Film Review: 5 Lessons Learned from Lions' Win over Chiefs

Examining the film from Detroit's win over Kansas City.

The Detroit Lions announced their legitimacy as a contender with a win over the reigning Super Bowl champions on Thursday. 

In a gritty battle, they took down the Kansas City Chiefs in front of a national audience, in the NFL's season opener. 

The win was multi-layered. The effort was far from a perfect one, but they were able to make the key plays in crunch time. Sure, they benefitted from mistakes by their opponent, but they were able to avoid those critical errors in similar situations. 

Here are five takeaways from the game after a review of the film. 

Secondary success

Thanks in part to Detroit's solid pass rush, Patrick Mahomes was on the move for much of Thursday's game. The result was his lowest passer rating since 2021. 

Defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn traditionally deploys a scheme featuring mostly man-to-man coverage. Mahomes got into a groove late in the first half, however, and the Lions were forced to adjust. 

The defense made good on Dan Campbell's wishes for takeaways. Brian Branch's pick-six was a game-changing play. On the effort, he snagged a pass off the hands of Kadarius Toney while following the route tightly. 

The #Lions defense held #Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes to a passer rating of 77.5 -- the lowest game he has had since week 13 of 2021.

The Brian Branch interception was the first INT of Mahomes career in week 1. #OnePride
pic.twitter.com/YGluvGhjPW

— Logan Lamorandier (@LLamorandier) September 8, 2023

The veteran passer finished just two-for-seven on passes over 20 yards, per Pro Football Focus. The fourth quarter, in particular, featured plenty of successes for the defense.

Among them was C.J. Gardner-Johnson nearly securing an interception. The veteran safety read Mahomes' eyes, and deflected the ball, nearly picking off the pass after it deflected off his hands. 

Goff's consistency in crunch time

Though Jared Goff wasn't spectacular for much of the game, he delivered a masterful drive in leading the team to its game-winning touchdown. 

After a negative run and a delay of game forced Detroit into a third-and-12, Goff delivered his best throw of the night, while facing a free blitzer. He faced the pressure, and threaded the needle to Josh Reynolds. 

On that play, he missed an open Amon-Ra St. Brown streaking down the field. While that likely would've resulted in a bigger play, the outcome on the play turned out to be huge in its own right.

On that throw, Goff displayed the arm talent that made him the No. 1 overall pick in 2016. While he lacks mobility at points, there's plenty to still like about his ability to make the tough throws over the middle.  

Later on the drive, he delivered another strike to Reynolds that went for 33 yards. The run game took the offense the rest of the way.

Fourth-quarter domination

The Lions entered the fourth quarter, trailing, 17-14. All offseason long, Campbell has emphasized his team's resiliency and ability to conquer adversity. 

That mantra was on full display in the final stanza Thursday. 

Using the run game and clutch tosses from Goff, Detroit's offense moved its way into the end zone. On defense, the pass-rush dialed up its intensity, and the secondary stayed tight in coverage. 

Running back David Montgomery had 41 yards on 11 carries in the fourth quarter, including the go-ahead score. On that play, tight end Sam LaPorta contributed a key block that sprung his teammate across the goal line. 

Optimism for Gibbs

Jahmyr Gibbs got nine touches in the win. This workload was lighter than what many believed he would have in the season opener. 

While his impact was limited, it wasn't hard to see what the Lions' front office liked so much about the Alabama product. On those nine touches, he forced six missed tackles. 

There's also the element of his speed. That skillset showed up on his tape at Alabama, and it was on full display Thursday. His second carry of the game went for 17 yards. 

Among his other highlights was this half-spin move, in which he left a would-be tackler in the dust and shrugged off another while running out of bounds. 

#Lions rookie Jahmyr Gibbs had 6 broken tackles rushing the football per PFF on just 7 carries for a yards after contact average of 4.86 yards 👀

For reference, Swift had a total of 24 forced missed tackles and Williams had 30 all of last season. pic.twitter.com/YScw07EcJw

— Logan Lamorandier (@LLamorandier) September 8, 2023

Defensive line creates problems

Aidan Hutchinson did not record a sack Thursday night. However, he was a constant presence in the backfield, and notched seven quarterback pressures on Mahomes. 

It was clear that the Michigan product was a big part of the opposing gameplan. He appeared to have been held on multiple occasions while making an effort to get after the passer. 

Still, the EDGE rusher managed to get plenty of heat on Mahomes throughout the night. On multiple occasions, he was a step late in getting to him. Other times, the quarterback was aware and escaped the pocket.

Charles Harris also had a strong game. He had four pressures, while John Cominsky had three. There was also a unique play where James Houston corralled Mahomes, but couldn't bring him down.