Chiefs rumors: Mahomes on Chris Jones, Week 1 injuries, more

Chiefs Rumors: How 'bout those offenses? Kansas City-Detroit Week 1 projection

The Chiefs-Lions Week 1 matchup projects to be one of the more exciting season openers this year as both teams boast efficient and complete offenses.

On the Chiefs side, Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and a ragtag group of wideouts will pick up right where they left off last season. On the Lions, Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and a retooled running back room could inflict a surprising amount of damage to the reigning Super Bowl champs -- especially if the Chiefs don't have Chris Jones.

Arrowhead Addict's Josh Fann recently wrote about how Jones' absence could affect the Chiefs' Week 1 game. Will Kansas City's pass rush, which finished second in the league in sacks last season, still be able to eat?

Maybe, but it's going to be tough. According to Seth Keysor, Jones accounted for a quarter of the Chiefs' pressures in 2022; another quarter came from the Frank Clark and Carlos Dunlap, who are no longer on the team.

Assuming Jones doesn't suit up for the big game, what should Chiefs fans expect out of this game? One word: Offense. Lots of it.

The Lions finished as the second-ranked offense in 2022 at 26.6 points per game, trailing only the Chiefs and Eagles who were tied for the No. 1 offense. Detroit's 6,460 passing yards and 11th-ranked rushing attack was no fluke last year, and the team is not a fluke this year with most of its core intact.

Fann notes that "Steve Spagnuolo's defenses typically start the season slowly, so not having Jones shouldn't be as big of a deal as long as the Chiefs get something figured out eventually." In the meantime, Thursday night is touted to be a purely "offensive display" between two high-scoring squads. Maybe bet the over on this one?