Oct 6, 2025; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Kansas City Chiefs running back Brashard Smith (24) runs during the second half against the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images

Breaking Down the Concerns Surrounding the Chiefs

Originally posted on Kansas City Chiefs on SI
By Fernando Alfaro-Donis | Last updated Oct 8, 2025 10:00 AM ET

The alarms are dangerously close to being sounded for the Kansas City Chiefs. They're 2 - 3 through five weeks and currently in third place in a stacked AFC West conference. The Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Chargers show no signs of stopping. Are the Chiefs at risk of missing the playoffs?

The Chiefs uncharacteristically committed a lot of penalties and mistakes, which led to their undoing against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Moving forward, the Chiefs have to clean up their act, or their dynasty is at risk of coming to an end.

Week 5 Power Rankings

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Pete Prisco is a sports writer for CBS Sports, and he updated his weekly power rankings of NFL teams based on how they performed in week five. For the Chiefs, this is the worst they've been ranked all season, as the 16th-best team in the NFL.

"At 2-3, they are floundering right now. Losing late to Jacksonville makes beating the Lions this week almost a must-win game", said Prisco.

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The Detroit Lions are one of, if not the best, offenses in the NFL right now. The Chiefs are at home, which gives them an innate advantage, but this is a must-win game for Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs.

Going down 2 - 4 isn't a death sentence for the rest of the season, but it practically guarantees they won't host a playoff game and makes the path to the postseason that much harder. The Chiefs' defense hasn't been as dominant as it once was, and against a truly explosive Lions offense, Steve Spagnuolo is going to have to pull out all the stops.

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The Chiefs' offense looked explosive against one of the best defenses in the NFL, but will it be enough to keep up with the Lions' offense? The biggest red flag for me about their matchup is the disparity between the two teams' rushing attacks.

Both of these teams are near the top of the NFL when it comes to rushing yards per game, but a backfield consisting of David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs is much more talented than that of Kareem Hunt and Isiah Pacheco.

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This article first appeared on Kansas City Chiefs on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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