GREEN BAY – AJ Dillon's outfit was all laid out and ready for gameday thanks to his wife and resident stylist, Gabrielle.
And it was a good one, too.
But after hearing Packers Head Coach Matt LaFleur speak to the team about being the ones on the attack in Sunday's game with the Kansas City Chiefs, AJ Dillon decided to call a late audible.
Instead, the fourth-year running back picked up an orange-and-black camo jacket that he wore to Lambeau Field for what promised to be a rough-and-tough matchup with the reigning Super Bowl champions.
"My wife does all the styling, and she had a sick outfit, would've been really cool," Dillon said. "But I was like, 'You know what? I'm buying in.' She's like, 'All right,' but I think I pulled it off."
In more ways than one.
For four quarters, Dillon continuously lowered his shoulder pads and pushed forward on his way to 87 total yards on 19 touches, production that paced Green Bay's offense during an emphatic 27-19 win over Kansas City at Lambeau Field.
While Green Bay was without Aaron Jones (knee) for the second straight week, the usual offensive suspects were in play for Green Bay.
Jordan Love completed 25 of 36 passes for 267 yards and three touchdowns. Christian Watson caught two of those TDs, finishing with a career-high seven catches for 71 yards.
Fellow second-year receiver Romeo Doubs added a couple critical catches of his own, including a 33-yard reception on fourth-and-1 during a TD-producing drive in the third quarter.
To hear Doubs tell it, however, everything Green Bay accomplished started with Dillon wearing on the Kansas City defensive front from the jump.
The 6-foot, 247-pound running back carried the ball seven times for 30 yards on a Packers' opening drive that lasted almost eight minutes and ended in a 1-yard TD pass to Ben Sims.
"I know I might have fought and got some dirty yards, but dirty yards equal AJ Dillon," Doubs said. "You see the tape. I'm glad I can have somebody like that.
"I gotta salute him because there were times where maybe Jordan put (Dillon) in position, just using his athletic ability … (and) he set us up for explosives down the field. It's just complementary football."
After rushing nine times for 39 yards in the first half, Dillon caught a 14-yard pass to start the third quarter and spark the Packers' third TD-producing drive.
He also was at his best in the fourth quarter when Green Bay was looking to put Kansas City away. Dillon carried the ball seven times, gaining 33 yards and forcing the Chiefs to start burning their timeouts after back-to-back conversions.
Following Dillon's lead, the Packers finished with 129 rushing yards on 25 carries (5.2 yards per carry).
Check out photos from the Week 13 matchup between the Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs at Lambeau Field on Sunday, Dec. 3, 2023.
"When you see him on that second, third level, those linebackers – instead of running forward, they're backing up," left guard Elgton Jenkins said. "He's lowering his shoulder. To be that close and see that, it's brutal. But as an offensive lineman, you have to love it."
Recently, Dillon has looked for metaphors and motivational techniques to help set the tone on gameday. While battling a groin injury himself last week in Detroit, Dillon wore eye black for the first time in his football career after watching a video about racehorse blinders.
Of course, the horse hears the crowd and the noise, but the only thing it's focused on is keeping one foot in front of another. That's the mode Dillon has tried to stay in, especially given all the peaks and valleys built into an NFL season.
So, when LaFleur brought up the idea of being the predator this week and not the prey – the analogy hit home for Dillon.
"You see what I'm wearing right now. We talked about that hunter's mentality," Dillon said. "I think Coach LaFleur said it – the predator's eyes are right in front and the prey's are in the side, looking all around, getting nervous and getting scared."
Dillon played fearlessly against Kansas City and was rewarded with the Packers' third consecutive win. As a team, the Packers amassed 382 total yards while not turning over the football.
The goal is to keep it going.
"We're not full. We still got a lot more room," Dillon said. "We still got a lot more to do and it's all about the hunt. One game at a time."
