Patrick Mahomes had an interception returned for a touchdown while his receivers dropped four passes as the defending-champion Chiefs fell to the upstart Detroit Lions, 21-20, in Thursday’s NFL Opener in Kansas City.
‘We expected to win this game,’ Lions coach Dan Campbell said. ‘We came in here, knew what we needed to do, knew it wasn’t going to be easy, and we did that. We won.’
Mahomes & Co. fell behind early on Thursday at Arrowhead Stadium after Detroit’s Jared Goff found impressive second-year receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown for the first touchdown of the 2023 season.
But the defending champs came storming back in the second quarter as Mahomes connected on a pair of touchdown passes to Rashee Rice and Blake Bell.
Then it was rookie safety Brian Branch’s turn to introduce himself to the NFL with a pick-six, returning the Mahomes offering 50 yards for a touchdown to tie the game at 14-14 early in the third quarter.
The Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes were defeated in the season opener
Jared Goff (16) led the Detroit Lions to a 21-20 win over the defending Super Bowl champions
Lions safety Brian Branch recorded a pick 6 in his NFL debut and got his first-career TD
The defensive touchdown made Branch the first Lions player to return an interception for a touchdown in his NFL debut since Lem Barney did it back in 1967 against the Green Bay Packers.
After a pair of Harrison Butker filed goals pushed Kansas City ahead 20-14, Detroit running back David Montgomery tied the game with an eight-yard touchdown run. Riley Patterson added the extra point for a 21-20 edge.
‘I didn’t learn anything. I got verification on what I already know: This is a resilient team,’ Campbell said.
‘We’re built to handle some stuff and we did that today against a very good opponent.’
The Lions were trying to run out the clock when Goff had a fourth-down pass near midfield batted down with 2:30 left, giving the Chiefs a chance.
But they made a mess of it: Kadarius Toney dropped a potential 20-yard gain, another 20-yard pass was called back for holding, and Skyy Moore also dropped a pass before a false start left Mahomes heaving a fourth-and-25 throw downfield.
When it fell incomplete and Detroit took over, Montgomery ran for a first down that allowed the Lions to run out the clock.
Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown was responsible for scoring the first points of the season
David Montgomery scored the game winning touchdown when he scored on an eight-yard run
KC was without superstar DT Chris Jones who watched the game from a suite amid a holdout
The Chiefs were also missing superstar TE Travis Kelce due to a knee injury from practice
Mahomes finished with 226 yards passing and two touchdowns, despite his receivers dripping a slew of passes.
He also was the leading rusher for the Chiefs, whose self-inflicted wounds proved too much to overcome.
‘Got to be better,’ Mahomes said.
That was the anticipation. The anxiety came from the absence of Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and fellow All-Pro Chris Jones, who is in the midst of a contract holdout.
Jones watched the game from a suite in the stadium after stating he wanted to be in the building for the title celebration after his role in winning the Super Bowl last season. He has previously indicated that he is willing to holdout until Week 8 of the regular season.
The defensive tackle was expected to miss the opener, but Kelce had only been questionable since Tuesday, when he hyperextended his knee in the final full practice before game day.
‘The Lions did a heck of a job. They capitalized on a couple of things and we’ve got to fix it,’ Chiefs coach Andy Reid said.
‘I liked the aggressiveness on the defensive side. There were some good things on offense. We just have to be more consistent.’
