John Maakaron of All Lions examines who must play a very high level for Detroit Lions to defeat Kansas City Chiefs.
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00:00 John, who is that one Lions player that must step up in order for the team to
00:03 pull off the upset victory on Thursday night at Arrowhead Stadium? Yeah,
00:08 you know, real interesting. I think the entire defense is gonna be spotlighted
00:12 against the Chiefs. I think the offense is gonna perform at a high level. You
00:16 look at Ben Johnson and what he can do, the way in which he schemes Jared
00:20 Goff taking ownership of this offense. I'm not terribly concerned about what
00:24 the offense can do. I think they're gonna perform and really look to
00:27 perform at a high level on defense. That's gonna be the biggest question
00:30 mark. Can the defense stop Travis Kelsey and the offensive weapon of the
00:34 Chiefs? Can they force Patrick Mahomes into tossing the football maybe earlier
00:39 than he wants to for me, Vito? I think it all starts up front in the defensive
00:42 line. And when you look at a young player like Aiden Hutchinson, if he can
00:46 be a disruptor, if he can win his battles, if he can be in that backfield
00:51 forcing Patrick Mahomes to scramble or maybe have much limited time to survey
00:57 the field and look for his targets, maybe even force a couple throws here
01:00 and there. I think Aiden Hutchinson is the key for the Lions defensive line.
01:03 Now, while maybe he may draw extra attention, it may open things up for the
01:09 likes of Charles Harris, James Houston on third down key moments. I think
01:12 Aiden Hutchinson needs to perform. He needs to show out, be impactful, be the
01:16 disruptor that the Lions paid him to be. And if he can be that, Vito, you look
01:21 at that defensive line. Maybe you force that just that extra mistake or that
01:26 extra improvisation that Patrick Mahomes needs to make. And maybe he
01:30 finds and throws it into maybe coverage and tight coverage in those windows,
01:35 maybe allowing Kirby Joseph, Brian Branch or C. J. Gardner Johnson into
01:40 finding an interception or two. But Vito, it all starts on that defense
01:45 with the defensive line, and it's young and hungry and aggressive. So if Aiden
01:49 Hutchinson performs at a high level, I think the Lions are gonna walk away
01:52 from Arrowhead with the victory. The Lions must force a turnover in my
01:56 opinion to win this game Thursday night. John, thanks for all the time.