The Chiefs handled the Lions on Sunday night to the tune of 30-17. Every analyst you heard last week told you this was a must-win game for Kansas City, and they delivered the goods.

There’s a vast difference between going 2-4 and 3-3. The Chiefs boosted their playoff chances and kept pace with the Chargers and Broncos in the West, maintaining a safe distance. 

The best sound bite came from none other than Patrick Mahomes, who may have put the whole league on notice when he said this:

“We’re not afraid to go up against anybody.”

Now is the time when we can start to dream of how great this offense can be. These guys are starting to remind me of the offense from 2018, when they scored the most points in the league. 

Since Worthy’s return in Week 4, the offense has averaged 32 points a game. That’s a large enough sample size for me to buy into what I’m seeing. 

Mahomes is dangerous again, and the NFL should be afraid, very afraid.

The Good

Patrick Mahomes

The postgame one-liner was a cool moment, but it’s the play of our MVP quarterback on the field that should have you ready to buy back in. On Sunday, he became the fastest player in NFL history to reach 300 postseason and regular-season touchdown passes. Last year and the year before that, he was a shell of himself, and it was difficult to stomach. 

With the additions of Josh Simmons (who didn’t play Sunday because of a personal issue, and at the time of this article, is still questionable to suit up vs the Raiders) and Jaylon Moore, Mahomes finally has the infrastructure around him to give him time to find his weapons.

Mahomes has his best passer rating since 2022 (99.0) and his deepest air yards per attempt since 2018 (8.04). With the line vastly improved, Mahomes has regained his MVP form and has set the Chiefs at the top of the list of AFC contenders.

The Wide Receiver Room

The wait is finally over. Rashee Rice is primed to rejoin this WR room after his six-game suspension and be the missing piece to a championship puzzle. 

“He wants to play every single play that’s just his mentality. It’s going to be our job as teammates and coaches to build him back the right way. It’s going to be hard to keep him off the field for sure.”

-Patrick Mahomes on Rashee Rice’s return

With Rice, the Chiefs will be adding a top-25 wide receiver in the league. It’s worth pointing out that when he was healthy in 2023, he was second on the team in receiving yards with 938 and 7 touchdowns. He had 288 yards in 4 games last season before he suffered a knee injury.

Even without Rice, the receivers have done an excellent job finishing plays this year. Mahomes has been able to count on Tyquan Thornton and Xavier Worthy for big plays, while JuJu Smith-Schuster and Hollywood Brown (congrats on the baptism) provide support underneath. That combination has helped the Chiefs have a top 10 passing attack, and the addition of Rice can propel them into the top 5. 

Leo Chenal

Leo has been an unsung hero for quite some time, but it’s about time that he receives his flowers. In my opinion, he’s the most instinctive linebacker the Chiefs have.

He recorded seven tackles against the Lions and was a key reason why they were held well below their season average in points. It was troubling to see the Chiefs’ run defense get shredded early in that game, but they were able to clean it up after halftime. 

Chenal played a vital role in stopping the Lions’ run game in the second half. The Chiefs only gave up 7 points in the second half, which is a testament to the linebackers getting downhill and stopping Montgomery and Gibbs before they could get started.

Chenal stood out because he plays like his ass is on fire. The way he weaves through traffic and controls his pace to match the runner is remarkable.

The Bad 

Harrison Butker

Look, that’s not much more I can say. He missed another PAT on Sunday, making it his 5th missed kick in six weeks. 

At this point, it’s mental gymnastics for Butker. The man has the “yips” and Andy Reid and Co. have noticed. From Weeks 1-4, Butker attempted 13 field goals. Since Week 4, he’s only tried one. 

The team has essentially taken the ball out of his hands (Or his foot to be more accurate). With Mahomes playing at an MVP level and Rashee Rice returning to the lineup, Butker will have minimal chances to hurt the team moving forward.

The Ugly

None.

Chiefs vs Raiders Preview

We don’t need to sugarcoat it; the Las Vegas Raiders are not a good football team. I’ve had the displeasure of watching them only because Ashton Jeanty is on my fantasy football team. 

This was supposed to be the year the Raiders legitimized their claim as a competitive team in the AFC West. They brought in Pete Carroll out of retirement. Signed Geno Smith and drafted Jeanty, the electrifying rookie RB out of Boise State, in the top 10 this year.

It hasn’t looked pretty for Vegas who struggles to sustain drives offensively because they have a bottom-five offensive line. Only the Titans and the Browns average fewer points than the Raiders’ 17.2 points per game (Chiefs are at 25.8 PPG).

I don’t like to call any matchups “easy wins,” but the Chiefs should handle the Raiders with relative ease. 

Mahomes will have to prepare for Maxx Crosby as he always does. Crosby might be the most feared edge rusher in the NFL. Anyone who inhales cigars is someone you don’t want to fool with (true story, I saw him do it on a postgame NBC broadcast ). 

But with Patrick’s improved tackle play, Crosby shouldn’t be as disruptive as he’s been against us in the past few years (don’t feel great about predicting that). He has two sacks in his last four matchups against the Chiefs.

The first key will be to neutralize Mad Maxx and keep Mahomes clean. The Raiders are coming off a feeding frenzy in Week 6 when they took Cam Ward down six times including right QB hits and a forced fumble.

Mahomes was sacked a season-high three times against Detroit, and it doesn’t look as if rookie sensation Josh Simmons will be suiting up at LT this weekend.

As long as Mahomes has time in the pocket, he will have zero issues carving up the Raiders’ 19th-ranked pass defense. The Raiders have actually fared well against the run, ranking 10th in the league, holding opponents under 100 yards (95.3). In contrast, the Chiefs give up 119 yards per game on the ground. 

On defense, the Chiefs will switch up the game plan from the Lions game when Spags used more base defense (four linemen, three linebackers) and less blitzing. Against this Raiders squad, expect Spags to get back in his blitz bag and play more nickel and dime packages with extra defensive backs.

Geno Smith leads the NFL with 10 interceptions, so expect the Chiefs to have at least one turnover courtesy of the 12-year pro.

Jeanty is their best playmaker, and after a lackluster start to his season, he’s picking up the pace in the last three games with 280 yards and two touchdowns. The Chiefs’ run defense is the weakest area of their defense, although they did hold Jahmyr Gibbs to less than 100 yards and 4 YPC. They cannot let Jeanty go off under any circumstances if they want to keep the Raiders at bay. 

Prediction:

Chiefs- 28 Raiders- 13