Kansas City Chiefs vs. Detroit Lions: Five Adjustments Kansas City Must Make

After a miserable preseason, stupendously horrid home opener against Buffalo and season-ending injuries to their star tight end and safety, the Kansas City Chiefs find themselves in need of a momentum-changing game.

It's only Week 2; how did the Chiefs already get into a must-win scenario?

The Chiefs cannot kid themselves; that's exactly what this is. Fans hit the message boards and article comments calling for Scott Pioli's and Todd Haley's heads on a platter. Parents started ordering Kansas City Andrew Luck jerseys.

And with the first few games of the season constituting the easy part of this year's schedule, the Chiefs need to get something going in their favor quickly.

With the Chiefs facing off against a vastly improved Detroit Lions squad, the Chiefs will need to change things up if they want to avoid going 0-2. Fortunately, this doesn't even require a full 12-step process.  Kansas City can do it in five:

1.  Give Jamaal Charles the Ball—Charles is the most dynamic player on the Chiefs, if not the NFL. Detroit's defensive line will harass Matt Cassel all day if Kansas City can't establish the run early and often. Run Charles off-tackle to avoid Ndamukong Suh with Le'Ron McClain as lead blocker, or Casey Weigmann pulling from center.

2. Get the Ball Downfield—Forcing the Lions to play eight men in the box should open some passing lanes for Cassel and his receiver corps. Dwayne Bowe and Steve Breaston should beat 1-on-1 coverage against Chris Houston and Eric Wright. These cornerbacks won't repeat the lights-out performance Champ Bailey put on Bowe late last year at Arrowhead.

Watch out for Stephen Tulloch over the middle. The free agent from Tennessee doesn't pull in many interceptions, but can dominate under the coverage for tight ends or slot receivers coming across.

3. Soften the Coverage—Without Eric Berry to provide added security on the deep ball, Kansas City needs to play further off of Detroit's receivers. This will give Matthew Stafford opportunities for first downs and steady gains, but taking away the big gains will be essential against star receiver Calvin Johnson.

Derrick Johnson should provide additional insurance against too many short passes, as well. Johnson works best in space, particularly against the pass. However, Johnson and the rest of the secondary's primary responsibility is to buy time so Kansas City can...

4. Hit Matthew Stafford—That's right. The Chiefs need to go old school on Sunday against the Lions, use Gunther Cunningham's strategy against his own team. Tamba Hali and Justin Houston need to run loose with the blitz. Stafford has yet to play a full season in the NFL. While the goal absolutely is not to injure him, there's nothing wrong with getting in Stafford's head so he rushes the ball or worries about a sack.

Kansas City should put pressure on the outside of the pocket and collapse from the sides. With Jovan Belcher in a QB/RB spy position, he can seal the deal when the defense forces Stafford to step up to the line of scrimmage.

5. Remember What Made 2010 Great in the First Place—Last Sunday's game looked terribly conservative, especially compared to last year's playoff run. Kansas City threw the ball plenty, but rarely more than five yards out. The Chiefs need to go back to taking a few chances, especially on fourth down.

Because that is what's lacking most in Kansas City right now: confidence. Losing Moeaki and Berry, playing it safe in training camp and the blowout against the Bills beat down the Chiefs' belief that they are winners. That's a dangerous place to be in.

Just ask anyone who played for the Chiefs between 2007 and 2009.