‘Let’s go Lions’: Detroit emerges victorious in stunning road victory over Chiefs in season opener

KANSAS CITY, MO. – The Detroit Lions emerged victorious in a stunning 21-20 road victory over the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs in Arrowhead Stadium.

The Lions spoiled the banner celebration in an ugly nail-biter of a game that was riddled with dropped passes and penalties in the season opener during Thursday Night Football.

Still, the team in Honolulu Blue picked up where they left off in the 2022 season, especially on the defensive end, as they rolled into Kansas City and took down future hall-of-fame quarterback Patrick Mahomes on his home turf.

Coming into the game, Mahomes, in season openers dating back to 2018, was 5-0 with 1,542 passing yards, 18 touchdowns, zero interceptions with a 71.6% completion percentage.

But the new-look Lions defense dug their heels in all night and got complimentary stops, especially when the going got tough.

Even when Mahomes got the ball back with a chance to take the lead and or seal the victory, Detroit’s new additions coincided with the teams mainstays and formed a different plan of action for the superstar quarterback.

“Not today with our crew out there,” said Jared Goff. “(Mahomes) He’s a heck of a player, and he has been for a long time, and he can (lead a comeback) do that from time to time, but our defense stepped up today and held us in this game.”

Even rookie safety Brian Brance decided to join the party and impact the game as the Lions trailed 14-7.

Branch, sensing the pendulum swinging in the opposite direction, made Mahomes throw his first interception while playing in a season opener, but he took it one step closer as he returned it for a 50-yard pick-six to tie the game at 14.

With the turnover, Branch became the first Lions player with a pick-six in his NFL debut since Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive back Lem Barney did it in 1967.

“It was a long, hard game,” said Goff. “We didn’t play our best, but It was a long, hard game, and we’re built for this. Especially playing a four-quarter game like this, and we’re made for it.”

Jared Goff

Goff had himself a day in the house that Mahomes built as he completed 22-35 passes for 253 yards and a touchdown to Pro Bowl wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown for his first touchdown of the season.

St. Brown finished the game with six catches for 71 yards and the early score, but it was the timely connection from Goff to wide receiver Josh Reynolds that sealed the Chiefs fate.

Josh Reynolds

Reynolds, who snagged four of seven catches for 80 yards, said the team believed they could roam into Arrowhead and get a prideful victory.

“We’ve been working on this all OTAs, all camp as it’s just been a building block to this point, and so to be able to come out and deliver was awesome, but we’re not done,” said Reynolds.

Reynolds continued:

“It was awesome to be able to make that play, and having the coaches trust in me by letting me go out there and execute was awesome,” Reynolds said.

Reynolds’ catch on third and long for 33 yards ultimately extended the drive, which was later capped off by newly acquired running back David Montgomery for the game’s final score.

“I think I had (Amon-Ra) St. Brown wide open on kind of a busted coverage up the middle, but I knew I had to make a play there, and Josh made a heck of a catch on the other end, and it worked out pretty good,” Goff said.

The offseason hype seems to be real as One Pride took over Arrowhead Stadium with “Let’s go Lions” chants, but Goff says the hype only means that the team is one and zero on the season.

“(The hype means) We’re just one and zero,” Goff said. “We come into every game thinking we’re going to win, and we’re one and zero, and we’re excited to get back home now.”

It was an amazing victory for not only the Lions but for their fans as they can say the same ol’ Lions narrative is out with the old and in with the new as every player stepped up on the 2023 Lions roster in a massive way to help shock the NFL world.

Some might say the victory deserves an asterisk since the Chiefs were missing their No. 1 pass catcher, tight end Travis Kelce, due to injury and their top defensive lineman, Chris Jones, due to holding out for more pay, but a win is a win in the record books.

Brad Holmes

After the game, Lions General Manager Brad Holmes spoke about the fans in attendance and how the team went into a hostile environment and conquered the sea of red.

“I’ve always said One Pride is the best fanbase in the world,” said Holmes. “I love these guys as they come out. I remember they came out against Green Bay, and they were even more intense than they were tonight. This was a total team win.”

Holmes continued:

“Me and Dan (Campbell) talked about it. He talked to the whole team about it as we were going to go through some ups and downs throughout the game, but we weathered it by playing pure complementary football, and I just loved how we just stayed together. It was a total team win as the defense was at their greatest when it was needed, and that’s what counted,” Holmes said.

The Lions will host the Seattle Seahawks at Ford Field in week two, and from looks of it, the loud roar of One Pride will take the roof off of the stadium.

“It’s one win, and it’s got to be expected, and it was expected, and that’s the standard that we have to raise,” Holmes said. “In past years, it was always, ‘They played hard,’ but now we’re expecting to win, and I think we did that for sure tonight, and we showed the world.”

How do you feel about the Lions shocking victory? Do you consider it to be an asterisk? Are you excited, or are you just looking at it as just one win? Let us know in the comment section.