I've done all the research on behalf of Detroit Lions fans. I went in the lab and I fired up the Bunsen burner and poured some chemicals into beakers and flasks and then I designed a robot that was able to break down every football team in the world. Turns out the Kansas City Chiefs are really good. I know, I was shocked to come to this conclusion as well. I think I've found a weakness though. 

It's not just the offense that's good for the Chiefs. This team was decent defensively as well. The Chiefs allowed 25th most rushing yards last year. Part of that is becasue their offense is so good and they racked up points so fast that opposing teams had to abandon the run, but the other part of it is that they were able to stop teams from establishing the run early enough to do damage. 

Here's the thing though. Just because the Chiefs didn't allow a ton of rushing yards in 2022, that doesn't mean they were all that great against running backs. Yes, I'm aware of how weird that sounds. 

Here's what I mean. The Chiefs allowed more receptions to running backs than any other team in 2022 with 112. Along with that, the Chiefs allowed fourth most yards to running backs catching the ball in 2022 with 806. 

That might not seem like a ton when you consider that the Chiefs allowed a total of 3,756 total receiving yards in 2022, but that accounts for 22% of those 3,756 yards. 

Let me take a quick break here because I know you're curious about the Lions. They allowed  48 receptions for 351 yards to running backs last year. The 48 was 31st in the league and the 351 was 32nd. That 351 yards accounted for 8% of the receiving yards that the Lions allowed in 2022. You getting the picture here? 

The reason I bring all of this up is that that the Lions have this guy named Jahmyr Gibbs. Maybe you've heard of him. He's a running back that led Alabama in receptions in 2022. 

He's the same guy that recently said that the Lions are throwing him the ball more than Alabama did. He's the same guy that Lions Offensive Coordinator Ben Johnson said the Lions will use in a lot of different ways in 2023. 

The Chiefs defense has trouble defending running backs taking passes, the Lions have an offense that's planning to throw a lot of passes to their running back. This is clearly an area to watch for both teams on Thursday. If the Lions are able to use Gibbs in the way that they hope and the Chiefs can't stop that, then this is an area where the Lions can do a lot of damage in a multitude of ways. 

This should allow the Lions to advance the ball down the field, but it also should help them with time of possession. The Chiefs lost three games in 2022. They lost the time of possession battle in all three of them. This will lastly allow the Lions to keep the Chiefs defense honest. If everyone is focusing on stopping the short pass, they're not looking at the long pass. 

This is not going to be a walk in the park for the Lions. Even if the Chiefs are potentially missing two of their most important players. But this is an area that they might be able to attack and have an edge at. We'll see Thursday night. 

I had the same surgery as Levi Onwuzurike. What he’s doing is amazing

On Monday night the Detroit Lions started a new series called Beyond. Lions defensive lineman Levi Onwuzurike penned an article and detailed a lot of what's been his career thus far. The one thing that obviously stands out the most is that Onwuzurike noted that he had spinal fusion surgery.  The exact surgery that Onwuzurike had […]

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