The Kansas City Chiefs enter Week 5 riding a two-game winning streak. And while they need to get past the Jacksonville Jaguars on the road first, they may have Week 6's home clash with the Detroit Lions marked on their calendars.
Andy Reid's team has to be careful not to be caught looking ahead to next week's matchup. Then again, after watching the Lions dominate the Cincinnati Bengals on the road, they may have realized that Zac Taylor's team just made their job a whole lot more difficult.
The Lions Will be Well-Rested in Week 6
While the final score shows 37-24, it wasn't close at all. Without Joe Burrow at the helm, the Bengals scored a grand total of 3 points through the first three quarters of the game before a 21-point final period.
As such, the Lions barely had to keep their foot on the gas in the first 45 minutes of the game. They didn't even need to bring their A-Game to go up 28-3 before that late-game rally led by Jake Browning and Ja'Marr Chase.
The Chiefs, on the other hand, will be heading back home after a short week, and that's always a factor to consider. To add insult to injury, Xavier Worthy popped up on the injury report at the eleventh hour with a swollen ankle.
Patrick Mahomes is 1-1 against the Lions in his career, but he lost his only matchup with them in the Dan Campbell era. The Lions left Arrowhead Stadium with a narrow 21-20 win. Andy Reid's team led for most of the game until David Montgomery ran it for a score with roughly eight minutes left in the fourth quarter.
The Lions don't seem to miss Ben Johnson anymore, as they've won four games in a row and are currently leading the league in points per game (37.4). They also rank seventh in total yards per game (327.8). As for the defense, Kelvin Sheppard has also done an outstanding job as Aaron Glenn's replacement, as they rank tenth in total yards allowed (321.2), although they give up 22.4 points per game.
Of course, the Chiefs should like their chances against anybody, especially at home. But after dropping the first two games of the season, the margin for error got significantly narrower, and they should always look to make a statement every time they face off with a fellow Super Bowl contender.