For most impressive win yet, Chiefs bring home season’s best report card to date
The Chiefs picked up an impressive Week 6 victory, defeating the Detroit Lions 30-17 on “Sunday Night Football” at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
The Chiefs (3-3) held the NFL’s highest-scoring team (34.8 ppg average) well under its typical output. Detroit, which entered the game as the NFL’s hottest team, fell to 4-2.
And how about this? A week after being flagged for 13 penalties in a loss at Jacksonville, the Chiefs had none Sunday. Also, no turnovers.
Here’s our analysis and weekly report card:
KC STAR OF THE GAME
Patrick Mahomes was at his 2025 best.
He was on target most of the game and eight different players caught passes. The Chiefs didn’t go deep, but Mahomes was precise with the short stuff, especially to Travis Kelce, who caught six passes for 78 yards.
Mahomes completed 22 of 30 throws for 257 yards and three touchdowns for a season-best passer rating of 132.2.
Next: The Chiefs return to division play and take on the Las Vegas Raiders at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday (Oct. 19) at noon. The game will be televised by CBS (Channel 5 in Kansas City).
REPORT CARD
Passing offense: A
A gutsy fourth-down call gave the Chiefs their first touchdown. A favorite play near the goal line sprang Xavier Worthy open for a 6-yard score on fourth-and-3.
Mahomes threw the 300th touchdown pass of his career, including playoffs. Marquise “Hollywood” Brown caught two touchdown passes for the first time in his Chiefs tenure.
Rushing offense: B
With Jaylon Moore subbing at left tackle for Josh Simmons, the Chiefs didn’t seem to lose a beat in protecting Mahomes and helping running backs Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt pick up tough yards.
When the Chiefs looked to milk the clock late in the game, the Chiefs got good push. Pacheco finished with a season-high 51 yards on 12 carries.
Passing defense: B
The Chiefs were getting gashed early, but they came up with three straight stops and made big plays on pass defense to finish the game.
Pressure from Chris Jones forced a bad Jared Goff pass. Safety Bryan Cook came up with a big hit, and Nohl Williams came up with a stop. These were huge because Goff didn’t often miss, going 23 for 29 on Sunday.
The Chiefs’ lone sack, with initial pressure from Jones and the finish by Charles Omenihu, snuffed out the Lions’ last best chance.
Rushing defense: B
The Lions excel at the ground game and they established themselves early: Jahmyr Gibbs’ rushing led a first-possession drive that took more and 9 1/2 minutes off the clock but yielded only a field goal.
The Chiefs grew more stout as the game progressed and held the Lions to 98 rushing yards by night’s end.
Special teams: C
Oh my, Harrison Butker.
The Chiefs placekicker clinched his sixth straight game without a clean sheet when he shanked his first extra-point attempt. That’s six misses — three extra points and three field goals this season — to go along with his errant kickoff at Jacksonville.
Butker was true on his next three extra points and nailed a 33-yard field goal in the final minutes. Is that the start of a reversal of fortune?
Nikko Remigio came up with a 21-punt return in the fourth quarter to set up the Chiefs’ final score.
This story was originally published October 12, 2025 at 10:14 PM with the headline "For most impressive win yet, Chiefs bring home season’s best report card to date."