The Detroit Lions are back on top of the NFL after routing the Cincinnati Bengals 37-24 this past weekend. Now, they will head to Arrowhead Stadium to face the Kansas City Chiefs. This Lions-Chiefs Sunday Night Football showdown could be a Super Bowl preview as it pits an NFC contender and the reigning AFC champions.
There will be many battles to watch. However, there is one thing that will be the Lions' biggest matchup to exploit to escape Arrowhead with the win.
Kansas City is currently favored to win this game by 2.5 points, according to FanDuel. Despite losing to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Monday Night Football, oddsmakers still believe the Chiefs can bounce back.
What can the Lions do to go into Kansas City and get a win? There are several things they can do on offense. Yet, history has shown us that teams that beat the Chiefs usually do it on defense. The Jaguars showed this in their win over the Chiefs, and the Lions will attempt to do the same. Ultimately, there is one matchup the Lions must exploit in this game.
The Chiefs' journey this season
When the Chiefs lost to the Eagles in the Super Bowl, the entire world saw how bad their offensive line was. To remedy this, the Chiefs attempted to patch some holes by making some signings. It has produced mixed results.
When the Chiefs started the season against the Los Angeles Chargers, their line allowed two sacks. Then, they allowed two more against the Philadelphia Eagles. Both those games saw Patrick Mahomes struggle to have time to go through his progressions, and it caused the passing game to stall. It happened again against the New York Giants, as Mahomes took two more sacks. So far, the best game of the season for the offense came against the Baltimore Ravens, when the line allowed just one sack.
Mahomes did not suffer a sack against the Jaguars. However, they pressured him enough and were able to pick him off in the red zone, flipping the game on its head.
How the Lions' defense has fared
The Lions' defense struggled in Week 1 against the Green Bay Packers. Since that game, it's been an array of mixed results. The Lions have not needed to have an elite defense because their offense has scored 52, 38, 34, and 37 points, respectively, in those four games. Conversely, the defense allowed 21, 30, 10, and 24 points, respectively.
The defense does have talented playmakers, such as Aidan Hutchinson, who has eight solo tackles and five sacks. Likewise, Al-Quadin Muhammad has been great, notching six solo tackles and 3.5 sacks. Linebacker Jack Campbell leads the team with 26 solo tackles and one sack. It has not been perfect, but the Detroit defense has done just enough to sustain the explosive offense.
This weekend will provide a tough test as the Detroit defense faces Mahomes. When the Lions faced the Chiefs in 2023's season opener, they fell behind 13-0 before rallying to win 24-23. In that game, the defense struggled at first but made the adjustments needed to secure the win. This is the Lions' biggest matchup to exploit as they head back to Arrowhead, and this is how the defense will shape the game.
Lions' biggest matchup to exploit on Sunday Night Football
Hutchinson will be ready as he will line up with the hopes of sacking Mahomes. But he needs help. Thus, that's where Muhammad comes in. And he will be going head-to-head with Jawaan Taylor.
Taylor had an abysmal game on Monday Night Football against the Jags. While he was decent at protecting Mahomes, he cost the team multiple chances with five penalties. His penalties included two false starts, two holding calls, and an illegal formation.
When a player commits this many mistakes, it usually means the defense has outmatched them. If the Lions want the best chance to win, they will exploit this weakness. Muhammad is the second-best pass rusher on the team, and he has a golden opportunity to have a big game if he can bypass Taylor.
Taylor's tendencies to hold might hurt the Chiefs, and Muhammad would be wise to do everything in his power to exploit this. Recently, Mahomes has been attempting to get the ball out quicker, but that might not matter if Taylor is holding Muhammad while the defensive end attempts to get to Mahomes.
History has shown that disrupting Mahomes is the best way to beat the Chiefs. If Muhammad wins the battle against an overmatched Taylor, it will give their offense more breathing room as they attempt to move the ball down the field against a solid Kansas City defense. It will also give the Lions the best chance to win.
