular season four years from now (40 if the game is played after December 1 that season).

Perhaps they will play against each other later this season, but rather than this weekend, it could be in Miami on February 2.

What’s your prediction for Sunday night’s game now that Mahomes has been ruled out?