The Detroit Lions defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 21-20 early Friday in Arrowhead in the first game of the football season. The reigning champions, with last season’s MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes at the helm, felt the significant losses from injuries to Travis Kelce and their star receiver and defensive end, respectively, Chris Jones, and couldn’t make their home field count.
The first quarter of the game went to the Lions, who took a 7-0 lead on the scoreboard after Jared Goff found Amon-Ra St. Brown, one of the standout players of the night, in the three-yard Kansas City line . . The wide receiver shined this morning with six receptions and 71 total yards passed.
The Chiefs responded quickly and Mahomes, who finished the game on 21/39 passes completed and 226 yards pelted, led the offense with two touchdown passes in the second quarter that ended 14-7 in favor of Andy Reid’s team. He found first Rashee Rice and then Blake Bell to give his team the lead before halftime.
After the halftime break, Kansas City had recovered from the bitter pill of the first period and looked set for victory in front of the 76,000 fans who had gathered at the Arrowhead to watch their team’s debut. But then Brian Branch, a defensive freshman from the University of Alabama in the April draft, made the crucial move.
The 21-year-old rookie intercepted a pass Mahomes Kadarius was trying to find Toney and in the same play moved 50 yards to the opponent’s end zone, a maneuver known as a pick six. In doing so, Branch brought the Lions back into the game, who tied the game with the extra point (14-14).
After that, Kansas City’s offense became murky and Mahomes missed the injured Kelce, his most reliable partner in solving games. The Chiefs failed to score another touchdown as the game progressed and had to settle for two field goals from kicker Harrison Butker to level the game at 20-14, at risk of a lone hit from Detroit would be enough to take revenge on the game.
Quarterback Goff, knowing now was the time, led his team in the last quarter and put them in the red zone of opposing territory. He completed a total of 22/35 passes and threw for 253 yards. There, at the eight-yard line, he passed the ball to running back David Montgomery, who broke through the middle of Kansas City’s defensive line and made the final score of the game (21-20).
Mahomes had seven minutes left on the board and three timeouts, context that was enough for someone of his caliber to reverse the result. However, between offensive violations and missed catches, one of which Toney was very notable, his teammates made a comeback difficult for him that eventually ended with a desperate 25-yard throw on the fourth down that ended in an incomplete pass.
In this way, Detroit rings the first bell of the season in the opening game of the competition. The Dan Campbell-led team handed the Chiefs only their tenth loss in fifty home games since Mahomes joined the team. This is an important win for the Lions, which reinforces their goal of qualifying for the playoffs by the end of the season, an event the franchise has not achieved since 2016 and in which it has not won a game since 1992.
For their part, Kansas City need to cleanse their wounds and try to show that a crash in the first game won’t change their status as one of the favorites to win this season’s title replay. The Chiefs have been the most dominant team in the NFL for the past five years, winning two championships and playing at least the Conference Finals, the game that precedes the Super Bowl, every year.
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