This Sunday night the NFL highlight is the Detroit Lions heading into Kansas City to face the Chiefs at Arrowhead with kickoff set for 8:20 PM Eastern on NBC as well as streaming live on Peacock and the NBC Sports app according to both Fox Sports and azcentral. This matchup comes with significant implications as the 4 and 1 Lions are widely regarded as the hottest team in football, while the Chiefs aim to ignite another one of their patented midseason runs right as the leaves change and the pressure rises.
In the last 24 hours, countless pundits have zeroed in on Detroit’s transformation. Dan Campbell’s squad is now viewed as more than a cute story. The Lions’ offense, led by Jared Goff and star wideout Amon Ra St Brown, has been lighting up the league. Goff has thrown for nearly 1400 yards and 11 touchdowns in just five games, while St Brown has been unstoppable after the catch. On the ground, rookie running back Terrion Granger’s sudden rise following David Montgomery’s injury has placed him squarely in this week’s spotlight—NFL.com ranks him as one of the league’s top young breakout backs this month.
Across the field, Patrick Mahomes’ Chiefs are, as ever, a threat to explode on offense. But recent headlines from ESPN and CBS Sports focus on a suddenly vulnerable offensive line and nagging injuries—tackle Jawaan Taylor was listed as questionable Friday morning, and tight end Travis Kelce has been battling a bum ankle all week, though he’s expected to play Sunday night. Pro Football Talk reports Chiefs insiders are privately concerned about Mahomes’ uptick in turnovers, with five picks in the last four games—a sharp contrast to his MVP norm.
The odds are razor-thin. Vegas Insider has Kansas City as 2.5 point home favorites, but both Sports Illustrated and USA Today note a surge of sharp money landing on the Lions. The projected total sits at 49.5, and most analysts expect points will come in bunches. NBC Sports’ Chris Simms called Goff vs Mahomes “the quarterback duel of the week,” while Boomer Esiason predicted on his morning show that the Lions will pick off Mahomes twice and pull off the upset.
The consensus among the talking heads is to watch for the Lions’ defensive line against Mahomes’ protection—analysts from ESPN and The Athletic both argue this is the key matchup that could swing the game. If Aidan Hutchinson wreaks havoc, Detroit might just take the next step from upstart to genuine Super Bowl contender.
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