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Jared Goff completed 22 of 35 passes for 253
yards and a touchdown for the Lions, who are a trendy pick to
win the NFC Central and did nothing to slow down the hype with a
solid performance. Detroit made few mistakes, committing only
four penalties and one turnover.
The Lions' defense came up big in the second half. Rookie Brian
Branch's 50-yard interception return of a Patrick Mahomes pass
that caromed off open receiver Kadarius Toney tied the game at
14 just over four minutes into the third quarter. Detroit later
stopped the Chiefs on their final two possessions after taking
the lead.
Mahomes hit on 21 of 39 attempts for 226 yards with a pair of
second-quarter touchdowns and one interception. He also rushed
for a team-high 45 yards but had a spate of passes dropped.
Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce (knee) was held out of the
game.
Getting a rare non-Thanksgiving national TV shot after a strong
finish to last year nearly produced a playoff berth, Detroit
initiated the scoring on Goff's 9-yard touchdown pass to Amon-Ra
St. Brown with 2:46 left in the first quarter. It capped a
14-play, 91-yard drive that lasted just over eight minutes, one
that was sparked by a risky fake punt on fourht-and-2 from
Detroit's own 17.
Predictably, Kansas City answered with a touchdown march of
nearly six minutes. Mahomes connected with rookie Rashee Rice on
a 1-yard laser that capped a 13-play drive with 11:50 to go in
the second quarter.
The Chiefs then took a 14-7 lead with 34 seconds remaining in
the half as Mahomes found backup tight end Blake Bell for a
4-yard score. Mahomes converted a third-and-17 with a 34-yard
strike to Marquez Valdes-Scantling to key the drive.
--Field Level Media
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