Here's Looking At You, Kid
The Detroit Lions' nationally-televised upset of Kansas City and what we learned
I was born in 1999 and was exposed to the Lions from birth, becoming a real “football fan” sometime around 2005. The first time the Detroit Lions played a primetime game in my football fan lifetime was 2011, ten years after the last one, a time I was too young to remember. It was a Monday Night Football Game against the Chicago Bears and may still be the most electric Ford Field has ever been. The Lions beat the Bears to move to 5-0 and suddenly, for the first time in my life, at age 12, my NFL team was the talk of the NFL and the sort of team neutral fans wanted to watch.
In the decade+ that has followed, the Lions have remained generally more relevant than they ever were in my early childhood, with a number of primetime games. I’ve never quite shaken that baby-like wonder I still have towards seeing the Lions in primetime, imprinted on me from the dark Millen days, but I’ll admit that times have changed with the team’s primetime exposure. By my count, starting with that 2011 game against Chicago, they’ve appeared on Monday Night Football 13 times, Sunday Night Football eight times, and Thursday Night Football once (counting regular season only). Yeah, times have changed.
But the feeling that existed after that first MNF game in 2011, that feeling had never been recaptured. That the Lions weren’t just playing in primetime, but that the entire football world was fascinated by the Lions. They were 5-0, a team with a third-year QB, a young roster, and the best WR in the NFL. The Lions were the talk of the league and for one night only, on top of the world. There have been good moments since then, but none that matched that level of enthusiasm and focus from the rest of the NFL.
Perhaps until now. Multiple developments have conspired to create these conditions, like ingredients to bake a cake. It required an eminently meme-able head coach who captures national headlines, the charming appearance on Hard Knocks, the flair for fun through trick play magic, and the long winning streak to conclude 2022, including the win on SNF to knock the Packers out of the playoffs late last season. All of these elements are what made the Lions eligible to be placed on Thursday Night Football for the season opening game against the defending champion Chiefs.
Then the magic of actually winning that game. In the aftermath, the Lions were buttered up on SportsCenter and praised across the NFL in a way not unlike the first five weeks of 2011. The next day, while driving in the car, your author heard a Sirius XM radio DJ dedicate “We Are The Champions” to the Detroit Lions for their season opening win over the Chiefs(?!!?!). Ready or not, this young Lions team has put the franchise back in the national, league-wide spotlight. Expectations were already there, but when your first response to those expectations is to defeat the reigning dynasty of the era in their building on national TV with nearly 27 million watching, people notice you.
As a fan, being back in the spotlight is a strange feeling, only adding to the surreality of expectations and hype I wrote about in the season preview. It is that small bit of excitement I still have about every Lions primetime game amplified by a lot. What week one’s triumph in Kansas City confirmed for us is that no matter what follows in this Detroit Lions season, be it a jubilant exorcism of long-held demons or another brigade of absurdity and heartbreak, the entire football world will be watching. Football in Detroit isn’t back-page material in 2023 and we should probably work on getting used to primetime games.
[LionsWire/USA Today]
The game that unfolded on Thursday night was a healthy bit of surreality in and of itself. Not the Lions beating the Chiefs. That was impressive but not necessarily surreal. After all, even Matt Patricia somehow beat the Patriots in primetime during a season where they won the Super Bowl. Besides, Kansas City had a short-handed roster missing a couple stars and we knew the Lions had an opportunity to pounce coming in.
What was surreal was the manner in which it unfolded. The Lions scored to take the lead with 7:06 remaining in the fourth quarter, up 21-20. Kansas City got the ball and went three-and-out, giving Detroit possession with 5:07 to play. The Lions got a long run down the sideline by Jahmyr Gibbs, getting them to the cusp of Chiefs territory. After a few runs to chew the clock, the Lions went for it on 4th & 2 with under three minutes to play and the ball at the Kansas City 45. Jared Goff dropped back to pass, looked, fired, and had the ball batted down by a lineman right in front of him. The Lions turn it over on downs.
At this point, with 2:33 left, Patrick Mahomes only needed to drive about 20 yards to get in range to kick a go-ahead field goal. If the drive played out in the manner the Chiefs wanted, they’d be able to wind the clock to only a couple seconds before the kick, ensuring that the FG would be the final play of the game. This is when surreality sets in.
A lifetime of experiences as a Detroit Lions fan suggests that this is the moment when the Chiefs do exactly that, march down the field and win the game. A universal rule is that when the Lions have a chance to end the game on offense, especially when facing a team with an elite QB, and don’t do it, they always lose that game. How many times did we see Aaron Rodgers do this against the Lions? How many times has it happened with a different QB, just in the Dan Campbell era alone? Last season we saw it against Minnesota early in the year!
But this time, the Lions didn’t end the game on that 4th & 2, but won the game anyway. And it didn’t take a crazy Matthew Stafford frantic 25 second drill into a Matt Prater field goal (possibly because neither of those players are on the team but my point still stands), nor did it take a flukey turnover or something like that. Instead, the Lions defense took the field, forced a turnover on downs, and then the offense ended the game on their second chance to do so. Huh. There is a 25 stage checklist that will need to be completed for anyone to ever consider banishing Same Old Lions for good, but I must admit, winning this game in that fashion felt like step 1 of 25.
[David Eulitt/Getty Images]
The Takes: Offense
I thought Jared Goff was fine? He made some great throws, especially when the Lions really needed them. The 3rd & 12 strike to Josh Reynolds under pressure that got the game-winning TD drive going was a legit, NFL throw. I guess the though process on their 34-second drill before halftime, where Goff kept checking it down rather than attempting to move the offense down the field to get points, was to play it safe, but it was disappointing. It took Goff a bit too long to get in rhythm and there were longer slumps throughout the game than you’d like (though that was the case for the whole offense), but he did enough in the big moments to win. On the other hand, the 4th & 2 was an example of Goff’s flaws, throwing into a DL with his arms right in Goff’s face rather than recognizing he had a scrambling lane to the left for a first down, but it is what it is.
The passes-without-an-interception streak is now up to 359, third-most all time, and it is the thing that Goff has done the best for the Lions: take care of the football. If you watch just one NFL Sunday, you recognize that in the National Parity League, most games are extremely close and if your QB merely goes an entire game without a turnover, that can be the tipping point that wins your team the game. The Cade McNamara 2021 formula.
Rookie update, Offense: I thought both big name offensive rookies looked fine. Sam LaPorta had some major flashes on the ground, most notably his block on the Montgomery go-ahead TD run, and I think he can become a strong pro blocker based on what I saw from him in his first NFL game. Not flashy in the receiving game from LaPorta, but five catches is nothing to scoff at. He was mostly Goff’s safety valve to avoid pressure and that’s a valuable role. As for Gibbs, the athleticism, oh baby. When he cuts and puts the jets on, it’s elite. More impressive to me was his balance and ability to shoulder contact and keep going. Those two sizable runs down the sideline were all-Gibbs magic and we’re going to see a lot more of it this season. Yes he fell over on the should’ve-been TD run (bad luck) and missed a hole in the 4th quarter, but I saw a ton more good than bad. Gibbs is going to be a massive weapon for this offense.
What happened to Marvin Jones Jr.? Yeah he’s old, but yeesh. Two catches on five targets, including one rough drop, and then one of his two catches he puts on the ground. Goff and Jones didn’t seem in-sync at all, which is something that can be corrected, and Jones’ fumble was his first of his career, so the answer to what happened to Jones is probably nothing; it was simply an appallingly bad game. He’s not a difference maker at this point in his career and the Lions aren’t expecting him to be but he was not a contributor in Week One and that will need to change.
Get healthy and liberated, Jameson Williams: We don’t even know if Williams will be a good NFL player but just having him on the field will do wonders for this Lions offense. The lack of a deep threat was extremely noticeable during this Chiefs game and the big plays the Chiefs hit down the field on offense highlighted how that component is missing from the Lion offense. More downfield shots are needed regardless, but it will really help to have someone on the field with the speed to take the top off a defense. Williams will make this offense better just from stepping foot on the field.
The running game seemed fine. KC had a commitment to stopping the run and did alright with it. Lion RBs carried it 28 times for 116 carries (4.1 YPC), nothing incredible and you probably would’ve liked to see that clip be better with Chris Jones not playing, but I was able to count a fair number of instances on re-watch where Detroit was -1 in the box. There were some lumps in run blocking, but the Lions’ OL and TEs mostly did fine in run blocking, it’s just they weren’t able to rip off big ones, because the Chiefs were teeing off on the run. Halapoulivaati Vaitai at RG in particular had a very strong game with few mistakes, I thought RT Penei Sewell was rock solid too and even LG Jonah Jackson, despite the pass pro issues, was important in run blocking. The Lions’ run game was pretty left-handed on re-watch (especially their outside zone) and most of their gap plays pull Jackson (+ another player if it’s not Power). Above all else, when they needed to salt the game away, they did so on the ground and got it done.
Not a great Ben Johnson game. I am a big fan of OC Ben Johnson as a whole, but I did not think he had one of his finest outings against the Chiefs. The Lions’ offense was a little too predictable, especially in the passing game, best exemplified by the play where KC corner blitzed over Amon-Ra St. Brown, but the blitzer didn’t go to hit Goff, but instead leapt up to block the pass because he knew it was going Amon-Ra’s direction. Too many screens for me as well (or perhaps, I didn’t love the circumstances they were thrown in), and I still haven’t been able to figure out for the life of me what that play on the second drive of the game, where the OL all cut-blocked (which went terribly) and Goff’s pass was batted down, was supposed to be.
Speaking of which, short yardage was a MAJOR problem. Here are the 3rd down situations the Lions faced before eventually punting: 3rd & 3, 3rd & 5, 3rd & 10, 3rd & 3, 3rd & 2. They also, as we’ve stated, failed to get a 4th & 2. So they failed to pick up four different 3rd or 4th & 3 (or fewer). Not good enough. What’s the common link between all four of those failed plays? All were passing plays. On the flip side, when faced with 3rd & 2 on the final drive, they kept it on the ground. And picked it up. It just felt like Ben Johnson got a bit too cute and went away from what is this team’s bread-and-butter, their ability to run every single kind of running play used in the NFL decently well and the subsequent ability to kill you on play-action. I would like to see only running plays and play-action on third and shorts for this team, if I’m being honest. No screens, please.
[Ed Zurga/AP]
The Takes: Defense
Run defense was extremely strong: Look, the Chiefs aren’t a great rushing team or anything, but the Lions still were able to completely bottle up the non-scrambling rushing game for KC without having to toss resources at the problem. They didn’t run blitz much (they didn’t really blitz at all in this game, period) and yet were able to shut it down. Non-Mahomes Chiefs rushed 17 times for 45 yards, 2.6 YPC. The Lions will take that every day of the week and it placed KC behind the sticks and into the sorts of longer passing situations you have to place them in to even have a chance of stopping Mahomes.
I really liked what I saw in run defense from the whole team really, but DT Alim McNeil and then the back seven especially. McNeil seldom budged (Benito Jones did surprisingly well too), not giving any ground to the OL he was facing on a given play and keeping lanes clean for players to make plays. And they did make plays. LBs seemed to always be in the right gaps and there were great moments from the secondary too, CJ Gardner-Johnson especially with two fantastic run stuffs in the second quarter, shooting through.
Welcome back, Charles Harris: The player who stood out the most on re-watch for me was EDGE Charles Harris. He didn’t have a sack but he made plays, subtle, important plays that swung the game. His biggest was on one of the more underrated plays of the game, when the Lions TFL’d a jet sweep for Skyy Moore while the Chiefs had 2nd & 2 on the Lions’ 20, up 17-14. That play backed them up into a passing down on 3rd down, which fell incomplete, and KC kicked a FG. From 2nd & 2 to getting off the field, and it was all because of that TFL, which Harris began by thunking his guy back and setting the edge. Jerry Jacobs dived under his block and Derrick Barnes rocketed through to finish it off. But that wasn’t Harris’ only play. PFF credited him with four pressures and his great rush against Chiefs LT Donovan Smith drew a hold which blew up KC’s final drive. Harris had a quietly effective day in that new SLB/SAM role.
Rookie update, Defense: Obviously Nk Brian Branch was one of the biggest heroes of the game for his game-swinging pick-six of Mahomes. First of all, Branch gets points for being in position. It was 3rd down and if Toney catches that ball, Branch is popping him short of the sticks anyway. But instead the ball is up in the air and Branch manages to snag it out of midair with one hand, in stride, and then put on the burners to get to the end zone. A tough play made to look extremely easy. Beyond that I didn’t notice any coverage issues from Branch, though I didn’t see the All-22, and he had three tackles and didn’t miss any. Strong start to me.
ILB Jack Campbell was a bit choppier, some coverage ups-and-downs, one initial error made up for by a truly insane athletic PBU. I expect it will be a bit of a rollercoaster, as it is for all young LBs in the league. But I didn’t see anything wrong from Campbell in run defense and never felt like “man we’re getting killed because Campbell is out there!!” so he’s starting off above the Jarrad Davis Line.
It isn’t all about sacks. The Lions didn’t sack Mahomes but that doesn’t mean they didn’t get pressure and that the DL didn’t do its job. Mahomes is an absurdly difficult QB to sack with a feel for pressure and the pocket gifted to him by the Football Gods themselves. The Lions didn’t bring him down, but they did rattle him. There were a number of passing plays where Mahomes just missed his receiver because he was rushing, or was having to side-step pressure. He was never in rhythm, never seemed comfortable, and that was because on most plays the Lions had one rusher driving an OL back into his lap, or getting around the corner. It wasn’t an all-out assault or anything, but they created just enough disturbances to knock the wand out of the inhuman sorcerer’s hands.
Zone is probably going to take time to install. Most of the big plays the Chiefs had in this game were not individual players getting cooked in coverage but zone busts/miscommunications that you’d expect from a defense that was nearly all-man last year moving to using more zone (and a secondary where almost everyone is new). Both TDs were zone events and that first TD drive was two big plays off zone busts followed by a TD where Kerby Joseph and Gardner-Johnson both thought they were supposed to cover the same guy. Moreover, some of the things I’ve seen from people breaking down the All-22 suggests that there were more busts that didn’t get exploited because of the DL rushing Mahomes/knocking him off his game (see the previous bullet point). Not surprising, but I do expect that this is something that will (definitely should) improve as the year goes along.
Quick hits. A few assorted points here… Levi Onwuzurike had one pass-rush that popped and honestly, just to see him out there contributing in any way is extremely encouraging. I thought his career was over during the offseason … Cameron Sutton seemed fine in his first game for the Lions. The DPI was unfortunate but an example of how hard it is to be a corner in this league. I didn’t notice him otherwise which is generally a good sign for corners. … Again, hard for me to evaluate his coverage but Derrick Barnes was a killer on re-watch in the run game. Yowza.
[Ed Zurga/AP]
Game Theory and Concluding Thoughts
INSANT INDUCTION INTO THE FAKE PUNT HALL OF FAME. The Lions have pulled off so many great fake punts under Dan Campbell but this was the best one. Hugely consequential, since it led to a scoring drive and reversed early momentum, and in one of the biggest games of the Campbell-era to date. I told multiple people before the game that I was expecting at least one trick play because Campbell smartly dials them up in games where the Lions are the underdogs, but even I did not expect a fake punt inside your own goddamn 20!! And that’s why it was such a great idea, not a single person was expecting it. If you had asked your bookie for odds on “Jalen Reeves-Maybin gets the first Lions first down of the season on a fake punt” before the game, you would have an FBI investigation into you as we speak.
Not a fan of that punt. I assume we all know which punt I’m referring to but in case you don’t, the Lions punted from the Chiefs 40 on 4th & 3 with 5:56 to go in the third in a 14-14 game. It stung even more because it had been 3rd & 3, they called a screen, and Josh Reynolds dropped it. Setting aside the fact that the play wasn’t getting more than one yard even if Reynolds had caught it, you have to assume that given the play call, the Lions were going for it on 4th down had it been 4th & 1 or 2. But 4th & 3, Campbell punted. I know the Lions’ defense was playing well but you don’t beat Patrick Mahomes punting the football as a general rule. That’s why the fake punt was so good. And why I supported going on 4th & 2 later in the game. This punt felt odd and very un-Campbell. The Lions pinned the Chiefs at the 10 and then they drove 73 yards in less than 4 minutes and got points. Go for it there.
Mr. Mike Tirico, YOU are public enemy #1. Lions twitter was ablaze after the game when Tirico stated:
“We saw the Chiefs go into Foxborough in 2016 [editor’s note: it was 2017] and win on Opening Night, and that announced to everyone that the Kansas City Chiefs were going to be a factor. This has an asterisk because of no Chris Jones and no Travis Kelce, but after what you saw at the end of last year and what you saw tonight, the team in blue and silver is for real.”
As Tirico noted in his follow-up commentary with The Detroit News’ Tony Paul, the full context of the quote is indeed much fairer to the Lions. He was really just saying that we shouldn’t draw direct parallels between the Lions beating the Chiefs now and the Chiefs beating the Patriots then because the Chiefs are missing two stars. Okay, sure. The use of “asterisk” was a blunder and the whole thing is phrased in a suboptimal way for Tirico, but I don’t think he was trying to take a shot at Lions fans. It just came out that way. Tirico’s comments were poorly timed in the aftermath of a tremendous victory for the team, but I don’t think they were bad enough that he should fear for his safety when he returns home to Ann Arbor.
Final word: Building off the Tirico point, how should we feel about this win? Should we not be as hyped because the Chiefs didn’t have Jones and Kelce? In short- no. First of all, this is a big win for divisional purposes because it was the hardest game on paper (and most likely L) pre-season and the Lions won it, not to mention that when the other three division rivals play KC, the Chiefs will probably have at least one of Kelce and Jones in the lineup, if not both. The injury/holdout created an opportunity for the Lions and they pounced, something that has very rarely ever happened in Detroit Lions history previously. Saying we shouldn’t be excited in this circumstance is like telling a famished POW that they shouldn’t savor a McDonald’s happy meal because it isn’t from a Michelin-starred restaurant.
The Lions took care of business and took advantage of a fortunate break. You need to do those kinds of things to have a good regular season record and win the division. It’s also a good habit for the playoffs. Moreover, it isn’t like the Lions A) stole the game on the field or B) played their best possible game and still only beat a Kelce/Jones-less Chiefs team by one point. On the former point, the Lions outgained KC overall and on a YPP basis, while turnover luck was essentially neutral.
On the latter point, the Lions made some mistakes (outlined in this piece) and will also probably be a better team (perhaps significantly) in the second half of the season than they are right now. Campbell was correct in his post-game comments talking about the team having a lot to clean up and as the season goes along, the rookies will settle in and be used more, the defense will be better drilled on zone and the secondary more cohesive, and Jameson Williams will be back from suspension. The Lions didn’t have high profile missing players like the Chiefs, but if somehow (in some alternate universe) these teams were to play again in the [REDACTED] in February, I think the Chiefs wouldn’t be the only team that is better than the one that just competed on Thursday.