Steve Spagnuolo talks preparation for Lions offense

Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo spoke to the media Monday about the upcoming game against the Detroit Lions

Craig McMullen

When the Chiefs face-off against the Detroit Lions Thursday Night, the defense will be going up against an upgraded Lions offense. 

In the 2023 NFL Draft the Lions added running back Jahmyr Gibbs and tight end Sam LaPorta to their offense that has wide receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown, Marvin Jones Jr. and Josh Reynolds. 

Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo said that the Lions offense is going to be a tough challenge for the young defense. 

“I think their system that they’ve put together - we call it eye candy movement and all the things that go on before the ball is even snapped I think they do an outstanding job of,” Spagnuolo said. 

“The quarterback (Jared Goff) obviously is gathering all kinds of information and good at taking that and putting them in a really good play. That on top of the skill they have, we all know about the running back and the receivers they have. That all packaged together is a really tough challenge for us.”

Spagnuolo talked about the speed of Lions running back Gibbs and expects that they will be using him throughout the majority of the game. 

“We have looked at the Alabama film,” Spagnuolo said. “They found ways to get him the ball on the perimeter, we expect the Lions to do the same thing. It’s all eyes on number 26 when he goes in the game.”

The Chiefs added depth to their defensive line last week when they traded for defensive tackle Neil Farrell from the Las Vegas Raiders.

 Spagnuolo doesn’t know how much playing time Farrell will get on Thursday after being with the team for only a week. 

“A little bit of an unknown,” Spagnuolo said. “We really haven’t had him for that long. We’ll see where we can get him to by the time Thursday rolls around, and we’ll have a better idea.”