Why Chiefs’ victory over Lions means offense is back after years in decline
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Chiefs offense rebounds with three consecutive 28+ point games, scoring regained
- Offensive line protection restores Mahomes’ timing, reduces pressure and sacks
- Receiver depth returns to boost route options and scoring
Hollywood Brown was baptized when he was younger.
But recent circumstances, including an injury that caused him to miss most of last season, compelled the Chiefs receiver to have another on Friday.
“Last year, I had a lot on me. A lot on me mentally …” he said, later adding, “I felt myself second-guessing a lot of stuff.”
That sense of reiterating his faith and a fresh start were on display Sunday night as Brown registered his first two-touchdown game in four seasons to help the resurgent Chiefs beat visiting Detroit 30-17.
But his game was just part of a broader and deeper sense of revival for the Chiefs — and their offense, in particular — on a night when quarterback Patrick Mahomes enjoyed his best passer rating (132.2) in 59 Chiefs games since the middle of the 2022 season.
And a night when the Chiefs’ final tally marked the first time since the 2021 season that they’d scored 28 or more points in as many as three straight games.
This is a long way from the sort of brilliant offensive consistency of that season, during which the Chiefs put up that many points or more in seven straight games.
But for the first time in a long while, this offense is fun to watch again and seemingly more creative and worthy of anticipation over what’s to come.
So much so that these games suddenly are evoking echoes of that enchanted time when the Chiefs were fourth (2021) and first (2022) in scoring before a dramatic regression in 2023 and 2024: They plummeted to 15th each year as their top-five defenses became their most crucial strength the last two seasons.
There were a lot of reasons for that decline, including on the offensive line — particularly left tackle — and having too many pedestrian or inexperienced receivers having to play prime-time minutes when Brown and Rashee Rice were injured last season.
Turns out those very elements have a lot to do with the apparent reboot.
Even in a game when rookie left tackle Josh Simmons was a late scratch because of an unspecified personal matter, the offensive line with Jaylon Moore filling in for Simmons was virtually seamless.
While Mahomes was sacked three times, he typically had ample time and made the most of it by completing 22 of 30 passes for 257 yards and three touchdowns. The Chiefs averaged 5.7 yards a play and for the second time in three weeks punted just once.
Meanwhile, Brown continued to blossom into the offense, fellow receiver Xavier Worthy made his presence known with a 6-yard touchdown reception and tight end Travis Kelce looked increasingly smooth with 78 yards — his second-most in a regular-season game since last November.
All while Rice is eligible to play as of this week now that his six-game suspension has been served.
When he does play, it will mark the first time Brown, Worthy and Rice will be on the field at the same time in a game that counts.
As that prospect was posed to Mahomes, he beamed and said, “I’m very excited.”
As Chiefs coach Andy Reid tried to explain the surge, he pointed once again to Worthy’s return from injury a few weeks ago and the energy and versatility he adds.
For that matter, he mentioned that even having Rice back in the building has been a boost for the receiver group overall.
At least in terms of bodies, he said, “they felt that they were whole again.”
Mahomes being kept whole by a line he feels he can trust goes a long way toward that.
“First off, it starts up front,” Mahomes said. “I think our offensive line is doing a great job protecting and giving me time to evaluate stuff down the field. … And so when the offense line blocks like that, I’ve always said it, it makes my job a lot easier.”
It should send a tremor through the rest of the league that Mahomes used that term a few times on Sunday: He also applied “makes my job a lot easier” to having “weapons everywhere,” with Brown being the latest to find himself thriving.
On Sunday, it wasn’t just that he had an excellent toe-tap catch on the sideline and scored the two touchdowns. It was how they came to be, particularly his second score on a 3-yard pass from Mahomes.
Lined up to the left of Mahomes outside of JuJu Smith-Schuster and Travis Kelce, Brown streaked across the field uncovered in part because Kelce drew multiple defenders and in part because of a key read of man defense.
“He won with speed, but that’s part of (his) progression,” Mahomes said. “You’ll be able to recognize the coverages that they’re in, and Hollywood Brown did a great job of getting open.”
He added, “The great thing about this offense is that it can come from everywhere.”
Just when you might have been wondering if the Chiefs were going anywhere anymore, the offensive breakout suggests there’s still something special here — spurred anew by the side of the ball where this remarkable era all began.
This story was originally published October 13, 2025 at 5:30 AM with the headline "Why Chiefs’ victory over Lions means offense is back after years in decline."