The Lions ran out 21-20 winners in front of the Chiefs Kingdom who on the night celebrated the season opener with the unveiling of the new championship banner and celebrating the life of Norma Hunt the mother of Chiefs owner Clark Hunt.
The Chiefs go into the new season as the reigning champions having won Super Bowl LVII, Andy Reid's team are favourites to lift the Lombardi Trophy in Allegiant Stadium come 11th February next year.
But there is a newfound belief at Ford Field and after tonight's performance, they will have put teams on notice for sure. Jared Goff threw 22/35 for 253 yards and outperformed Patrick Mahomes on the night.
The Chiefs were without tight end Travis Kelce (knee injury) and defensive tackle Chris Jones (sat out/contract dispute). Without two big names for the season opener, the question was how would star quarterback Patrick Mahomes do? Mahomes relied on Kelce's safe hands a lot last season at important moments in games. But with the future hall-of-fame tight end watching from the sidelines, Mahomes would have to look elsewhere and once again prove the doubters wrong by picking up an opening-night victory without Kelce.
1st Quarter:
Into the first quarter and it was very tense in the early going from both sides The Chiefs who kicked off Detroit, the Lions led by Jared Goff went three and out for the opening drive of the game, with Kansas City showing good defence at the start. That would bring the number one player in the NFL and the reigning NFL and Super Bowl MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes on the field but he could only pick up an early first down to Jerick McKinnon before having Tommy Townsend on the field to punt away.
The Lions would then get the ball moving on their second drive as they fooled the Chiefs with a fake punt to extend the drive and from there got into the Chiefs half of the field for the first time in the game, with Lions rookie running back Jahmyr Gibbs causing the Chiefs defence problems. Goff and the Lion's offence got into their rhythm with their running game and progressed into the red zone. Then with 2:46 to go in the quarter the Lions scored the season's first touchdown, from the nine-yard line Goff found Amon-Ra St. Brown who ran into the endzone.
Mahomes would come back on the field and get the Cheifs going, first with a 19-yard throw to wide receiver Justin Watson, then as the quarter was winding down on 3 & 6 Mahomes would rush for a first down to keep the play going into the second quarter.
2nd Quarter:
Into the second half, Mahomes was starting to make things happen with a 14-yard throw to Marquez Valdes-Scantling. Mahomes known for being good with his feet as well as his hands would scramble for 16 yards to give the Chiefs first and goal. Eventually, Mahomes would find rookie Rashee Rice in the endzone from the one yard to give the Texan native his first career touchdown.
The Lions would come out and immediately respond putting the Chiefs' defence back under pressure, Goff would hit St. Brown with a brilliant 21-yard pass to put the Lions on the Chiefs' 40-yard line, then follow that up with throwing to Sam LaPorta for 14 yards. With the Lions cooking, tight end Brock Wright would put Goff under pressure as he was moving in motion in front of Goff as the ball was snapped and the ball would come off Wright and send the Lions back as Goff recovered the fumble. The Lions would then fumble the ball again as Goff threw to Marvin Jones who would fumble the ball under the tackle of Trent McDuffie, with Bryan Cook recovering the ball. Both sides would trade threes and outs up to the two-minute warning before the half.
Mahomes would get the Chiefs moving into the red zone with a 34-yard pass for Valdes-Scantling and followed that up with a 26-yard pass to Watson. The Chiefs would take the lead for the first time in the game as Mahomes on the Detroit four-yard line found tight end Blake Bell wide open for the touchdown with 34 seconds left of the half. For anyone who was still in doubt about Mahomes and the Chiefs' offensive prowess, the Chiefs went 82 yards down the field to score in one minute and 28 seconds to lead 14-7 at the half.
3rd Quarter:
Into the second half, The Chiefs would take the field and pick up a quick first down. Running back Isiah Pacheco dodged and weaved his way through the Lions' defence, although he would go off injured on the play and the Chiefs would then punt back to Detriot. Anyone questions about how the Chiefs defence would do without Chris Jones, they were answering it as they got a quick three and out to get Mahomes back on the field. But on 3 & 6 Mahomes would throw an interception to Lions rookie cornerback Brian Branch. Branch would then run in 50 yards unchallenged to score his first touchdown, on a pass that was intended for Kadarius Toney. The Chiefs would then go three and out very quickly with the Lions getting the ball back, with Goff moving Detriot forward 43 yards in five plays, but the Lions would punt on a short field on 4th & 3 to put Mahomes and the Chiefs back to their 10-yard line.
Mahomes would get the Chiefs going again, trying to get back into the lead. He would get the ball to Pacheco who would go 15 yards across three plays then Mahomes would launch the ball deep downfield to Watson who was impeded by cornerback Cameron Sutton for a pass interference call for a 41-yard penalty. Mahomes would then throw to Bell for 8 yards then couldn't get the Chiefs to move any further with Toney and Sky Moore not gathering the ball for back-to-back incomplete passes which brought out kicker Harrison Butker who would kick a 35-yard field goal to give the Chiefs a three-point lead.
The Chiefs would get the quick three and out and get the ball back on the punt return, Richie James would give the Chiefs a heart-in-the-mouth moment as the ball popped out on the return but it was ruled as down by contact before the ball popped out.
So with the Chiefs with the ball, Mahomes would find Bell who was called up from the practice squad to replace the Kelce, for another 24 yards going into the final quarter.
4th Quarter:
Into the fourth and final quarter, Mahomes would get the offence down to the Lions' 21-yard line, before Butker would kick his second field goal of the game to give Kansas City a six-point lead with just over 12 minutes remaining.
The Lions would now need to come out firing and in a 3rd and 12 situation, Goff would throw downfield to wide receiver Josh Reynolds for 18 yards. After getting the first down in Chiefs territory, Goff went to Reynolds once again for 33 yards and into the red zone on the Chiefs 14-yard line. Running back David Montgomery would run in to score from eight yards and kicker Riley Patterson would kick the extra point to give Detroit a one-point lead with just over seven minutes remaining.
The Lions get a quick three and out with just over five minutes remaining, with the ball and the lead the Lions would now have to play smart clock management to cause an opening night upset. Detroit got off to a good start with Gibbs picking up 18 yards, but the Lions on the Chiefs 45-yard line went for it on 4th down Goff would try and find Reynolds yet again but it was batted away by safety Justin Reid.
The Lions gave the ball back to the league MVP with two and a half minutes left, but Mahomes couldn't find the magic, he thought he had found Skyy Moore for 17 yards only for the ball to be brought back 10 yards for an offensive holding penalty. Mahomes threw to Toney who failed once again to hold on to the ball. Andy Reid went for it on 4th down only for the Chiefs to be moved back a further five yards for a false start. The Chiefs gave the ball over to the Lions on downs with two minutes left to play and down by one.
The Lions went to Montgomery three times for 10 yards to get the first down, the Chiefs used their final time out and Goff took the knee three times to seal a hard-fought victory on the opening night of the season.
The Chiefs looked lost without Kelce and his safe, reliable hands, Kadarius Toney dropped a few and let the ball go through his hands for the pick-six, he was targeted five times on the night but only made one catch. Skyy Moore struggled, he dropped a couple.
As for the Lions, you could hear the Detroit faithful celebrating at the end of the game in Arrowhead Stadium, and the away support will be vital for the Lions on the road this season as it's the only ticket you can buy this season as the Lions have a sold-out capacity at Ford Field all season long.
Next up for the 1-0 Lions is the Seattle Seahawks at home, as for the defending champions they will look to get their season up and running in Jacksonville as they face the Jaguars.