KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Rashee Rice returns to the active roster on Monday. Hours before that, the Chiefs are hoping to somehow scratch out a win against the NFL's hottest team, Detroit (4-1). Kansas City (2-3) hosts the inter-conference clash on Sunday Night Football (7:20 p.m. CT, NBC/KSHB-TV, Channel 41, 96.5 The Fan).
"Good, solid defense, flying around," head coach Andy Reid said Wednesday. "Offense, they've been very effective, offensively, point-wise and execution-wise. So, they haven't had the self-inflicted wounds, as much as some other teams. So they're not going backward. And so we've got to make sure we take care of business, stay aggressive on both sides of the ball, and special teams."
Eliminating the Chiefs' own self-inflicted wounds would be a simple and effective start. Including last week's 13 penalties, officials have walked off 42 flags against Kansas City this season. That's tied for fourth in the league.
Here's the Starting 11 for the Chiefs-Lions engagement in Week 6...
In this season of uncharacteristic Mahomes-era trends, the Chiefs are hoping for another. Detroit enters with the league's longest active winning streak, four games. Since Mahomes became Kansas City's starter in 2018, the Chiefs have struggled to halt red-hot teams. Per Elias Sports Bureau, Kansas City is just 5-7 against opponents that entered with winning streaks of at least three games in that season:
Monday's 31-28 loss at Jacksonville was extremely rare air for the Chiefs, who finished plus-one in turnover margin. Kansas City had won 39 straight, including five playoff games, when finishing in plus-territory in the turnover ratio. During Steve Spagnuolo's tenure as defensive coordinator (2019-present), Kansas City is now 41-2 (.954) when winning the turnover margin. It marked the Chiefs' first such setback in 2,185 days, since Oct. 13, 2019, a 31-24 home loss against the Texans.
Buffalo, Baltimore and Kansas City lost in the same week for the first time since Week 9 in 2017. Patrick Mahomes was a rookie on the AT&T Stadium sideline wearing a headset awaiting his time in a 28-17 loss at Dallas. That setback started a four-game losing streak for the Chiefs. Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson were finishing their careers at Wyoming and Louisville respectively.
Aidan Hutchinson against Jawaan Taylor. The Detroit edge rusher has at least one sack in four straight games. Meanwhile, the Chiefs' right tackle hasn't allowed a sack all season. His 214 pass-block snaps without a sack rank second in the league among tackles behind Trent Williams (215).
For the second time in three weeks, the Chiefs square off against an opponent leading the NFL in scoring offense. The high-octane Lions enter the contest atop the league with 34.8 points per game, looking to become only the fifth team in the Super Bowl era to register at least 34 points in five games within a single season, joining the 2007 Patriots (eight), 2000 Rams (eight), 2013 Broncos (six) and 1999 Rams (five).
Kansas City, meanwhile, gave up its most points in Monday's 31-28 loss at Jacksonville since the 44-20 Super Bowl loss to Philadelphia. The Chiefs, who since the beginning of 2023 still lead the NFL in fewest points allowed (18.6), will need a performance similar to what shut down Baltimore in Week 4. In that game against then the NFL's highest-scoring unit, the Chiefs limited the Ravens to just 13 points until allowing a late touchdown.
After their 21-20 home loss to the Lions in the NFL's 2023 Week 1 Kickoff Game, the Chiefs reeled off six straight wins. That streak set the tone for a season that would end with another Super Bowl title.
Lions running backs Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery each scored touchdowns in last week's win at Cincinnati, the 14th game in which they both reached the end zone. That ties Dallas' Daryl Johnston and Emmitt Smith for the most such games among running-back teammates in the Super Bowl era.
In 54 career primetime games, tight end Travis Kelce has 4,110 receiving yards. He needs just 14 more on Sunday night to top Jason Witten (4,123) for the second most in NFL history. Only Jerry Rice (5,351) compiled more as an NFL player.
Including playoffs, Patrick Mahomes enters with 299 touchdown passes in 138 career games. With another on Sunday night, he will eclipse Aaron Rodgers (147 games) as the fastest player to 300 including postseason in NFL annals.
Defensive end Ashton Gillotte, a third-round selection (66th overall) in the 2025 draft out of Louisville, has played his highest percentage of defensive snaps in the Chiefs' two wins. He played a season-high 56.1 percent of defensive snaps in the 22-9 road win over the Giants in Week 3 and 47.3 percent of plays in Week 4 win over Baltimore. The Chiefs are 0-3 when he's on field for 46 percent or fewer snaps.
A running back hasn't managed triple digits against the Chiefs in 31 consecutive games, including playoffs. The last time it happened was Christmas Day 2023, when the Raiders' Zamir White rushed for 145 yards in the Chiefs' 20-14 home loss. Detroit's David Montgomery had 151 rushing yards in the Week 3 win over Baltimore.