Chiefs have golden opportunity to take advantage of Lions’ battered roster in Week 6 on ‘Sunday Night Football’ after latest injury news
The Lions are hurting heading into Week 6 on Sunday night against the Chiefs.
The Detroit Lions are dealing with a rash of early-season injuries as they head to GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium for “Sunday Night Football.” As of Friday, they’d ruled out four players and listed another six players as questionable for the Week 6 game.
As they prepare to travel to Kansas City on Saturday, the Lions have officially downgraded the game status of three more players from questionable to out.
This Detroit team is no stranger to injuries, having battled through them a season ago. However, the latest batch of injury news puts them at a significant disadvantage on both offense and defense.
The Lions will start their third left tackle of the season on Sunday night
With Taylor Decker sidelined for a second consecutive week and his backup, Giovanni Manu, ruled out of the Week 6 game, the Lions will start their third left tackle of the 2025 NFL season on Sunday night. To put that into perspective, it took the 2024 Chiefs until Week 14 to start their third left tackle of the season (D.J. Humphries). Dan Skipper is expected to start the game on Sunday night in place of Decker and Manu. He has appeared in 57 regular-season games with 11 starts during his NFL career thus far.
This is the type of matchup that the Chiefs’ D-Line has desperately needed to get back on track. There are no excuses for this group; they should be able to have a big game with a glaring weak spot at left tackle. I’m looking at Chris Jones to have a big game on Sunday night after coming under fire for his perceived lack of effort and finish in Week 5 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Expect him to get multiple one-on-one opportunities against Skipper.
Lions’ secondary takes another hit with loss of Avonte Maddox
The Lions’ secondary looked about as beat up as it could be heading into Week 6 before the practice week even got started. It somehow deteriorated even further in just a few short days. The team already has five secondary players on the injured reserve list. They ruled out starting cornerback Terrion Arnold on Friday, and then on Saturday, they ruled out their nickel cornerback, Avonte Maddox. They might not be out of the woods yet, either, as Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph are both expected to be game-time decisions.
Breaking down Lions’ secondary injuries:
- Injured Reserve: CB Khalil Dorsey
- Injured Reserve: CB D.J. Reed
- Injured Reserve: CB Ennis Rakestraw Jr.
- Injured Reserve: S Dan Jackson
- Injured Reserve: S Daniel Thomas
- Out: CB Terrion Arnold
- Out: DB Avonte Maddox
- Questionable: DB Brian Branch
- Questionable: S Kerby Joseph
The Chiefs may face a Lions secondary without a single defensive starter in it on Sunday night. A guy like Arthur Maulet, who was signed to the practice squad just this week, might wind up as a starter in their nickel defense. The Chiefs will absolutely have to take advantage of the miscommunications and any other vulnerabilities that could arise from a talent-depleted secondary.
NFL
Chiefs LG Kingsley Suamataia sent his cousin, Lions RT Penei Sewell, a message ahead of ‘Sunday Night Football’
Kingsley Suamataia and the Chiefs are ready to play Penei Sewell and the Lions.
