The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Detroit Lions 30-17 on Sunday Night Football in Week 6 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.
It was an entertaining back and forth affair between two of the best teams in the National Football League. There were four lead changes in the first half before Kansas City pulled away in the second half.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes was surgical throughout the game, completing 73.3 percent of passes for 257 yards and three touchdown passes. He added 31 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries.
Tight end Travis Kelce led the team in receiving, catching six of seven passes for 78 yards. Running back Isiah Pacheco led the team in rushing with 51 yards on 12 carries.
Kansas City was without receiver Rashee Rice for the last time to begin the season, as he has served his six-game suspension. Rice is extremely talented and adds another wrinkle to the Chiefs offense.
In 2023, Rice’s rookie season, he caught 79 passes for 938 yards and seven touchdowns. Last season, he suffered a season-ending knee injury just four games into the season and was on pace to have over 1,000 receiving yards.
ESPN’s Nate Taylor described how the Chiefs should feel after their 3-3 start without Rice on the field.
“Andy Reid should feel cautiously optimistic,” Taylor wrote Sunday. “The Chiefs could've been 4-2 if not for their last-minute collapse in last week's loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, but they showed much improvement in their win over the Lions, controlling the tempo throughout. Even without Rice, who returns this week after serving a six-game suspension for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy, the Chiefs' offense appears efficient and potent, especially on late downs.”
Rice will join the receiving core of Xavier Worthy, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Hollywood Brown, who have done a decent job holding it down in Rice’s absence.
The Chiefs will host the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 7. The Raiders are 2-4 coming off a Week 6 win over the Tennessee Titans. The Chiefs will be highly favored in this matchup, and it should be a nice debut for Rice as the team looks to go above a .500 record for the first time in 2025.