KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — For the first five weeks of the season, everyone seemed to be asking what was wrong with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Turned out the answer might have been nothing.
Their first three losses? One came thousands of miles away in Brazil, another was a nip-and-tuck game with the defending Super Bowl champions, and the other was a game in which they committed 13 penalties and still nearly won.
Oh, and they all occurred while the Chiefs were dealing with injuries and a suspension to their best wide receiver.
On Sunday night, the healthy Chiefs proved that they are still legitimate championship contenders, beating up the Detroit Lions on both sides of the ball in a 30-17 victory. The offense was humming, the defense shut down the league’s top-scoring offense, and the biggest question afterward was just how good Kansas City could be when it gets Rashee Rice — the aforementioned wide receiver — back from his six-game punishment this week?
“I’m very excited,” Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said with a smirk. “That’s obvious.”
Even without Rice in the mix, Mahomes is back to playing at an MVP-caliber level. He threw for 257 yards and three touchdowns while running for another score against Detroit, and he has 11 touchdown passes against two interceptions this season.
The run game also picked up Sunday night, particularly when the Chiefs were trying to control the clock.
And the whole offense operated without first-round pick Josh Simmons, who had been playing well at left tackle, but who had to miss the game for a family emergency. Jaylon Moore stepped in on little sleep — his wife gave birth to a baby girl named Saleh the previous night — and handled Aidan Hutchinson and the rest of the Detroit pass rush with ease.
“I have all the faith in the world in Jaylon. He came here to do what he did today,” Mahomes said, “going against one of the premier pass rusher in the league and holding his own. He went out there and showcased the type of player he is.”
The Chiefs showcased the type of team they are, and have been for the better part of a decade.
And now they get Rice back in the mix, and for the first time in two years their wide receiver group will be whole. It was missing Marquise Brown much of last season because of a shoulder injury, then Rice got hurt a few weeks into the season. And this season, Xavier Worthy missed a few games after hurting his shoulder in the opener, and Rice has been serving his suspension for causing a high-speed car crash in Dallas in March 2024.
Rice has been back in the practice facility for the past couple of weeks. Now, he is eligible to get back on the field.
“I’ve said this, but getting (Worthy) back was a big thing. Xavier brings a lot of energy and he can do a lot of things for you, and he has an attitude that he brings,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “Getting Rashee back in the building was a big part; they felt like they were whole again, at least by body there. That’s been all positive.”
Hard to find too many negatives for Kansas City right now.
The Chiefs held Detroit to less than half its 34.8-point scoring average coming into the game. A big reason for the success was the defense’s ability to stop the Lions on fourth down, doing so both times they went for it.
Consistency. The Chiefs committed 13 penalties for 109 yards the previous week against Jacksonville, then committed none that was accepted against Detroit. Kansas City also did not commit a turnover, one week after Mahomes had an interception brought back 99 yards for a touchdown against the Jaguars.
Brown caught all four of his targets, including two for scores, and has become a dependable option for Mahomes in the passing game. He already has 30 receptions for 302 yards and three touchdowns this season.
Harrison Butker, the league’s highest-paid kicker, missed his third PAT this season. He also has missed three field goals and had a kickoff go out of bounds against Jacksonville that proved to be critical in the Chiefs’ last-second loss.
The Chiefs continue to be remarkably healthy six weeks into the season.
0 — The Chiefs committed no penalties against Detroit, the first time that has happened in the NFL since Week 18 of the 2023 season, when the Raiders accomplished the feat against Denver and the Seahawks did it against Arizona.
The Chiefs face the Raiders on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium.
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