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ALLEN PARK — The Detroit Lions (4-1) head to Kansas City to face the Chiefs (2-3) to start their grueling five-game stretch.<\/p>\n
There are injuries all over the defensive backfield, and lingering questions at left tackle. See below for our three burning questions heading into Sunday Night Football:<\/p>\n
Yeah, that\u2019s certainly the question of the week. Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch are likely to play. But Dan Campbell said it would come down to the wire for both of their top two safeties.<\/p>\n
Loren Strickland and Thomas Harper are the two other safeties on the roster. Strickland has been with the Lions for the last two seasons, bouncing between the roster and practice squad. Harper was claimed via waivers after the initial rosters were set.<\/p>\n
On top of that, D.J. Reed and Khalil Dorsey are on injured reserve, and Terrion Arnold faces an uncertain timeline for his return. Oh, and Avonte Maddox is in the down-to-the-wire bucket on Sunday after popping up on the injury report with a hamstring injury.<\/p>\n
Maddox was likely in line to help fill the void at nickelback. And he was a prime candidate to take any needed snaps at safety if Joseph or Branch were unable to go or needed a break.<\/p>\n
As things stand, Amik Robertson and Rock Ya-Sin are likely to start at outside cornerback. When it comes to the slot, the Lions are looking at some tough decisions. If Robertson moves to the slot for any nickel looks, then Tre Flowers (if he\u2019s elevated from the practice squad) could see more work on the outside.<\/p>\n
The Lions are deploying nickel looks less than usual through five games, so that certainly helps the current status of the secondary. They rank 30th in the league when it comes to nickel looks, per TruMedia. Detroit\u2019s defense ran more than it had to this point last week. But that was due to the tough matchup against Ja\u2019Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re always going to probably lean back on that more than the other just to calm their world down a little bit,\u201d Lions coach Dan Campbell said. \u201cAnd because at the end of the day, the most important thing is that we\u2019re all on the same page. And at least you can reduce that kind of stress by simplifying it a little bit.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow, the flipside of that is you can become a sitting duck if you\u2019re not careful, but you have to weigh that. You have to weigh what means more to you versus that opponent. So, we\u2019ll be ready.\u201d<\/p>\n
Taylor Decker is the first option, of course. But the Lions have said they plan to take it safe with Decker after he battled through shoulder issues for the first four games. Decker was inactive last week, with Giovanni Manu starting for the first time.<\/p>\n
Manu missed Friday\u2019s practice with a knee injury. The Lions preemptively signed Dan Skipper from their practice squad, and have said Devin Cochran is an option for an elevation, as well. Skipper feels like the next man up if Decker isn\u2019t ready for Week 6.<\/p>\n
The veteran offensive tackle has started 11 games over the last three seasons. Skipper worked through his knee issue to open the year and has been back at practice for a couple of weeks now.<\/p>\n
There is also the option to flip Penei Sewell to the left side. But Campbell admitted he doesn\u2019t see that happening, even though the staff spoke about it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think a lot of times what happens with — Sewell could easily go over there,\u201d Campbell said. \u201cHe\u2019d just want reps. He\u2019d want reps for the week, just, \u2018Let me get a few reps.\u2019 But he\u2019d go over there and handle it just fine.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really more about if it\u2019s not Decker, the other guys, and where are they most comfortable? Sewell, by default, will go away from that because he can do it all. So we\u2019ve talked about it. I don\u2019t want to say that\u2019s off the table, but that\u2019s probably not the first thought, being honest with you.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Chiefs are 2-3 heading into this matchup. They are fresh off a crushing Monday night loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, which puts them in a tough spot.<\/p>\n
They lost their first two games of the year to the Los Angeles Chargers and Philadelphia Eagles, then responded with back-to-back wins over the New York Giants and Baltimore Ravens. But then, in the final minute, Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence fell at the snap, struggled to get up and still ran the ball into the end zone for the game-winning score.<\/p>\n
Kansas City\u2019s defense has been stout against the pass. But it has struggled against the rush, ranking 26th in rushing yards allowed per attempt to this point. They\u2019ve turned the ball over only two times on offense, and the defense has created six takeaways (all in the last three games).<\/p>\n
All three of the team\u2019s losses have been by one score, by a combined total of 12 points. So, don\u2019t overlook these Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes, even with some missing pieces at wide receiver. The Lions sure haven\u2019t, talking about them like a team that has been to five of the last seven Super Bowls, with three championships to show for it.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, they gave me murderer\u2019s row my first year as a coordinator, I told people,\u201d Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard said. \u201cAs far as the play-callers and the quarterbacks, they weren\u2019t going to take it easy on me. But make no mistake, guys, we\u2019re going up against a Hall of Fame coach and a Hall of Fame quarterback. Right now, if they stop their careers, they are going in the Hall in Canton.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, the utmost respect for these guys — what they\u2019ve done and what they\u2019re currently doing to be able to hold the line. Their standard is championships, and to be able to hold that line for almost a decade, we understand how hard that is now in the realm that we\u2019re in here.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There are injuries all over the defensive backfield, and lingering questions at left tackle.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":35165,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35164","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-detroit-lions"],"yoast_head":"\n