Chiefs lose to Detroit Lions in NFL kickoff season opener. The grades are worth a look
For the first time in his Chiefs career, Patrick Mahomes fell to 0-1 to start an NFL season.
The defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs couldn’t muster enough offense to overcome the Detroit Lions and fell 21-20 on Thursday night in the league-wide kickoff game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
Brace yourself for bad grades all around on this report card.
KC STAR OF THE GAME
The Chiefs’ defense without Chris Jones played well enough to win, allowing two touchdowns, and one of the top players was cornerback Trent McDuffie. He forced a Lions fumble in the red zone and led the Chiefs with seven tackles.
Next: The Chiefs hit the road for the first time in the regular season and face the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sept. 17. The Chiefs defeated Jacksonville twice last season, in the regular season and in the Divisional Round of the playoffs. The Chiefs’ last visit to Jacksonville came in Week 1 in 2019. Patrick Mahomes threw three touchdown passes to Sammy Watkins in a 40-26 Kansas City triumph.
REPORT CARD
Passing offense: F
How many drops? As many as seven. This was an overall poor performance by Mahomes and the wide receivers. When the Chiefs took over on their 45, Kadarius Toney dropped a pass. Then two penalties and three incompletions doomed the drive.
The lowest point of the evening came in the second quarter when a ball slid through Toney’s grasp and into the hands of rookie Brian Branch. He returned the pick for a touchdown. Mahomes had his first interception in an opening game.
The Chiefs’ final possession of the first half was surpreme Mahomes. It started with a 34-yard strike over the middle to Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who absorbed a big hit to hang on to the pass. Then Mahomes spotted an open Justin Watson on the sideline for 26 yards and finished the drive with a 4-yard strike to Blake Bell on a sidearm sling.
All of this happened in 30 seconds. Bell had his second career touchdown in his ninth NFL season, and injured superstar Travis Kelce smiled from the sideline.
Rushing offense: F
It’s beyond time to shelve Bell under center. With about five minutes remaining, Bell went in motion, took the snap, handed off to Rashee Rice moving laterally ... and the Chiefs lost three yards. Next to the pick-six, this was the Chiefs’ worst moment of the game.
Mahomes was the Chiefs’ most effective runner for most of the game, and that’s not a great thing. The Chiefs have to get more from their running game, which went for an anemic 45 yards.
Passing defense: C
Would the Chiefs generate a pass rush without Jones, watching the game from an Arrowhead suite while sitting between his agents, the Katz Brothers? Mike Danna got the Chiefs’ lone sack to end a drive that set up the go-ahead touchdown.
Good tackling technique led to the biggest play of the first half. McDuffie made the hit on Marvin Jones, who fumbled. Safety Bryan Cook was first to the ball for the fumble recovery, denying the Lions in the red zone. But until then, Jared Goff had rolled on a second straight long drive.
Rushing defense: C
The Chiefs played well most of the night but wore down at the end, and when they needed to get the ball back at the very end to give the offense one more chance they couldn’t come up with the stop.
Special teams: C
The Chiefs didn’t seem unprepared for the fake punt in the first quarter. They simply were outmuscled. The Lions got a strong push and barely picked up the first down. Still, a gutsy call by Detroit coach Dan Campbell, who has made a habit of trickery. This was his seventh fake punt since 2021, the most in the NFL.
This story was originally published September 7, 2023 at 10:34 PM.