The 2023 NFL season officially kicked off last night at Arrowhead Stadium, where the reigning Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs hosted the Detroit Lions. Kansas City unveiled their latest banner, but for them, it was their only highlight of the night. Detroit spoiled the Chiefs’ party, as they claimed a 21-20 upset victory.
The Lions finished 2022 strong and with a surprising 9-8 record. So far they’ve started 2023 exactly where they left off: stealing a road win against one of the league’s best quarterbacks, using grit, courage and trickery. Detroit set the tone early they were in it to win it when head coach Dan Campbell called a fake punt on his own 17-yard line in the first quarter.
The gamble paid off. Not only did the Lions convert, but they ended up scoring the first points of the season when they eventually took a 7-0 lead to finish the drive.
Kansas City did go into halftime leading 14-7 but it did not last long. Early in the third quarter, a pass to wide receiver Kadarius Toney bounced off his hands and into the waiting arms of Lions safety Brian Branch, who promptly returned it for a pick-6 to tie the game.
Drops were the story of the night for the Chiefs, who had four of them total – three of which came on third down. Kansas City was without two of their biggest stars: defensive lineman Chris Jones and tight end Travis Kelce. Both of them were missed, especially Kelce, as the Chiefs offense looked stuck in the mud for most of the night.
The worst came on their final drive. Trailing 21-20, fans were likely expecting quarterback Patrick Mahomes to lead yet another patented comeback drive. On first down, Mahomes fired one to Toney who dropped the ball. Had he caught it, Kansas City would have instantly been within field goal range, if not perhaps a touchdown strike. Instead, the rest of the Chiefs’ drive went as follows: holding penalty, incomplete pass, false start, incomplete pass on 4th-and-25.
Rashee Rice was the only Kansas City wide receiver who caught more than two passes, and he only had three. It was running back Isiah Pacheco who led the team in receptions with a grand total of four. Yikes.
Ultimately, the Chiefs are going to be fine. This was merely a speedbump for them. Anyone doubting them being a relevant player for the playoffs has not been watching football for a few years now. The biggest takeaway from this game was the fact the Detroit Lions might be living up to their hype.
Detroit was legitimately in the playoff picture last year, and were only eliminated in Week 18 when the Seattle Seahawks (next week’s opponent) defeated the Los Angeles Rams. They enjoyed a summer of praise and were routinely dubbed as this year’s darling “dark horse” pick. So far, they are off to a strong start. Marching into Arrowhead and winning is no small task. Before yesterday, Mahomes was undefeated in Week 1, and 13-3 in September overall.
Time will tell if the Lions are for real. To say there’s been plenty of disappointment and letdown in the Motor City from their beloved football team is an understatement. But for now, Detroit fans have earned much-deserved pride in the Lions, who will surely be the talk of the town across the country this weekend.
At least until Sunday rolls around.
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