'Resilient' Detroit Lions open NFL season by knocking off Super Bowl champion Chiefs

Kansas City, Mo. —  The Detroit Lions weathered the crowd, some communication errors on both sides of the ball, and a costly turnover in the red zone, surviving and announcing their legitimacy to the nation with a 21-20 victory over the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs in the opening game of the NFL season.

And none of that surprised Lions coach Dan Campbell.

"I didn’t learn anything," Campbell said. "I got verification about what I already knew. It already was a resilient team and we added pieces to a resilient team. We’re built to handle some stuff and we did that today."

BOX SCORE: Lions 21, Chiefs 20

Things started out well enough for the Lions Thursday night at Arrowhead Stadium, but they needed a spark from a fake punt to get moving in the early going. At risk of going three-and-out consecutive possessions to open the game, the team executed the fake deep in their own territory when linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin took a direct snap and ran for the first down.

"It's funny," Reeves-Maybin said. "Running it, I almost don't remember the play. I was just in a different mindset. Dan told us this week, 'Whatever it takes.' Once he called it, I was just glad he put the trust in me and those guys up front did a great job blowing guys off the ball."

That kickstarted a 91-yard march down the field with quarterback Jared Goff quickly getting the offense across midfield with a pair of completions to Amon-Ra St. Brown and Josh Reynolds before rookie Jahmyr Gibbs broke a tackle on a run around the left edge for a 17-yard gain into the red zone.

After Gibbs stumbled on second down, potentially costing the rookie runner a touchdown, Goff feathered a pass to St. Brown on a shallow cross for a 9-yard score to put the Lions up, 7-0.

The Chiefs responded with a 82-yard drive, leaning heavily on the playmaking ability of quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who ran for a conversion on third down, scrambled for another 16 yards and found rookie receiver Rashee Rice for a 1-yard touchdown on third-and-goal.

The Lions looked poised to answer, quickly driving back into Chiefs territory, but a communication blunder on a snap, which saw it hit tight end Brock Wright while in motion, started a series of events that ended with receiver Marvin Jones losing a fumble, the first of his 12-year career.

"I didn't want it to happen in that fashion, but it happens," Jones said. "It is what it is. We won the game. "

The two sides traded punts before more Mahomes' magic at the end of the half gave the Chiefs a seven-point lead at the break. Facing third-and-17, the reigning MVP squeezed a post pass into a tiny window to Marquez Valdes-Scantling for 34 yards, and the QB followed it up with another 26-yard gain to Justin Watson after a hurry-up snap.

Mahomes capped the series with a 4-yard touchdown to tight end Blake Bell, who was seeing extending playing time in place of the injured Travis Kelce.

To open the second half, both defenses forced three-and-outs, before the Lions finally generated a much-needed turnover. Looking for Kadarius Toney on a shallow cross, the ball went through the receiver's hands and popped into the air. The deflection was corralled by rookie defensive back Brian Branch, who was able to return it 50 yards for a tying touchdown.

"We talked at halftime about cleaning up some of our communication errors, and we needed a takeaway, and we needed to be much better on third down, and boy, we did that," Campbell said. "We got a takeaway to the house."

Regarding the third-down improvements, the Lions allowed the Chiefs to convert five-of-seven in the first half, but held them without a conversion on seven tries the final two quarters.  

Still, Kansas City was able to regain the lead late in the third quarter with a 35-yard field goal by Harrison Butker. The Chiefs benefited from a 41-yard pass interference call against Lions cornerback Cam Sutton, who arrived early on a deep shot to Watson, but the drive stalled out when Toney dropped a third down pass that would have extended the possession.

Butker added another field goal early in the fourth quarter to push the Chiefs' lead to six, 20-14. The Lions defense gave up another long gain to a Kelce replacement, this time Noah Gray, to set up the score. Additionally, Branch and Levi Onwuzurike left the field during the possession with what appeared to be cramps for both players.

Those bend-don't-break series proved critical to allowing the Lions to regain the lead with 7:06 remaining. Reynolds starred on the go-ahead drive, hauling in a 18-yard pass that was behind him after the ball had its trajectory altered when Goff's arm was hit on the throw. Reynold's added 33 more yards, taking a throw coming back to Goff and quickly turning up field to double the gain after the catch. That set up running back David Montgomery's 8-yard touchdown run that put the Lions up one after Riley Patterson's extra-point kick.

More:Lions grades: Jared Goff shines, defense and ground game deliver in crunch time

And the defense kept the momentum in Detroit's favor by forcing a quick punt. On third-and-1, defensive lineman Josh Paschal sliced into the backfield to drop Rice for a loss on a direct snap to the receiver.

With a chance to deliver a dagger, the Lions failed to convert on a fourth-and-2 near midfield when Goff's pass was batted down at the line of scrimmage, giving the Chiefs the ball at their own 45 with 2:30 remaining.

But the Chiefs couldn't capitalize. Mahomes found Toney wide open downfield on the first snap, but the speedy receiver committed another costly error, dropping the pass. That miscue was followed by a hold and false start, leaving a prayer on fourth-and-25 to go unanswered, bouncing off the hands of receiver Skyy Moore.

Taking over with two minutes remaining, the Lions finished the Chiefs off on the ground, running it three straight time with Montgomery, who got the first down on the third carry, allowing Goff to take a knee and run out the clock.

"Our guys, I really believe, know what we’re getting into," Campbell said. "And I think that’s big to understand that. "...That’s one of the reasons I love this team, man. They don’t get fazed by those things and they know the next one’s coming. The next play is the one that’s going to change the game for us. And they played that way today."

The Lions will take the weekend off and return to work Monday in preparation for the team's home opener against the Seattle Seahawks next Sunday.

jdrogers@detroitnews.com

Twitter/X: @Justin_Rogers