The 2019 season rewatch project hits Week 4 with two undefeated teams clashing in Ford Field. The Kansas City Chiefs coming to Detroit is a great matchup and a fun game to revisit, even if the final outcome didn’t go Detroit’s way.
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Pregame notes
Darius Slay and Danny Amendola missed the game with injuries, the only regular starters out for Detroit. Both players left the second half of the Week 3 win in Philadelphia. The Chiefs were missing WR Tyreke Hill and LT Eric Fisher.
Lions wore the vintage uniforms with no logo on the helmets and plain blue jerseys/silver pants.
First quarter
Lions get the ball first and quickly march down the field. Kerryon Johnson is running decisively, getting downhill right away and attacking the hole. Matthew Stafford hits Kenny Golladay on a perfect pitch-and-catch up the seam for a big gain. Lions are using the pulling OL (usually RT Rick Wagner) effectively on the run. Great drive until it sputters inside the Chiefs 10. Stafford gets sacked on 3rd down, a coverage sack where he had over four seconds to pass but couldn’t find anyone. Matt Prater’s short FG puts the Lions up 3-0.
During that first drive, coach Matt Patricia challenged a spot on a Johnson run. The ruling on the field was upheld, creating a 3rd-and-1 instead of giving the Lions a first down. It’s an odd time for a challenge and the Lions picked up the first down on the next play anyway. In looking at the replay it’s clear Patricia was right in his assertion the spot was bad, but the officials don’t give that up very often and don’t here.
The Chiefs come out throwing and Patrick Mahomes is very good at choosing the correct option. Not all of his throws are pinpoint, but he hits third-string TE Deon Yelder twice on crossers and gets into field goal range.
Great pressure from Trey Flowers and A’Shawn Robinson on separate plays helps the defense hold eventually, and the Chiefs miss the FG attempt wide right. Mike Ford and Justin Coleman had nice drives in coverage. The broadcast feed of the crowd is as loud as I’ve heard a non-NFC North contest in Ford Field.
Stafford comes back firing too. Two defensive penalties help, but this is prime Stafford. He finds T.J. Hockenson on a sweet delayed-release route for a 5-yard TD. Marvin Hall’s speedy presence on the outside is impacting the safeties in the middle of the field and Stafford is happy to exploit it. Hall also drew a holding penalty on the drive. 10-0 Lions.
Second quarter
The Chiefs manage a field goal on a drive that spans the 1st and 2nd quarters, where Mahomes converted a 3rd down with a 26-yard run that probably could have gone for much more if really felt like risking his body a little. Two penalties helped the Chiefs too. Coleman makes a fantastic hit on Sammy Watkins in the end zone to physically separate him from a TD reception. It’s 10-3 Lions and the defense is showing confidence.
Outside of one pass (Watkins beating Coleman on a deep cross), the Lions coverage down the field remains very good. Safety Tracy Walker is consistently making the right read to deny Mahomes.
The Chiefs defense is settling in and attacking with more line gimmicks up front and it’s working. Stafford gets drilled on 3rd down as both Wagner and Dahl got beat cleanly. Jalen Reeves-Maybin strips the ball out on the punt return (great punt by Sam Martin too) but the Chiefs recover.
Lions defense opens the next drive in a 2-3-6 formation, with Tavai and Christian Jones playing EDGE and Davis the only real LB. Chiefs are in 11 personnel but TE Kelce is lined up wide. Mahomes misses a couple of open throws
Stafford gets walloped by three different Chiefs on the first play of the next drive. He fumbles but recovers. Wagner got badly beaten. Decker was the only lineman to win his battle. Golladay did land a nasty down block from his tight alignment that sent a Chiefs defender sprawling backward. The play gets negated by a defensive hold, but the Chiefs defense has figured something out here. Other than a nice Kerryon Johnson run–foiled at the end by Nick Bawden missing a block–this series is a disaster for the OL and the Lions offense. Even Frank Ragnow gets beaten badly twice, including a play where he’s (rightly) called for a hold.
First play for the Chiefs is a great run by LeSean McCoy. Lions are in a 2-man front again, this time with four safeties on the field. Both Tavon Wilson and Will Harris badly whiff on open-field tackles after a wicked cutback by McCoy. A run-heavy drive ends in a game-tying TD plunge by McCoy.
T.J. Hockenson is tasked with crossing the formation and cut-blocking the opposite EDGE/LB in the run quite a bit. He’s not good at it, diving too early. Chiefs EDGE Frank Clark is not happy with him and lets Hock know it.
The teams trade field goals to enter the half tied at 13. Kerryon Johnson continues to thrive. Mahomes hit Damian Williams on a simple RB wheel where Jarrad Davis was initially in great position but paused for a half-step and it created a window for Mahomes to throw a perfect strike.