The Kansas City Chiefs are in trouble. After winning two straight games against the New York Giants and the Baltimore Ravens, it looked like the former champions were back on track. The 0-2 start they had earlier in the season seemed to now be firmly in the rearview mirror for the team.
Unfortunately for them, they suffered another brutal loss. This time, the Chiefs suffered defeat at the hands of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Despite holding an early lead, Kansas City struggled to finish off the AFC South contender.
The Chiefs now hold a 2-3 record, and are in danger of being below .500 once again this season. They have a chance to at least even out their record, but their opponent in Week 6 won't make it easy. The Detroit Lions have been arguably the best team in the NFL this season. In a weird turn of events, it's now the Chiefs who are the underdogs against the Lions.
That being said, the Lions still have a clear weakness that the Chiefs can exploit. What is this weakness, and how is Kansas City perfectly suited to exploit this matchup?
Lions fatal flaw Chiefs must exploit to get back on track: Detroit's secondary
The Lions have been the best team in football, and that's in large part due to their well-roundedness as a team. Their offense continues to be one of the most efficient units even after Ben Johnson's departure. And with the return of Aidan Hutchinson, the defense has been better than ever.
That being said, there's an area on the Lions' defense that could be an issue moving forward, one that the Chiefs cold exploit. That's Detroit's secondary.
No, it's not because the Lions have a bad secondary. Far from it, actually: Detroit has one of the best secondary units in football. With lockdown cornerbacks like Terrion Arnold and Brian Branch, and one of the best safeties in Kerby Joseph, the Lions have an amazing unit to shut down opposing pass-catchers.
The issue, though, is that this unit is slowly getting depleted. Star cornerback DJ Reed is already out for the next few weeks after suffering a hamstring injury. After playing through an injury in Week 5, Arnold will also miss some time according to Lions coach Dan Campbell. Two more cornerbacks, Rock Ya-Sin and Khalil Dorsey, are also injured.
That leaves the Lions' cornerback room shothanded for their Chiefs matchup. Branch will be the top cornerback, while veterans Avonte Maddox and Tre Flowers round out their cornerback room. This works perfectly in Kansas City's favor.
The Chiefs have to always been a pass-heavy team. With their struggles running the football this season, Andy Reid has relied more and more on Mahomes' passing to get them through the season. 60.3% of their offensive snaps this season are pass plays: the eighth-highest rate in the league this season.
The Chiefs also have a surprisingly solid group of wide receivers and tight ends to capitalize on the depleted Lions secondary. Rashee Rice remains out until the end of this game, but Xavier Worthy has been a solid target for Mahomes this season. The Chiefs are also getting good production out of a resurgent Juju Smith-Schuster and Tyquan Thornton. The threat of Travis Kelce is also there in the redzone.
Winning the WR-DB matchup isn't all there is to success, of course. The Lions' front seven is still incredibly strong. Hutchinson leads the way, but they have a ton of playmakers that can make it difficult for Mahomes to find his receivers downfield. That being said, the Chiefs' offensive line is well-built to protect their quarterback downfield. If the offensive line can give Mahomes time in the pocket, they'll be peachy.
The Chiefs badly need this win. The Los Angeles Chargers and the Denver Broncos already have a sizable lead in the divisional race. Kansas City has the pedigree to claw out of a bad start, of course, but they would rather spend their energy maintaining a division lead instead of trying to fight for a Wild Card spot.
