Why the Detroit Lions Will Soundly Defeat the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday

The Detroit Lions will play their home opener this weekend against the Kansas City Chiefs, and the same question will surround both teams.

"Are they for real?"

Of course, the way that question is posed takes on a very different tone for each team.

In Kansas City, the question is posed with a raised eyebrow and heavy skepticism. They won a bunch of games playing in the second-worst division in football, made the playoffs, and subsequently got beat down by the Baltimore Ravens, who proceeded to get beat down by the Pittsburgh Steelers (who proceeded to get beat down by the Ravens last week).

Still, they made the playoffs, which has to be a sign of legitimacy anywhere. Even the Seattle Seahawks won more playoff games last year than the Chiefs.

But the Chiefs then opened their 2011 campaign with the biggest beatdown loss of the week. The Chiefs lost at home, at one of the toughest NFL stadiums to play, against a team projected to be one of the league's worst. Nobody is prepared to admit that the Buffalo Bills are that good, so there is a lot of suspicion now that the Chiefs are that bad.

Meanwhile, when Detroit Lions fans ask if their team is for real, it appears to be simply a facade. They're just trying to hide their boundless enthusiasm behind a defense mechanism, a result of 10 years (or perhaps 50, depending on your perspective) of preseason buildup and regular season disappointment.

After one week, the Lions have reason to believe their stretch of inadequacy is ending, while the Chiefs have reason to believe their team was a fluke of a one-year wonder.

Any reasonable person knows that one week isn't nearly enough to prove or disprove either claim, and each team will be looking to prove their "realness" this Sunday. Both teams believe (and rightfully so) that they can play better than they did in Week One.

The difference is, the Lions went on the road and beat a 10-win team by a touchdown, and the Chiefs opened at home and lost to a four-win team by 34 points.

Both teams can play better than that, but assuming both teams do, it certainly appears that the Lions will still come out on top as the better team.

The Chiefs are in particular trouble with the loss of second-year player Eric Berry, a top-10 pick who was expected to be a breakout defensive player this year. After less than a single quarter, he tore his ACL and was done for the year.

There is a very good chance Berry would have drawn deep coverage assignments on Calvin Johnson, and there is a good chance he would have done a decent job (of course, Aqib Talib did a great job shadowing Megatron, and he still had a huge day). But that possibility is gone now. And if Stevie Johnson can beat the Chiefs secondary deep, how will Calvin Johnson do?

Johnson isn't a paragon of health, either, as he's landed on the injury report with an ankle issue. But Johnson has yet to play a full season without suffering some kind of injury, and he is consistently able to play through them. I'm almost fearful of the kinds of numbers Johnson could put up with a full healthy season and a healthy Stafford throwing him passes.

The bottom line is, Johnson is playing, Berry is not. Johnson at 80 percent is still more than a handful for even a decent defender.

And that's to say nothing of Nate Burleson, Brandon Pettigrew and Tony Scheffler, who all played well last week.

That's to say nothing of Titus Young, who is starting slow but has the physical talent to break out at any moment.

And that's to say nothing of the defensive line, who should be looking forward to playing on its home turf and feasting on the unpredictable Matt Cassel after being mostly unable to get to Josh Freeman.

Unlike in past years, the Lions don't have to ask themselves whether they're capable of beating their opponents. By all measure, they are the better team.

The only question remaining is, have they come together enough to consistently show how good they are on the field?