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Fantasy football start em, sit em SNF lineups advice for Lions vs. Chiefs on Sunday Night Football in Week 6 (2025). NFL matchups analysis and SNF starts/sits.
The Week 6 Sunday NFL slate closes with a primetime matchup between the Detroit Lions and Kansas City Chiefs that's arguably the most intriguing game of the week.
Following a lopsided loss to Green Bay in the opener, Detroit has rolled to four straight wins. Things haven't been as smooth for the defending AFC Champion Chiefs, who have scuffled to a 2-3 start.
We will bring you Sunday Night Football analysis all season, focusing on who to start, who is on the fence, and who should find the bench. Let's dive into this SNF matchup for Week 6 of the season. Good luck in 2025 fantasy football, RotoBallers!
Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:- 2025 fantasy football rankings
- Running back (RB) rankings
- Wide receiver (WR) rankings
- Quarterback (QB) rankings
- Tight end (TE) rankings
- Defense (D/ST) rankings
- Kicker (K) rankings
- FLEX rankings
- Dynasty rankings
Detroit Lions at Kansas City Chiefs
Sunday October 12, 8:20 PM ET
Notable Fantasy Injuries: None
Matchups We Love
Worthy missed some practice time this week, but is expected to play Sunday night. He will be a strong WR2 play against the Lions. Detroit has allowed the seventh-most fantasy points to opposing WRs, and this secondary just let two Cincinnati WRs total over 80 yards last week.
Chiefs WR Xavier Worthy has no injury designation for Sunday night’s game vs. the Lions and is good to go.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 10, 2025
Matchups We Hate
Chiefs RBs
Fantasy managers can't trust either Chiefs RB (Isiah Pacheco and Hunt) this week. Pacheco has just 14 combined carries over the past two games, and Hunt only played 33% of the team's offensive snaps last week. Although Hunt scored twice in Week 5 and has some touchdown upside, both RBs will be risky flex plays. Only one RB has scored more than 14.0 PPR fantasy points against the Lions in 2025.
#Chiefs running back watch #ChiefsKingdom https://t.co/6GjqimPJPx pic.twitter.com/JstB9OgUzx
— Nick Jacobs (@Jacobs71) October 12, 2025
TE Sam LaPorta
Sam LaPorta has been somewhat of an inconsistent fantasy option through the first few weeks. He has finished as a top-5 TE twice, but has also finished outside the top-20 three different times. While LaPorta will still come in as a low-end TE1 this week, expectations might have to be tempered against this Kansas City defense. The Chiefs have yet to allow a top-15 TE finish this season.
Other Notable Matchups
Patrick Mahomes will remain a strong QB1 option this week against the Lions. Mahomes has scored over 23 fantasy points in four of five games this season, and that's more than enough reason to start him once again. Given that Detroit has allowed multiple passing touchdowns in four of five contests, the two-time MVP will be a top QB play.
QB Jared Goff
Goff hasn't been the most consistent fantasy QB through five weeks. He has two top-12 fantasy QB finishes and three QB finishes outside the top-20. Therefore, Goff might be more of a QB2 this week against the Chiefs. Kansas City has allowed just two passing touchdowns since Week 2, while allowing the seventh-fewest fantasy points to the QB position.
Lions RBs
The Chiefs have been known to have a great run defense over the years. However, this year has been a different story for this front seven. Kansas City ranks 25th in fantasy points, 21st in rushing yards, and 23rd in receptions allowed per game to opposing RBs. For that reason, Jahmyr Gibbs will be a must-start RB1, and David Montgomery will be a lower-end RB2.
Sonic and Knuckles: SNF Edition. ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/kKtUgUc7Pn
— Sunday Night Football on NBC (@SNFonNBC) October 11, 2025
Amon-Ra St. Brown is no doubt a must-start WR1. He has finished as a top-7 WR in three of the past four games and is coming off an eight-catch, 100-yard performance last week against the Bengals. Even though Chiefs CB Trent McDuffie will be on him for parts of this game, you're still starting St. Brown because he always seems to be open.
It has been hard to trust Jameson Williams this season. After catching just one pass for nine yards last week, Williams will be a risky boom-or-bust flex option in Week 6. He has totaled under 50 receiving yards in four of five games, and the Chiefs rank in the top 12 in yards per completion allowed. So, he might not see many chances deep in this game.
TE Travis Kelce
Travis Kelce will continue to be a solid TE1 option for fantasy managers in Week 6. He has caught at least five passes in back-to-back games and just totaled seven catches for 61 yards and one touchdown in last week's loss. Although the Lions have allowed just one TE to finish top-14 at the position this year, Kelce should see enough targets to be a TE1.
Injuries:
- None
Detroit Lions Start/Sit Matchups
See the full stats in our Fantasy Football Matchup Ratings Projections
| Player | Start/Sit | Matchup Rating ▾ |
Game Matchup |
| Jahmyr Gibbs, RB | Start | 116.1 | @ KC |
| Jared Goff | Start | 114.7 | @ KC |
| Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR | Start | 113.7 | @ KC |
| Detroit Lions DST | Start | 113.4 | @ KC |
| David Montgomery, RB | Risky Start | 109.3 | @ KC |
| Sam LaPorta, TE | Risky Start | 107.1 | @ KC |
| Jameson Williams, WR | Risky Start | 105.6 | @ KC |
| Jake Bates | Sit | 97.9 | @ KC |
| Kalif Raymond, WR | Sit | 97.3 | @ KC |
| Isaac TeSlaa, WR | Sit | 97.3 | @ KC |
| Brock Wright, TE | Sit | 95.7 | @ KC |
| Craig Reynolds, RB | Sit | 94.6 | @ KC |
Kansas City Chiefs Start/Sit Matchups
See the full stats in our Fantasy Football Matchup Ratings Projections
| Player | Start/Sit | Matchup Rating ▾ |
Game Matchup |
| Patrick Mahomes | Start | 113.2 | vs. DET |
| Marquise Brown, WR | Start | 112.5 | vs. DET |
| Xavier Worthy, WR | Start | 107.8 | vs. DET |
| Travis Kelce, TE | Risky Start | 107.8 | vs. DET |
| Tyquan Thornton, WR | Risky Start | 107.2 | vs. DET |
| Kareem Hunt, RB | Risky Start | 107 | vs. DET |
| Harrison Butker | Risky Start | 105.2 | vs. DET |
| JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR | Risky Start | 103.2 | vs. DET |
| Isiah Pacheco, RB | Risky Start | 102.9 | vs. DET |
| Brashard Smith, RB | Risky Start | 101 | vs. DET |
| Noah Gray, TE | Sit | 99.6 | vs. DET |
| Nikko Remigio, WR | Sit | 95.5 | vs. DET |
| Kansas City Chiefs DST | Sit | 92.1 | vs. DET |
| Gardner Minshew | Sit | 90.9 | vs. DET |
Who Should I Start Tool
Not sure who to start? Check out the Who Should I Start tool:
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to start...
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some common Week 6 fantasy football lineup decisions are regarding players like Patrick Mahomes, Jared Goff, Xavier Worthy, Sam LaPorta, and Travis Kelce. But not to worry, we are here to help make these decisions and build winning lineups in Week 6.
Week 6 Player Decisions. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups for Week 6 of the 2025 NFL season. Our free Who Should I Start? tool will help make your fantasy football lineup decisions. Compare up to four NFL players, and we tell you who to start... all free! Get your winning lineups set, and make the right decisions.
Using The Tool. This is a simple tool but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player's name. In the second box, search for the second player's name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Start? button to see who the recommended starts are based on weekly fantasy football matchups.
Improvements For Who Should I Start? You may have noticed, we've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win your fantasy football matchups each week. You'll see NFL player tiles with headshots and bye weeks, enhanced search results with data to compare, and a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!
How It Works. Each week, our RotoBaller staff puts together their weekly fantasy football rankings and projections based on their research. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players who are ranked. If someone is out for the week, they will not appear in the search results.
Scoring Formats. Fantasy football managers play in various types of leagues, and this tool allows you to choose whether it's PPR scoring, Half-PPR scoring, or Standard (Non-PPR) scoring. The second thing you want to do is to select the scoring format. There are three small radio buttons (small circles), so click on the scoring format you prefer. The results may vary based on the scoring format you select.
Popular Week 6 Searches. Curious to see some tough lineup decisions for Week 6 (2025)? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Start? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at this week. Click any of the links to see the result and recommendation.
Popular Week 6 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons
Below are some popular Week 6 searches and comparisons from our 'Who To Start' tool:
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