After a couple of hiccups at the start of the season, the Kansas City Chiefs are heading into Week 6 with two wins in their last three games. And even though Kansas lost the last game in a close encounter, head coach Andy Reid will be riding high on confidence because of his healthy squad for Sunday Night Football.

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes has a groin issue but practiced all week and should be ready to lead the offense. Wide receiver Xavier Worthy is dealing with shoulder and ankle problems. He practiced on Wednesday (October 8) and Friday (October 10), while staying away on Thursday. JuJu Smith-Schuster (knee) and Marquise Brown (ankle) are also managing minor injuries. All three practiced, giving Mahomes options for big plays.

Running back Kareem Hunt is nursing a calf injury, and linebackers Nick Bolton (calf) and Jeffrey Bassa (knee) are both fully participating in practice. Their movement and coverage skills will be important against Detroit’s strong offense.

On defense, cornerback Kristian Fulton is back from an ankle injury and practiced fully, helping a secondary that has had coverage problems early this year. Also, Omarr Norman-Lott (shoulder) and Charles Omenihu (ankle) practiced fully, helping a defensive line that has struggled to pressure quarterbacks this season. Even offensive lineman Jawaan Taylor (knee) did the full practice, keeping the line solid to protect Mahomes.

Overall, while the Chiefs have a few small injuries, the team is mostly healthy heading into Week 6. Keeping players like Worthy and Fulton ready will be key to fixing the mistakes that have hurt them this season.

Andy Reid needs to control mistakes

In Monday night’s loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Chiefs had 13 penalties for 103 yards, the most in a single game this season. These mistakes helped the Jaguars make the plays that decided the game. However, Andy Reid said the lack of discipline has been surprising.

“We have to take care of that,” coach Reid said.

The Chiefs’ secondary has struggled. In their season opener against the Los Angeles Chargers, cornerback Jaylen Watson and safety Chamarri Conner got penalized for pass interference, which led to two key plays and the game-winning score. Against Jacksonville, similar coverage mistakes allowed receivers to get open and score.

The defensive line hasn’t done well either. Kansas City’s four-man pass rush wins only 37% of the time, ranking 24th in the NFL. Even when coverage is good, Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence ran for 53 yards and two touchdowns. On Jacksonville’s final play, Lawrence stumbled near the 1-yard line but still scored because the defensive line couldn’t tackle him.

Turnovers also hurt the Chiefs. Patrick Mahomes threw his second interception of the season, a pick-six by linebacker Devin Lloyd, which changed the win probability from 28% to 70% for Jacksonville.

Special teams had mistakes, too. Kicker Harrison Butker kicked a ball out of bounds late in the game, giving the Jaguars the ball at their own 40-yard line.

The offense also made mistakes. In Week 2 against the Philadelphia Eagles, Mahomes threw an interception after a pass bounced off tight end Travis Kelce. That led to a touchdown for the Eagles and shifted momentum.

Moreover, all three of the Chiefs’ losses this season have been one-score games. Last year, they won 11 one-score games, the most in the NFL. “In this league, it’s going to come down to one-score games. It’s about who executes at a higher level, and we haven’t done that as a team throughout these first five weeks,” Mahomes acknowledged.

Next, the Chiefs face the Detroit Lions, who lead the league in averaging 34.8 points per game. The Lions make very few mistakes and play hard. For the Chiefs to win, they must stop penalties, avoid turnovers, and play disciplined football.