The Detroit Lions have been the talk of the NFL for much of the off-season, and on Thursday night against the defending Super Bowl champions on enemy turf, they made a statement.
With the entire football world watching on opening night of the 2023 season, the Lions took a knee and savoured their 21-20 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs — a win that was far from perfect, but gave us all a glimpse of what’s in store for the team in Honolulu Blue this year.
Here are our top takeaways from the season opener.
Lions’ win snaps Chiefs’ impressive streak with familiar offensive firepower
Heading into Thursday’s matchup, the Chiefs had strung together eight consecutive season-opener wins, the last five of which were led by Patrick Mahomes. Their last Week 1 loss came all the way back in 2014. That streak is officially snapped now thanks to the Lions, who registered their first win at Arrowhead Stadium since October 1988.
Jared Goff completed 22 of 35 passes for 253 yards and one touchdown in the victory — his second win in as many meetings against Mahomes and first since the two went toe to toe in an all-out offensive affair in 2018 that saw both sides top 50 points.
Thursday night, in many ways, felt like a continuation of the Lions’ strong offence from their late-season surge last year. Dynamic wide receiver and 2022 breakout star Amon-Ra St. Brown played a starring role, his first-quarter touchdown serving as the first score of the season.
The Lions also served up a heavy dose of run plays, only instead of 2022 rushing stars Jamaal Williams (now a Saint) and D’Andre Swift (Eagles) it was free agency signing David Montgomery and 12th overall draft pick Jahmyr Gibbs leading the charge. Montgomery racked up 74 yards and the late game-winning touchdown on 21 carries while Gibbs’ explosiveness was on full display to the tune of 42 yards on seven carries for an average of six yards every time he got the ball. The rookie also caught two passes for 18 yards and a promise of much more to come.
Chiefs look lost without Kelce leading the way
It’s hard to open up your title defence when your best offensive target is standing on the sideline and your top defensive player is sitting in the stands. Mahomes and the Chiefs learned that the hard way on Thursday.
For the first time in his career, Mahomes took the field without his favourite target, Travis Kelce. The star tight end, ruled out just prior to the Thursday’s matchup with a bone bruise in his right knee, watched from the sideline as the defending champs opened the season — his first injury-induced absence since his rookie campaign in 2013. Kelce suffered the injury, which was initially reported as a hyperextension, during practice on Tuesday and there’s plenty of optimism he’ll be back in time for Week 2 against Jacksonville.
Thursday felt like one big audition for every single other target, and the results were… mixed. Rookie Rashee Rice, a second-round pick in April, made the most of his opportunity with a redzone reception to get the Chiefs on the board in the second quarter while tight end Blake Bell stepped up with a four-yard TD catch just before the half. All told, a total of 12 different players caught at least one pass from Mahomes.
But late in the game, in the absence of Kelce, none filled that clutch role the tight end has made a career out of. Big expectations for Skyy Moore and Kadarius Toney to step up went unfulfilled, with Toney’s performance costing the team in a big way. He tipped a catchable pass in the third quarter that was then intercepted by Lions rookie safety Brian Branch and taken home for a pick-six touchdown, and late in the fourth quarter let another catchable pass slip through his fingers.
Campbell’s bold call pays off big time
After an uninspiring opening drive, the Lions looked like they would need a little more time to assert their will in this game. But then Dan Campbell did the (almost) unthinkable: A fake punt, at his own 17-yard line, on Detroit’s second drive just over five minutes into a scoreless contest on fourth and two.
And it worked.
Jalen Reeves-Maybin took the snap and picked up three yards for the first down, kick-starting an incredible drive that saw the Lions march down the field and score the game’s first touchdown.
Jones, Chiefs management “not close enough” on contract talks
The Chiefs were also without their game-breaking edge rusher, Chris Jones, whose training camp holdout amid a contract dispute has now extended into the season.
Jones was in attendance for the game, serving up a strange scene as the star watched his squad hit the field without him. Per NBC’s Melissa Stark, Jones said he and Chiefs management were “not close enough” in contract talks, and indicated he hasn’t heard from them in more than a week.
Maybe Thursday’s outcome might make the front office pick up the phone.
