Chiefs are not the only team playing on Thursday night with some roster issues
It's no secret the Kansas City Chiefs have a few holes in their starting lineup heading into the Thursday Night Football game against the Detroit Lions. One of the best defensive tackles in the league, Chris Jones, likely will not be there. Travis Kelce, the best tight end of all time, will likely not be there. […]
It's no secret the Kansas City Chiefs have a few holes in their starting lineup heading into the Thursday Night Football game against the Detroit Lions.
One of the best defensive tackles in the league, Chris Jones, likely will not be there. Travis Kelce, the best tight end of all time, will likely not be there. L'Jarius Sneed, the Chiefs' best cornerback, and Kadarius Toney, the presumed WR1, will both likely be on pitch counts after recovering from injuries.
Thursday night, against a great Lions team, won't be easy for the Chiefs, as they have some issues on their roster as things currently stand. But they aren't the only ones with issues on their roster.
Lions will also have issues vs. Chiefs
The Detroit Lions also have a few issues coming into this game. They aren't as major as the ones the Chiefs are dealing with, but they are big enough to mention.
The first one that comes to mind is their defensive line. Sure, we like to think that the Lions have a good defensive line, and they do have good pieces there, but as a whole, they weren't good last year.
The Lions 2022 defensive line allowed the second most yards per carry at 5.2 and had the second-worst efficiency (39) in the NFL. The unit also was last in the NFL in QBR, allowed at 58.1.
Shortly after giving Isaiah Buggs a two-year deal earlier this offseason to avoid him signing with another team, Lions' head coach Dan Campbell benched the 2022 starter ahead of their matchup in Week 1.
"So, I've spoken to Buggs, and that stays between us," Campell told the media. "But, yeah, we feel like we're (using) the guys that are best prepared to go this week for this game. Those are the guys that'll be up."
Buggs started 13 games for the Lions last season as their nose tackle.
This signifies that they are going through something with their defensive line, where they need help figuring out what to do against one of the best offensive lines in the league in Kansas City. Benito Jones will likely start in place of Buggs on Thursday, but he played just 311 defensive snaps in 17 games last season.
While that is the Lions' biggest issue, they also have some issues elsewhere on their roster. Their running back depth could be better outside of Gibbs and Montgomery. And the same can be said about the wide receiver depth outside St. Brown and Jones, as the guys behind them are Josh Reynolds and Kalif Raymond.
As of Tuesday, the Lions are also dealing with two injuries, in center Frank Ragnow (NP) and cornerback Emmanuel Mosely (LP).
Getting a win isn't going to be easy for either team.
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Featured Image Via Amy Kontras-USA TODAY Sports
