SB Nation • 13 min read

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs and Lions offenses are polar opposites

The latest

NFL Week 6: Key Matchups, Predictions for Chiefs-Lions and Other Top Games | SI

Key matchup: Patrick Mahomes vs. Detroit’s corners

Key stat: Mahomes is sixth with 1,257 passing yards.

Date, Time, TV: 8:20

p.m. ET Sunday, NBC

This game might be a race to 30 points. If that’s the case, the deciding factor will likely be whether the Lions can hold up in coverage against Mahomes.

Detroit will be without its top three corners on the depth chart from when the summer began, including Terrion Arnold, D.J. Reed and Ennis Rakestraw Jr. That doesn’t bode well against the Chiefs, who over the past two weeks have racked up 858 total yards and 65 points against the Ravens and Jaguars.

Lions first-year coordinator Kelvin Sheppard has been blitz-happy, ranking ninth in sending extra rushers (28.8%). If the Chiefs can handle the pressure, Mahomes will have one-on-one opportunities against Avonte Maddox, Rock Ya-Sin and Amik Robertson. It’s a dangerous game, and one that might force Sheppard to play more conservatively.

Every NFL Team’s Biggest Problem Heading into Week 6 | Bleacher Report

Problem: The one-score game magic is gone

The Chiefs had famously won 17 consecutive one-score games entering this season, but that last-minute prime-time home loss to Jacksonville was their third such defeat of 2025.

Now, they’re 0-3 in one-score games.

Outlook: Patrick Mahomes has struggled on paper for several years now, but he has often made up for that in key moments. This year, he’s got a mere 84.1 passer rating and a sub-60 completion rate in the fourth quarter of one-score games. It’s not a good sign.

Chiefs OL Kingsley Suamataia on his growing confidence this season | Chiefs Wire

“Most definitely. It’s my second year (and) Josh’s (Simmons) first year.” said Suamataia, “Just trying to grasp everything I learned my first year and share it with him, especially with the plays, we have a lot of plays, but he’s taking it on well, he’s an incredible athlete, and I love playing next to him.”

The offensive line showed excellent continuity in their Week 5 matchup with the Jacksonville Jaguars, improving the running game and protecting quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Suamataia believes he’s found a groove in his new role at guard and his ongoing development.

“Yeah, I feel great. Just blessed to be in this situation. The coaches trust me to play guard, so I’m going to give it everything I can at it,” said Suamataia. “It’s going good, but yeah, definitely a big improvement from last year. Just growth from me.”

Chiefs will revisit some Week 1 ghosts when facing Lions on Sunday. Here’s why | The Athletic

That Week 1 game, when Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert threw for 318 yards and three touchdowns in his team’s 27-21 victory? It was rough for the Chiefs’ defense.

Notably, Herbert finished 9 of 11 for 169 yards on play-action, according to NFL Next Gen Stats, and also was 11 of 13 for 187 yards with two touchdowns when targeting in-breaking routes.

“The first game … obviously, we want to be perfect. But I think our eyes have gotten better,” Chenal said Friday after practice. “Because all that is (play-action) is about eyes.”

Let’s start with some numbers. If the 2-3 Chiefs hope to reroute the trajectory of their season with a win on “Sunday Night Football,” they’ll need to be most concerned with the Lions’ offensive deception.

Around the NFL

Ravens rule out QB Lamar Jackson for second straight week | ESPN

Jackson, a two-time NFL MVP, was ruled out Friday by Baltimore for the second straight week with a hamstring injury. He has been sidelined since injuring his hamstring in Kansas City on Sept. 28.

Since Jackson became the Ravens’ starting quarterback in 2018, Baltimore is 4-11 (.363) when Jackson hasn’t played. The Ravens have lost their past five games without Jackson and have failed to score more than 17 points in each of those games.

Cooper Rush will make his second start for Baltimore, coach John Harbaugh confirmed after Friday’s practice.

Trey Hendrickson, Alvin Kamara headline 8 notable NFL trade candidates ahead of Nov. 4 deadline | NFL.com

Kamara leads the Saints with 283 rush yards and 360 scrimmage yards. He’s everything for this offense — and typically has been since he stepped foot in New Orleans in 2017. He’s played his entire nine-year career with the franchise and, before he agreed to a restructured contract in 2024, the star back said, “I want to be a Saint. I want to retire here.” I totally get that. It’d be weird to see him in another uniform, but he wouldn’t be the first or last great player to don different duds. New Orleans could make do in the backfield for the rest of this season with third-year pro Kendre Miller and sixth-round rookie Devin Neal, and the organization needs to start moving on from some veteran players — Cameron Jordan, Demario Davis and Taysom Hill also come to mind. Moving Kamara could allow the team to get some money off the books in 2026. Plus, with all of the recent injuries to running backs, Kamara could be at the top of the list for multiple teams.

In case you missed it on Arrowhead Pride

Chiefs Roster: Ahead of Lions showdown, team focused on their mistakes

After a string of penalties and uncharacteristic errors — both of which were on full display in Monday night’s 31-28 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars — head coach Andy Reid and quarterback Patrick Mahomes each pointed to execution and discipline as the difference between the team’s current struggles and the standard they’ve set in recent years.

“I always go back just to the basics,” said Reid of Monday’s special teams penalties, which were a big factor in the most recent of their three narrow losses. “The angles that you take are so big on special teams to put yourself in position to block. When you’re doing it in space, you’ve got to be disciplined, [so] that you don’t let your hands grab any cloth. The best way to do it is [to] go out and practice fast.”

Costly penalties have been a recurring theme in this season’s losses — something Reid acknowledged is hurting both field position and rhythm.

“We’ve got to take care of that,” he said. “That’s something we’ve got to fix. It’s getting us right now — and you can’t do that. So again, the best way to do it is you go out and practice it — and make sure you’re working on the things that have been causing the problems.”