The Detroit Lions have put the NFL on notice, beating the defending champions in an electrifying season opener at Arrowhead Stadium, securing a 21-20 win.
Safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson, one of the Lions’ newest additions, has emphasized “It ain’t the same Detroit.” This team is looking super legit, and this win is the start of great things to come.
How the game went
The Detroit Lions came out with full confidence, which led to them celebrating at the end zone first after a nine-yard touchdown by Amon-Ra St. Brown on third down. The play was set up by quarterback Jared Goff, who quieted Kansas City fans. Goff’s precision passing is one of the staples for this team, and this is always good news for Detroit.
Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes got his team going, putting them on the board to tie everything up as he moved the ball down the field very quickly to find rookie wide receiver Rashee Rice for the touchdown.
Following the Lions fumbled red zone opportunity, they encountered the full Patrick Mahomes experience, and the Chiefs took hold of the lead and went up at a 14-7 score just before halftime.
Although Mahomes has been recognized as someone who is a dominant force in the league, that recognition wasn’t too much for Lions’ rookie Brian Branch to handle, with the game-changing play at the start of the third. In his first NFL game, Branch got a pick-six against Mahomes, which evened the game at 14.
This says so much about what he is capable of, especially at such an early start to his career, a big moment like such. Branch was built for this and can be considered one of the steals of the draft.
One Pride
Late in the fourth quarter, running back David Montgomery powered his way through a crowded Kansas City defense, sealing the deal.
In the final two minutes of the game, the Detroit defense completely wiped out Kansas City’s game plan and left them rattled, successfully containing Patrick Mahomes.
The Detroit Lions are truly living up to that grit mentality of passion and perseverance in efforts to achieve their long-term goal of winning the Super Bowl.
“I didn’t learn anything. I got verification on what I already knew. This is a resilient team,” head coach Dan Campbell said in his postgame press conference. “It already was a resilient team, and we added pieces to that resilient team. We are built to handle some stuff, and we did that today against a very good opponent.”
The top dogs better make room for these roaring Lions because they have proved they are an offensive powerhouse and are capable of challenging even the most dominant teams. They are packed with devoted fans, a fierce coach, talented rookies and an overall dynamic team.
They’re locked in and ready to bring that same energy to a sold-out Ford Field Stadium this Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks.