It’s a matchup of two unbeaten teams, as the Detroit Lions host the Kansas City Chiefs. Can the Lions slow down one of the league’s most explosive offenses?
After an impressive road win against the Philadelphia Eagles, the Detroit Lions will look to close out the first quarter of their 2019 season by remaining undefeated. All that stands in their way is a home date against an AFC juggernaut, led by a generational talent at quarterback.
The Lions will host the Kansas City Chiefs this Sunday, with both teams yet to lose this season. The Chiefs feature one of the NFL’s most dynamic offenses, driven by wunderkind signal-caller Patrick Mahomes and influential head coach Andy Reid. It will be a massive challenge for Detroit, and a victory will require high-level performances from multiple position groups.
Can the Lions hang with the eruptive Chiefs? Will Kansas City expose Detroit’s shortcomings? Regardless of the outcome, we should learn quite a bit about who the Lions really are this coming Sunday.
Here, and each week, we’ll scout each team’s offense, defense, and special teams units, how they match up against each other and offer two players to watch from each squad.
When the Lions have the ball
Quarterback Matthew Stafford wasn’t perfect against the Eagles, but he avoided costly mistakes, made some key throws when they were needed and avoided being sacked for the second game in a row. The Lions will need all of that and more from him in order to keep up with the Chiefs.
Stafford was excellent in the face of pressure against the Eagles, particularly when connecting with wideout Marvin Jones. Stafford has enough trust in the veteran receiver to throw to a spot, particularly against a heavy rush, and assume that Jones will be there. Jones and the rest of the receiving corps should be able to find some creases against a suspect Chiefs secondary.
Jones’ 101-yard performance against the Eagles gives the Lions four 100-yard receivers in their first three games, the only NFL team to accomplish that so far in 2019. No team will compete with the Chiefs if they can’t put up points, and the Lions will need strong performances from more than one pass-catcher on Sunday.
If the offensive line continues to pass protect the way they have over the last two contests, the Lions’ wideouts should see plenty of opportunities to make plays down the field. However, a sputtering rushing attack has bogged the Lions’ offense down at times to begin 2019.
Detroit continues to rotate their interior linemen, and the results have been generally favorable thus far. They, along with the Lions’ tight ends, have yet to open consistent holes for lead tailback Kerryon Johnson and the rest of the unit though, leading to a team average of just 3.4 yards per tote.
If the Lions ever hope to attain their desired level of offensive balance this year, that mark will have to improve. Could that begin against the Chiefs? Kansas City currently surrenders the most yards per carry in the NFL at 6.2, and expect the Lions to look to take advantage of this statistic, particularly if they can grab a lead or keep the game close.
The Chiefs are waiting on edge rusher Frank Clark, their biggest offseason acquisition, to begin to produce, as he has just 1.0 sack through three games. He remains a serious threat along the defensive front, however, and the Lions will have to be aware of him, as well as penetrating interior lineman Chris Jones if they want to continue to keep Stafford upright.