The Chiefs will open the NFL season on Thursday night as they host the upstart Detroit Lions. The Chiefs are currently a 6.5 point favorite in the game as KC looks to begin its defense of last year’s Super Bowl trophy in front of a capacity crowd.
While the Lions appear to be a team on the rise under head coach Dan Campbell, it could be quite an uphill battle for Detroit to walk out of Arrowhead with a win on Thursday night.
5 reasons the Chiefs will beat the Lions on Thursday Night
- Andy Reid’s opening week record is impeccable. The Chiefs are 9-1 in season openers dating back to Andy Reid’s first season in KC back in 2013. Patrick Mahomes has never lost in week 1 of the regular season and averages nearly four touchdowns per game in those contests.
- The Chiefs are raising yet another banner. As if Arrowhead wasn’t going to be boisterous enough already, KC will be unveiling its Super Bowl LVII banner just as they did back in 2020 against the Texans. It’s hard to imagine just how electric the atmosphere will be as the NFL season gets underway with all eyes on Kansas City.
- The Chiefs defense will have a chip on its shoulder. No Chris Jones, no problem say many of the remaining starters on the Chiefs defense. The Lions offense was high-powered and very dangerous in 2022 so the secondary will have to be on its A-game to make up for Jones’ loss. Could Derrick Nnadi and Tershawn Wharton be up for the challenge of carrying the load? we will certainly find out but expect linebackers (specifically Bolton and Gay) to attempt to pick up the slack as well.
- The Lions will be unable to stop Kansas City. The Lions defense struggled mightily in 2022, giving up 25 points per game. That ranked the Lions as the third-worst defense in the NFL with regards to points per game. The Chiefs have averaged 37.8 points per game during the Mahomes era in week one matchups. KC will score, they just can’t find themselves in a shootout late in the game.
- The Lions are still…the Lions. You have to give props to Dan Campbell and what the Lions are trying to achieve. They certainly deserve the respect of the Chiefs and are capable of coming to Arrowhead and winning. This franchise, however, has merely one playoff win in its history and has not made the post-season since 2016. Since 1990, the Chiefs and Lions have met eight times with KC winning six of those contests. At the end of the game, you can easily see the phrase “not ready for prime time” being thrown around about Detroit.
