Who national experts predict will win Detroit Lions at Kansas City Chiefs game
The Chiefs will play their sixth game of the season Sunday night, and it’ll already be their fourth prime-time contest. This also will be the Chiefs’ second “Sunday Night Football” game of the season.
No NFL team has played more “Sunday Night Football” games than the Chiefs since Patrick Mahomes became the starting quarterback, NBC said. Sunday’s game will be No. 24. Second on the list is the former America’s Team, the Dallas Cowboys (22), followed by the Packers (21).
NBC said 12 of those first 23 Chiefs “SNF” games in the Mahomes era have topped 20 million television viewers.
Since Andy Reid was hired as coach in 2013, GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium has been host to the fourth-most “Sunday Night Football” games. No. 14 will be against the Lions, who are tied for the best record in the NFL at 4-1.
Kickoff is at 7:15 p.m. and the game will air on KSHB (Ch. 41) in Kansas City and KSN (Ch. 3) in Wichita. Here is who 61 national experts are picking to win the Chiefs-Lions game.
A 30-24 Lions win is the prediction from the Sporting News’ Bill Bender. Here is an excerpt of his story: “The Chiefs’ front-loaded schedule continues, and Detroit has taken advantage of a plus-seven turnover ratio the last four games. The Lions beat Kansas City 21-20 in the 2023 season opener – so the confidence is there.”
A 30-27 Chiefs victory is the prediction from the Associated Press’ Rob Maaddi. This is from his story: “Detroit (4-1) rebounded from a lopsided loss to Green Bay in Week 1 to win four in a row. The Chiefs (2-3) were on the right track with two straight wins after opening 0-2 but gave up a final-minute score to lose to Jacksonville on Monday night. Still, Kansas City is only one game behind in the AFC West and two behind the Bills (4-1), Jaguars (4-1) and Colts (4-1). The Chiefs visit Buffalo in Week 9 so they just need to go on a run.”
A 34-24 Lions win is the prediction from the Arizona Republic’s Jeremy Cluff. This is a snippet of his story: “Yes, the Chiefs are at home and are a slight favorite in odds for this game. Jared Goff and company, however, have won four straight and are the hottest team in the NFL.”
Picking the Lions are six of eight writers at CBS Sports: Ryan Wilson, Cody Benjamin, Jared Dubin, John Breech, Tyler Sullivan and Dave Richard. Going with the Chiefs are Pete Prisco and Jamey Eisenberg. Prisco thinks KC will win 34-30. Here is part of what Prisco wrote: “The Chiefs are on a short week off a tough loss to the Jaguars on Monday night. But they face a banged-up Lions team. The Chiefs are in desperation mode, and I think that will show here.”
The Chiefs are the pick for three of five writers at NFL.com: Brooke Cersosimo (27-24 final score), Dan Parr (30-28) and Gennaro Filice (27-24). Taking the Lions are Ali Bhanpuri (27-24) and Tom Blair (28-25).
This is a bit of what Parr wrote: “Teams coming off an MNF defeat this season are 0-6, but maybe this is where the streak ends. There were glimmers of hope, even in bitter defeat, for the reigning AFC champions. The offense is moving in the right direction, with the Patrick Mahomes-led passing game improving since Xavier Worthy returned from injury in Week 4. Kansas City has scored 28 or more points in back-to-back games for the first time since late in the 2022 season. I’m expecting the Chiefs to continue at that pace against a Detroit defense that is badly beaten up at cornerback right now.”
The Lions are the choice for six of 11 ESPN experts: Stephania Bell, Mike Clay, Dan Graziano, Kalyn Kahler, Moses Moody and Lindsey Thiry. Picking the Chiefs are Matt Bowen, Jeremy Fowler, Pamela Maldonado, Jason Reid and Seth Wickersham.
Taking the Lions are five of seven Sports Illustrated writers: Clare Brennan, Mitch Goldich, Conor Orr, John Pluym and Gilberto Manzano. Going with the Chiefs are Albert Breer and Matt Verderame. This is from the SI story: “There are some big games this week, headlined by a Chiefs-Lions showdown on Sunday Night Football that many have predicted to be a Super Bowl matchup, either in the past two seasons or coming into this one. But after an uncharacteristic start, Kansas City is looking to avoid falling to 2–4. The majority of our pickers think they’ll go down in Arrowhead.”
The Lions are the choice for five of the six USA Today writers: Jarrett Bell (31-30 final score), Nick Brinkerhoff (31-28), Nate Davis (30-27), Tyler Dragon (28-24) and Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz (28-27). Going with the Chiefs is Chris Bumbaca (28-27).
A Lions win is the prediction from both Pro Football Talk writers. Mike Florio thinks Detroit prevails 30-24, while Chris Simms sees it ending up 30-21.
The Lions will win, say eight of 10 Dallas Morning-News members: Joey Hayden, Joseph Hoyt, Damon Marx, Craig Miller, Newy Scruggs, Calvin Watkins, Tim Cowlishaw and Abraham Nudelstejer. Going with the Chiefs are Dana Larson and Kevin Sherrington.
Both Rich Gannon and Bruce Murray of SiriusXM see the Lions winning.
Picking the Lions are four of seven Bleacher Report writers: Gary Davenport, Kris Knox, Wes O’Donnell and Brent Sobleski. Taking the Chiefs are Brad Gagnon, Ian Hanford and Moe Moton.
This story was originally published October 12, 2025 at 8:10 AM.
