With the Detroit Lions becoming a stronger team over the years, they’ve seen an increase in primetime matchups, and now we also get to see more games against stronger opponents. This week it’s the best of both worlds as Detroit takes on the Kansas City Chiefs on “Sunday Night Football.” The last time these two teams played was in the 2023 season opener when the Lions showed the rest of the NFL that they were a better team, defeating the Chiefs 21-20.
This time around, both teams look different. The Lions are 4-1, entering the game on a four-game winning streak and tied for the best record in the NFL. Their roster is better than the one they sported in 2023. The Chiefs, on the other hand, are an unknown right now. They aren’t the defending Super Bowl champions, they’re without their top wide receiver Rashee Rice due to suspension, and they aren’t clicking as well as they normally do. They’re a complete unknown, making it harder to figure out what to expect.
The Chiefs aren’t going to be a pushover, despite whatever struggles they have currently. Let’s take a look at what’s going on with them in my Week 6 scouting report.
Kansas City Chiefs
2025 season thus far (2-3)
Week 1: Lost to the Los Angeles Chargers, 27-21
Week 2: Lost to the Philadelphia Eagles, 20-17
Week 3: Defeated the New York Giants, 22-9
Week 4: Defeated the Baltimore Ravens, 37-20
Week 5: Lost to the Jacksonville Jaguars 31-28
Stats:
- 12th in points scored, 13th in points allowed
- 6th in DVOA
- 7th in offensive DVOA (10th in pass DVOA, 7th in run DVOA)
- 15th in defensive DVOA (16th pass DVOA, 17th in run DVOA)
- 21st in special teams DVOA
These Chiefs haven’t been as dominant as they have been before. For the first time with quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs started 0-2 with losses to the Chargers and Eagles. The offense has been a big problem for the Chiefs, alongside the defensive mishaps and struggles. The team is without Rice for the first six games, but when tight end Travis Kelce ran into wide receiver Xavier Worthy on the first drive of the season and knocked him out for two weeks, the offense looked lost as Mahomes suddenly only had Kelce as his best receiving option.
Despite getting their first win of the season against the Giants in Week 3, it wasn’t a simple ho-hum victory. Once again, Kelce and Chiefs head coach Andy Reid had a heated exchange on the sideline that was caught on camera. These two have clashed before, back in Super Bowl 58 when Kelce came after Reid, but that was a happier ending as they would win the Super Bowl, meanwhile they were struggling with the Giants on “Sunday Night Football” this time around.
After looking like they were back to their old ways after defeating the Ravens, the game against the Jaguars on “Monday Night Football” was a bit of both the old and new Chiefs. They were up 14-0 and dominating both sides of the ball until the Jaguars started to make fewer mistakes. The Chiefs regained the lead with just under two minutes left to play, but it didn’t matter. Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence and the offense had a short field and scored with just 23 seconds left off a wild touchdown run.
One of their biggest problems starts with the running game. The leading rusher for the Chiefs? Mahomes. Yes, running backs Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt aren’t leading the ground game as they can’t seem to move. Pacheco has 163 yards on 39 carries, averaging 4.2 yards per carry, while Hunt has found the end zone three times, getting 164 yards on 43 carries, averaging 3.8 yards per carry.
Without Rice and down Worthy for a few weeks, the receiving game saw Tyquan Thornton step up as the top option for Mahomes, leading the team in receiving yards (272) and touchdowns (3). Marquise Brown has moved up too, leading the Chiefs in catches (26) and finding the end zone once. Mahomes’ safety net target of Kelce, has been reliable after struggling to start the year. He has 22 catches for 243 yards and two touchdowns.
The defense has been causing issues for the Chiefs just as much as the offense, and they don’t have the excuse of dealing with injuries or suspensions. They are allowing an average of 4.8 yards per carry, tied for sixth-highest in the NFL. Defensive tackle Chris Jones has had a quiet start to the season, with only seven tackles, four tackles for loss, and one sack. Jones didn’t get to play against Detroit in 2023 due to a contract holdout, so this will be the first time the Lions get to take him on.
The good news is that EDGE George Karlaftis III has become the team’s best pass rusher, leading the group with 3.5 sacks. Also, the secondary appears to be figuring things out after allowing 318 passing yards in the opening contest. They held three opponents in a row to under 200 yards before allowing 221 to Lawrence last week. Cornerback Trent McDuffie leads the team in pass deflections with six and got his first interception against Jacksonville.
Injury notes
Key players ruled out: WR Rashee Rice (suspension), EDGE Felix Anudike-Uzomah (IR)
Key players to monitor: S Nazeeh Johnson (IR/shoulder), DT Omarr Norman-Lott (shoulder), WR Xavier Worthy (shoulder/ankle)
The Chiefs aren’t dealing with much on the injury front to be a concern for them. Rice will return from his suspension after this week, so the Lions won’t have to deal with the headaches he causes defenders, but EDGE Felix Anudike-Uzomah is out for the season. Safety Nazeeh Johnson is on IR and can return, but with him not practicing last week, I wouldn’t expect him to suit up this week even if he started to practice this week.
Rookie defensive tackle Omarr Norman-Lott, who has one sack for the Chiefs this year, missed last week. Worthy returned from his shoulder injury against the Ravens, playing in back-to-back games, so I believe he will continue to play, but seeing as an ankle injury has now appeared on the injury report last week, perhaps he is still playing on a limited snap count.
Biggest strength: Quarterback
As long as this team has Mahomes under center, he will be their greatest strength. While Mahomes isn’t having an MVP-level season this year, he is still the main reason for this team’s success on offense. He’s thrown for 1,257 yards, eight touchdowns, and two interceptions, and part of the struggles have been due to the lack of production from the wide receivers.
Mahomes had a rough start, but with back-to-back strong performances, he continues to give this offense everything he has. It’s not helpful, too, when you have to be the leading rusher on your team. Mahomes also has three rushing touchdowns, which is tied with Hunt for the most on the team.
Biggest weakness: Run defense
When it comes to stopping the run, the Chiefs can’t seem to figure it out. According to PFF, their run defense grade is 57, 26th in the NFL, and they only seem to be regressing.
In their opening game against the Chargers, they held Los Angeles to just 90 yards on the ground, and the Chargers running backs didn’t score. Facing the Eagles next would be a tougher challenge, and the Chiefs allowed 122 yards and two rushing touchdowns.
Despite holding the Giants to just nine points, the only touchdown the Chiefs allowed was by Giants running back Cam Skattebo, and the Giants ran for more yards than the Eagles with 130. Facing the Ravens would be another difficult task and the Chiefs struggled once again, allowing 166 yards and a touchdown, the team’s worst performance this season.
The Chiefs did hold the Jaguars to 109 rushing yards, but Lawrence ran for two rushing touchdowns on them, including the game-winner, which probably should have been a tackle for loss.
Detroit is known for running the football. They have the sixth most rushing yards (674) and third most touchdowns (8) on the ground. The Chiefs will have to pull out all the stops if they are going to win this game, and it has to begin with forcing the Lions to throw the football. The Chiefs’ secondary has been their strength, so eliminating Lions running backs Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery will have to be the way they can win this game.
Key matchup: Lions wide receivers vs. Chiefs secondary
While the running game will have a huge impact on the game for the Lions, I believe their passing game will have the biggest impact. The Lions have the highest scoring offense in the NFL, averaging 34.8 points per game, and they’re facing the best secondary it has seen this season. According to PFF, the Chiefs have the second-best coverage grade in the NFL (76.9), they’ve allowed just 999 passing yards (ninth fewest), and a passer rating of 87.1 (ninth lowest)
If the Chiefs’ coverage holds up and leaves Lions quarterback Jared Goff searching for an option to throw to, their pass rush will eventually get to him—particularly if the Lions are without starting left tackle Taylor Decker once again.
Another injury to note is with Lions wide receiver Kalif Raymond, who suffered a neck injury against the Bengals. If he misses Sunday’s game, the Lions will need to lean on rookie wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa more. While TeSlaa has done well in his limited snaps, he still hasn’t done well enough to jump Raymond in the depth chart. That means Lions wide receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams will have to break out and find the open spots to catch the ball. Williams didn’t play against the Chiefs in 2023, so Kansas City will have their first taste of the speed he has, which might be something that gives the Lions a way to find success.
Vegas line for Monday: Chiefs favored by 2.5
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