The Kansas City Chiefs outscored the Detroit Lions 24-7 for a convincing 30-17 win to improve to 3-3. This was Kansas City’s first victory of the season over a team with a winning record.
Patrick Mahomes proved that he is still the best quarterback in the NFL with his performance tonight. He completed 22 of 30 passes for 257 passing yards and three TDs. He also had 31 yards on the ground and a rushing touchdown.
The Lions made a crucial error on the game’s first possession. After ramming the ball down Kansas City’s throat and getting to the one yard line, a touchdown pass from running back David Montgomery to quarterback Jared Goff was taken off the board when the referees determined that Goff committed an illegal motion penalty before the ball was snapped on a 4th and goal. While arguing with the refs, the Lions took a delay of game penalty, which forced them to settle for a field goal and a 3-0 lead. That possession took 9:39 off the clock.
The Chiefs didn’t need any trickery to respond to the Lions. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes completed a 15-yard pass to tight end Travis Kelce before hitting wideout JuJu Smith-Schuster for a 30-yard catch-and-run. Facing a 4th and 3 in the red zone, Xavier Worthy caught a six-yard pass and ran the ball into the end zone for his first receiving touchdown of the season. Following a missed extra point, KC led 6-3.
On their next drive, Lions tight end Sam LaPorta had a 26-yard catch-and-run to close out the quarter and get Detroit to the Chiefs’ 42. On a 3rd and 3, Jared Goff hit wide receiver Jameson Williams on a crossing route for a 22-yard touchdown to retake the lead 10-6. That was his first TD catch in four weeks.
With a 4th and 2 in Detroit territory, the Chiefs picked up three yards thanks to running back Kareem Hunt. They eventually made it down to the red zone, where they faced another fourth-down attempt. This time, Kansas City failed to pick up the third down after a pass intended for Xavier Worthy was deflected, leading to a turnover on downs.
Detroit leaned heavily on the rushing attack on its next drive. They ran it six straight times for 34 yards to get the ball past midfield. Soon, they had a 4th and 2 at KC’s 44 yard line, but a pass to wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown was dropped, allowing the Chiefs to take over on offense.
A 13-yard catch by wideout Hollywood Brown got the Kansas City into enemy territory while bringing this game to the two-minute warning. The Lions were flagged for a defensive pass interference penalty on a 3rd and 10, giving KC a first down in the red zone with 54 seconds to go in the half. Travis Kelce then made a 17-yard catch to get the Chiefs to the one yard line. One play later, Patrick Mahomes took the ball into the end zone on a quarterback keeper for his fourth rushing TD of the season to put Kansas City ahead 13-10 with 37 seconds remaining in the second quarter.
Detroit’s offense took the field with 27 seconds left in the quarter, but they were forced into a three-and-out, so they took a three-point deficit into the break.
On their first series of the second half, the Chiefs methodically moved the ball down the field, picking up 72 yards on seven plays to get to Detroit’s nine yard line. That set up an end-around touchdown reception by Hollywood Brown to put KC on top 20-10 early in the third quarter. Amazingly, this is just the second game this season in which Patrick Mahomes threw multiple passing TDs.
After both teams traded punts, David Montgomery took a short pass 23 yards to Detroit’s 42. Then, Amon-Ra St. Brown recorded three consecutive catches for 29 yards to get the ball deep into KC territory. David Montgomery took a screen pass to the Chiefs’ nine to end the third quarter. On the second play of the final frame, Sam LaPorta made an absurd one-handed, toe-tapping TD catch to cut the lead to 20-17. That was LaPorta’s second TD catch in as many weeks.
Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson hurt his team’s chances by committing a roughing the passer penalty on Patrick Mahomes, which allowed the Chiefs to get the ball near midfield. From there, Xavier Worthy picked up 20 combined yards on back-to-back plays to get to Detroit’s 31. Once they got into the red zone, Patrick Mahomes found a wide-open Hollywood Brown for a three-yard TD to increase their lead to 27-17 with 9:30 to go in the fourth quarter. This was Hollywood Brown’s first multi-touchdown game since October 11th, 2021.
The Lions couldn’t respond to KC’s scoring drive. The Chiefs recorded their first sack of the evening on a third down to force a three-and-out and get the ball back at Detroit’s 49 with under 7:30 minutes remaining in the game. After not allowing a single sack from Week Two to Week Four, the Lions have given up five sacks in their last two games.
Once again, Patrick Mahomes found Travis Kelce on a third down to get the Chiefs to the Lions’ 34. On their next third-down attempt, Kareem Hunt ran over Detroit cornerback Rock Ya-Sin for a ten-yard pickup to set up shop at the Lions’ 15 yard line. Kansas City faced another third down with 3:14 left in the game, but this time around, Patrick Mahomes took a sack, which led to the Chiefs kicking a 33-yard field goal for a 30-17 advantage with 2:26 to go.
The Lions’ offense took the field with 2:20 remaining and no timeouts. Unfortunately for Detroit, Jared Goff threw four straight incompletions after a nine-yard gain for a turnover on downs. Goff finished the night with 203 passing yards and two TDs.
With that loss in the books, the Lions’ four-game win streak came to an end. Based on winning percentage, they fell to second place in the NFC North behind the Green Bay Packers, who have a head-to-head win over Detroit.
*Author’s note: all information and statistics are tracked in real time and are provided by the game’s broadcaster, NFL.com, and ESPN.com*
