Kareem Hunt took an inside handoff. He darted left, cut back right and saw cornerback Rock Ya-Sin. He then folded the Lions’ defender up like a lawn chair for a first down.
The AFC is hoping Ya-Sin doesn’t represent what’s coming for the conference.
Hunt’s run essentially finished off the game, forcing Detroit to start taking its timeouts in a 30–17 Chiefs win over visiting Detroit on Sunday Night Football. Kansas City improved to 3–3, keeping it one game back of the Chargers and Broncos in the AFC West.
More importantly, the Chiefs looked phenomenal offensively for the first time since 2022, when Patrick Mahomes won the second of his NFL MVP awards. Over the past three weeks, Kansas City is averaging 6.2 yards per play, a figure which would rank fourth in the NFL if maintained. Mahomes has also been brilliant behind a revamped offensive line, including left tackle Josh Simmons (replaced by Jaylon Moore on Sunday night due to personal reasons) and guard Kingsley Suamataia.
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This year, Mahomes has thrown for 1,514 yards and 11 touchdowns against two interceptions while averaging 7.1 yards per attempt. At this point last year, Mahomes was struggling. He had 1,389 passing yards, with six touchdowns and eight interceptions. This year, he’s improved his numbers without Rashee Rice, the star wideout who returns next week from his six-game suspension stemming from violating the league’s personal conduct policy.
Against the Lions, Mahomes found open spaces against a secondary without starting corners Terrion Arnold, Avonte Maddox and D.J. Reed, hitting Travis Kelce for a team-high six receptions for 78 yards, while also finding Hollywood Brown for a pair of scores. Overall, Mahomes accounted for four touchdowns, handing Detroit its second loss of the year.
While Mahomes and the offense finding itself is the justified headliner, the defense is also worth a few words.
Over the Lions’ four-game winning streak, they were averaging 40.3 points per game. The Chiefs held them to 17 while limiting star running back Jahmyr Gibbs to 65 rushing yards on 3.8 yards per carry. David Montgomery was also a non-factor, gaining 24 yards.
While Kansas City did allow Jared Goff to complete 23-of-29 passes for 203 yards and two touchdowns, Steve Spagnuolo’s unit improved throughout the night. After giving up 10 points on the first two drives of the game, the Chiefs permitted just seven points over Detroit’s final six drives. On those sequences, the Lions averaged 4.7 yards per play, with 156 yards on 33 snaps.
While the Chiefs are emerging from their toughest six-game stretch of the year, including games against the Chargers, Eagles, Ravens and Lions, they will be adding their best weapon with Mahomes playing at an MVP level. That’s a scary thought for the AFC, which has watched Kansas City waltz to five of the past six Super Bowls, while reaching each of the past seven AFC title games.
Looking around the conference, nobody has established itself as the clear favorite. The Colts are 5–1, but Indianapolis has largely beaten poor teams (Raiders, Dolphins, Cardinals, Titans). Buffalo is 4–1 and plays on Monday night at Atlanta, but the Bills have struggled to put away a litany of weak teams including the Jets, Saints and Miami.
For all their struggles, the suspension of Rice and the injury of Xavier Worthy that essentially kept him out of three games, the Chiefs are in a fairly good position.
There’s plenty of work to be done, but Kansas City showed how dangerous it can be in Sunday’s win over the Lions. The Chiefs showed they can still embarrass even the best of teams.
Just ask Kareem Hunt and Rock Ya-Sin.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Chiefs Show They Still Have Championship Potential in Win Over Lions.
