Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs aren’t used to being in this position.
The Chiefs emerged from the first five games on their schedule with a 2-3 record. They’re still only one game out of first place in the AFC West behind the Denver Broncos and the Los Angeles Chargers, but their home game on Sunday night against the red-hot Detroit Lions (4-1) could prove pivotal.
“It’s extremely important. There’s no way around it,” Mahomes said. “This is a really good football team that we’re going to play. They play extremely hard, and they have a mentality (that) they’re going to come in and win a football game, so we have to match that intensity. We have to match that mentality and knowing that it’s going to take our best football (from) everybody — offense, defense and special teams — and we have to go out there and prove it on Sunday.”
The Chiefs thus far have proved to be very vulnerable, particularly on defense. They couldn’t stop the Jacksonville Jaguars from driving down the field and scoring on Trevor Lawrence’s scramble with 23 seconds remaining in a 31-28 loss on Monday.
Star defensive lineman Chris Jones has been roasted in the media for not hustling after Lawrence, who stumbled after a Jaguars lineman stepped on his foot before he made a beeline to the end zone.
“You can’t think that the guy is down. You can’t think that,” Kansas City coach Andy Reid said. “You just have to play the play, and (Jones) knows, I mean he’s been around this thing a long time. That’s really what it came down to.”
What it comes down to this Sunday is that the Chiefs will have to slow down a Lions team that’s won four straight games since dropping their opener to the Green Bay Packers.
“Well deserved, too,” Reid said of the Lions’ winning streak. “They’re playing good football, good solid defense (and) flying around. They have been very effective offensively, point wise and execution wise. They haven’t had the self-inflicted wounds as much as some other teams, so you know that they’re not going backwards.”
As usual, Lions coach Dan Campbell is pumped up for the challenge of facing the defending AFC champions.
“We’ve got our work cut out for us out at Arrowhead. Great environment. Sunday night against a champion,” he said. “This is a big-time opponent. These guys know how to win. And so, man, we’re looking forward to this. This is another one of those ‘This is why you do it, this is why you’re in it.’ Man, we love this stuff.”
Campbell also is loving his offensive execution. The Lions have racked up 161 points during their hot streak, including a 37-24 win at Cincinnati on Sunday.
Quarterback Jared Goff already has passed for an NFL-high 12 touchdowns.
In their most regular-season visit to Kansas City, which came in 2023, the Lions captured a 21-20 victory over the then-defending Super Bowl champion.
“I thought that was big,” Goff said. “And certainly, because they were coming off of winning the Super Bowl and we were coming off of missing the playoffs really that 9-8 season. And now we hope that teams feel that way about us and we are having to prove ourselves every week still.”
Detroit suffered an injury blow against the Bengals, as cornerback Terrion Arnold is out indefinitely with a shoulder issue. Top wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (wrist), safety Kerby Joseph (knee) and offensive tackle Taylor Decker (shoulder) also sat out Wednesday’s practice.
The Chiefs had no significant injuries to report following Wednesday’s practice.
