DETROIT – The Detroit Lions kicked off the NFL season in style on Thursday night, shocking the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs in front of the entire country.
Detroit needed every last point -- nay, every last yard -- to take down Patrick Mahomes in his home stadium. Looking back at the game, it’s almost hard to narrow down the number of critical plays that culminated in the 21-20 Lions victory.
But there were six that really stood out -- a couple obvious and a couple not so much. Here they are:
1. Fake punt
It takes courage to pull the trigger on a fake punt from inside your own 20-yard line. In the first quarter of the first game. Even typing it sounds crazy.
But that’s exactly what Dan Campbell did. After the Lions went three-and-out on their first drive and looked well on the way toward doing so again on the second, Campbell dialed up a direct snap to Jalen Reeves-Maybin, who barreled forward for the two yards he needed to move the chains -- and not a foot more.
“We knew there was going to be a right time to do it, and I felt like that was the right time to do it,” Campbell said after the game.
I get it. You can only come up empty so many times and expect to keep pace with a Mahomes-led offense. But this play really could have backfired.
Instead, Jared Goff and the Lions trotted back onto the field and marched 75 yards for a touchdown.
2. Brian Branch pick-six
This is an easy one. No single play was more consequential on Thursday than rookie Brian Branch picking off Mahomes and scampering 50 yards for a touchdown.
The pass from Mahomes was right on target. It hit Kadarius Toney squarely in both hands before popping up to Branch. If Toney had made the catch, the Chiefs likely would have gotten a first down in Lions territory with a 14-7 lead.
Instead, the game was suddenly tied. It doesn’t get much bigger than that.
3. Defense forces field goal to keep deficit at 6
Aidan Hutchinson and the Lions defense made a dozen critical plays that kept the game within reach. Every time a Mahomes drive doesn’t end in a touchdown feels like a massive victory.
But one stop at the beginning of the fourth quarter felt particularly important.
The Chiefs already led by three points, and they drove all the way down to the Lions’ 29-yard line. On first down, Mahomes scrambled for nine yards to set up a second and 1 just outside the red zone. It felt inevitable that the Chiefs would convert.
Then Derrick Barnes and Charles Harris combined to drop Toney for a loss on second down. And Mahomes couldn’t connect with Jerick McKinnon on third and short with James Houston wrapped around his ankles.
So the Chiefs settled for a field goal, and instead of falling behind by 10 points, the Lions were within six. That proved crucial.
4. The Josh Reynolds drive
The defense kept getting stop after stop, but the offense couldn’t capitalize. Everyone knew Mahomes would break through at some point, so the Lions needed to make some moves on offense.
It wasn’t looking good. A third and 7 turned into a third and 12 thanks to a delay of game penalty, and the Lions were moments away from punting the ball back to Mahomes with 10 minutes to play.
Goff had other ideas. With an untouched pass rusher bearing down on him, Goff delivered an 18-yard dime to Josh Reynolds to move the chains.
A few plays later, Goff found Reynolds again -- this time for a 33-yard connection that brought the Lions down to Kansas City’s 14-yard line.
Montgomery ultimately found the end zone to put the Lions up for good.
5. Paschal tackle for loss on 3rd and 1
Even after the Lions took the lead, their job was far from over. Mahomes still had a full seven minutes to put together a drive.
The Lions weren’t going to let the Chiefs steal back the momentum, though. Immediately after scoring to take the lead, they forced the Chiefs to go three-and-out, thanks to a great play from Josh Paschal.
Kansas City put tight end Blake Bell under center on third and 1, and he handed the ball off to Rashee Rice on a jet sweep.
Paschal sniffed it out right away and tackled Rice for a three-yard loss. Not only did that set up a fourth down -- it set up a fourth down Andy Reid wasn’t willing to risk.
6. Charles Harris draws holding penalty
Campbell made another tough call at the end of the Lions’ penultimate drive. With the ball at Kansas City’s 45-yard line, he elected to go for a fourth and 2 with about 2:30 left in the game. It didn’t work, and the Lions turned the ball over to Mahomes while leading by a single point.
After an incomplete pass, Mahomes connected with Skyy Moore for a 17-yard gain into Lions territory. But instead of a first and 10 from the Lions’ 38, a holding penalty yanked the Chiefs all the way back to their own 35.
Harris drew the penalty, forcing Mahomes into a second and 20. Three incompletions and a false start later, the Chiefs handed the ball back to the Lions for the final time.
