Third quarter
Jamal Agnew is known for his return ability, but he creates a big play on the opening kick coverage. Agnew punches the ball cleanly out of Mecole Hardman’s hand and the Lions recover.
An apparent TD catch by Golladay in the back of the end zone gets overturned upon review. He did not maintain complete control through the process of the catch. However, the officials missed a blatant pass interference call on Fuller in coverage that aided in the incompletion.
The very next play, Stafford gets stripped of the ball inside the Chiefs 5-yard line as he tries in vain to scramble and create with his legs. Chris Jones recovers and the Lions blow a major opportunity. The initial OL blocking was fine; nobody was open. Had Stafford tried to just run it in instead of still looking to throw he might have scored but the Chiefs D was closing quickly.
The defense gets the ball right back with a brilliant punch-out from Trey Flowers that A’Shawn Robinson scoops up inside the KC 30. The 3-man rush and over/under coverage on Kelce is working nicely.
Flashback of the 2014 playoff nightmare when a Stafford pass hits LB Anthony Hitchens in the back as he is interfering with the receiver down the field. This time it’s Kerryon Johnson and a flag never even comes to get overruled. Had Stafford looked to his inside he had Hockenson for an easy TD on a post route.
This gets very tough to watch on 1st-and-goal from the 1 after a great J.D. McKissic run. Kerryon Johnson runs into a wall of Chiefs at the goal line. The ball comes out, Chiefs CB Bashaud Breeland (having an otherwise awful game) scoops it up in the end zone and runs it all the way back for a TD. The ball did come out just before Johnson hit the ground as he tried to extend the ball over his head falling toward the end zone. Several of the officials on the play flat-out stop even before Breeland picks the ball up. Players from both sidelines leak onto the field while Breeland is running it back, no flags. The touchdown stands and the Chiefs take the 20-13 lead.
I love the design of a 1st-down rep on the ensuing Lions drive. McKissic motions across, then doubles back on a play fake as Johnson fakes the inside handoff. Lions run it beautifully but the designed post route to Golladay just isn’t open, zero separation. Stafford instead has to fire it to Marvin Jones and it falls incomplete. Give Tyrann Mathieu credit for never biting on the fakes because this play should be six points to Golladay. Next play the officials miss an obvious facemask penalty against the Chiefs. Detroit does get a 53-yard FG from Prater to close the gap.
Mahomes misses an easy TD of his own on the next Chiefs play. Watkins flies down the seam uncovered but Mahomes, under no pressure, checks down to DeMarcus Robinson on a drag route. Coleman steals the ball back again two plays later, punching it from Robinson and recovering it himself. Phenomenal play by Coleman, who is having a great game overall.
Another flexbone look from the Lions offense. Hockenson throws a great seal block out of it and springs Kerryon for a nice gain. Hockenson gets hurt later in the drive attempting to hurdle a defender. The replay is worse than I remember from watching this back in October.
Using McKissic as the feature back on this drive after Kerryon’s early run doesn’t work. Fortunately Stafford screams a laser into Golladay between two closing defenders for a TD. Tremendous throw. Lions back up, 23-20.
The quarter ends with five fumbles (the Lions had two) between the two teams, an NFL record for a game played indoors.
Fourth quarter
Getting a look at Harris as the single-high safety and it’s not a good look. He has no anticipation of routes or targets. He’s also very slow to react to the run. The Chiefs get an impromptu hook-and-ladder with Kelce pitching the ball to McCoy as soon as he catches it. Harris has a bead on McCoy but doesn’t come within three yards after a simple cut. Ugly. Chiefs score the TD after a nice initial goal-line stand by the Lions defense, and it’s 27-23 Chiefs with 12 minutes to play.
The Lions have a nice drive working until a brilliant Mathieu sack on 3rd down. Stafford is alone in an empty backfield and the Chiefs rush six. Jesse James never touches Mathieu on a perfectly timed blitz. Stafford has no chance to even throw it away. Ragnow also got beaten badly by Jones on the play.
Walker and Devon Kennard have a great series to force the Chiefs to punt on the following series. However, another bad Harris rookie mistake on the final play as Mahomes rolls to his right. Harris continues to backpedal to the far side of the field away from the action, he never reacts to the action he should be seeing. Coleman talks to him about it as they go to the sideline.
A fantastic drive from Stafford follows. He’s pitch-perfect and incredibly accurate. Even breaks two tackles on a run. Stafford connects with Hall on a deep shot to set up another Golladay TD on another throw that required a very high degree of difficulty. Fantastic contested catch by Golladay to somehow get both feet inbounds in the front corner. Other than Wagner, the OL held up nicely on this drive. Lions go up 30-27 with just over two minutes remaining.
Terrible awareness by David and Harris allows Mahomes to scramble for a huge gain, and then the Lions blow coverage (between Jones and Walker) on Kelce on the next play, and the Chiefs are in business. Walker makes a great open-field tackle to save a Watkins TD, and Coleman narrowly misses an end zone INT on a terrible decision by Mahomes on the following play. But the Cheifs punch it in on a play where the Lions initially stop Williams at the goal line but he gets tackled forward by a KC lineman and into the end zone.
The Chiefs are guilty of at least two obvious holds on the extra point, no flags. Romeo Okwara was held where no man wants to be held as he nearly blocked it. The refs return the favor by ignoring a blatant hold by Graham Glasgow on the Lions first play, a perfect strike down the middle from Stafford to Jones to move the ball to midfield.
Alas, two Stafford Hail Mary’s fall incomplete. Neither was close to being completed. Chiefs win 34-30.
Good games: Stafford, Kerryon Johnson (minus the critical fumble) Marvin Jones, Golladay, Coleman, Flowers, Decker in pass protection
Bad games: Wagner, Ragnow, Bawden, Harris, Davis, Jesse James, Damon Harrison outside of one run-stuff, Walt Anderson’s officiating crew (impacting both teams)
The Lions were the better team overall. Stafford was the better QB overall than the reigning MVP Mahomes. But the two giveaways inside the Chiefs 5-yard line doomed Detroit. Bad red zone execution was a killer; the Lions managed just 10 points out of four drives that went inside the Chiefs 10.