Every week during the regular season Tim Twentyman will answer 10 good questions from his X account @ttwentyman in a feature we call "10 Questions with Twentyman."
20man: I look back to Week 3 in Baltimore and how defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard put together a terrific plan to contain Lamar Jackson – the runner and creator. Patrick Mahomes isn't the same kind of dynamic running threat as Jackson, but that's been a key element to a Chiefs' offense that comes in ranked eighth in total offense, despite the 2-3 record.
Mahomes led Kansas City in rushing Monday night with 60 yards on six attempts and is the Chiefs leading rusher on the year with 190 yards and a 5.6-yard average per rush. He's dangerous in the pocket, but he's even more difficult to defend when he gets out of the pocket, buys time for his receivers, and has the run-pass option.
Can Sheppard come up with a plan as effective as the one he put together and his defensive players executed on the road in Baltimore for containing Mahomes out of the pocket?
20man: Second-year tackle Giovanni Manu made his first career start last week and admittedly had an up-and-down performance. He did some good things in run game but allowed two sacks, one resulting in Detroit's lone turnover.
It was his first ever start. The best learning tool this league can provide a young player is regular season game reps. The speed mixed with the adrenaline is a new experience no practice or training camp simulation can replicate.
Now the key is how does he adjust moving forward? That's what this league is all about. Will he grow from it if he gets another shot? One thing to watch with Manu is he was added to Thursday's practice report with a knee injury.
20man: Lions offensive coordinator John Morton is still utilizing the jumbo package with an extra offensive lineman we've grown accustomed to seeing, and Dan Skipper certainly has experience in that role.
I'll be curious to see how much they look at Skipper to compete during the week and push Manu to start at left tackle if Taylor Decker isn't ready to return from his shoulder injury. Skipper had 249 snaps at left tackle last season.
20man: He can certainly do it. Injuries at safety could also play a factor. Kerby Joseph has been dealing with a knee injury. Joseph left the game last week and has missed practice early this week. They might need Brian Branch in the backend if Joseph can't go. Branch was limited in practice Wednesday & Thursday with an ankle injury.
One name to potentially keep an eye on as Detroit looks for players to step up and take on bigger roles in the secondary is second-year player Thomas Harper. He has experience playing both safety and nickel for Las Vegas last year. He also knows the Chiefs from being in that division. He played 30 pass snaps in a Week 13 game vs. Kansas City last year. Mahomes was 0-for-2 throwing his way.
20man: As I mentioned above, he's a Swiss Army Knife for Sheppard. His value, and the reason he's quickly becoming one of the best defensive players in the league, is the fact that he can wear so many hats.
In five games, he's played 128 snaps at free safety, 12 at wide corner, 55 in the slot and 78 at box safety. I could see a heavier concentration at a couple of specific spots based on the matchup week to week, but he'll still move all around the field. I think that's the right move given his skillset. He's tougher to defend when he's roaming and looking for great matchups.
20man: It's never a bad idea to continually replenish the heart and soul of this football team and that's the offensive line. We saw it last year with Tate Ratledge in the second round.
Decker, 32, and center Graham Glasgow, 33, are both still playing at a really high level, but they are in the later stages of their careers.
I could certainly see a scenario in the near future where Holmes tries to move up in the first round if they are at the back of the draft to secure a top five tackle. Those players typically don't fall to the bottom of the first round. It is time to start thinking about the long-term future at tackle opposite Penei Sewell. Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell prefer the draft and develop model, but for a top tackle, that will likely require some movement depending on the overall class.
20man: This is a good question because with two teams so similarly matched offensively and defensively, special teams could be the difference.
I had The Athletic's Jesse Newell on the Twentyman in the Huddle Podcast this week (dropping Friday afternoon) and he talked a lot about Kansas City's special teams and how uncharacteristically disappointing they've been to start this season. It's worth a listen as Newell had some great stuff on Kansas City for this week's matchup.
In a Week 5 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, KC had four penalties on special teams and kicked a ball out of bounds on a kickoff that proved to be a big penalty. Harrison Butker has missed some kicks too, and overall, the Chiefs special teams haven't been as consistent as we're used to seeing from an Andy Reid coached team.
Detroit's special teams have been one of the most consistently good units in all four phases to begin the year. That looks to be an advantage for Detroit heading into Sunday night.
20man: Honestly, I'm not too worried about it. Sure, it didn't look great Week 4 vs. Cleveland when the pair only hooked up twice on eight targets. A few of those were misses deep down the field. But that was coming off a short week where they didn't have practice on Wednesday and that's the day they install most of the offense between the 20's and get the timing right on some of those deep shots. It was off vs. Cleveland, and I think that played a factor.
Kansas City's defense has struggled this season against play action and quarterbacks under center. That's what Detroit is great at. I think Sunday just might be a game for Jared Goff and Jameson Williams to get right and have a couple opportunities for big plays down the field.
I also want to say this about Williams. If you watch the film of the way he's blocked in the run game and how he's been a great teammate hyping everyone else up around him, despite the fact he's got just five receptions for 92 yards the last three weeks, that speaks to the kind of teammate and football player he's become. He's a team guy and players like that will always get rewarded in the end.
20man: The team added veteran cornerbacks Tre Flowers and Arthur Maulet the last two weeks to help with their numbers at the position as they've been dealing with a rash of injuries in the secondary.
I certainly wouldn't put it past Holmes to make a move to add to the position via trade. We saw him do it last season with Za'Darius Smith when they were decimated in the front seven.
I think the big difference at this point this season is the expectation that both D.J. Reed and Terrion Arnold will be back at some point. Last year they knew Aidan Hutchinson, Marcus Davenport and Derrick Barnes were done for the year. There are reinforcements coming if they can get through the next month or so mixing and matching and using the depth they've built up through the draft and offseason.
It's not out of the question, but they are not in as dire of a situation as they were a year ago.
20man: I'm excited to see what Detroit's defensive line looks like when Alim McNeill gets back because they've been playing so well without him. Now they add a Pro Bowl caliber player to the mix with the ability to play both the pass and the run. McNeill and Hutchinson next to each other again will be a lot for an offense to handle.
We'll have to see if this is the week for McNeill or if the team opts to unleash him at home against Tampa Bay on Monday night Week 7 after two full weeks of being a full participant in practice. This is the first week he's been a full participant.
Whenever he gets back, run game coordinator and defensive line coach Kacy Rodgers is going to have a deep, talented and versatile group of defensive tackles to work with. I can't remember them being this deep at DT since I've been covering the team with the likes of McNeill, Tyleik Williams, DJ Reader, Roy Lopez, Pat O'Connor, Tyler Lacy and others.
One thing as it pertains specifically to Williams is the return of McNeill will allow him to play the downs he's most effective at, which is first and second down against the run. It will allow him to stay a little fresher and for Rodgers to mix up his matchups and combinations upfront to give opposing offenses a lot to think about, especially on third down.
