The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Detroit Lions 30-17, improving their record to 3-3.
Kansas City’s defense shut down the Lions’ high-scoring offense after struggling in a previous loss to Jacksonville.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes accounted for four touchdowns in the bounce-back victory.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – These Kansas City Chiefs can indeed take a punch.
This much is true with or without any sucker punches from Brian Branch, the Detroit Lions safety who ignited the dust-up at Arrowhead Stadium after the Chiefs took the kneel-downs to bag a 30-17 victory on Sunday night.
After all, the Chiefs absorbed some serious body blows in losing to the Jacksonville Jaguars six nights earlier. But boy did they get up off the mat.
The defense that couldn’t hold a lead in crunch time at Jacksonville?
Kansas City only shut down the NFL’s highest-scoring offense, which included putting a lid on Detroit’s dynamic running back tandem, Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, and turning up the heat on sizzling quarterback Jared Goff when it mattered most.
The undisciplined outfit that committed 13 penalties for 109 yards in Week 5?
How’s this for a perfect game in the Flag Department: 0 penalties for 0 yards.
The offense that sputtered before and after halftime against the Jags?
Patrick Mahomes & Co. seized the tempo, momentum and, well, the punch stats, too, by scoring touchdowns before and after halftime to turn a 4-point deficit into a 10-point advantage that forced the Lions into a pass-heavy catch-up mode.
It’s no wonder that Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton called it, “Good, clean football.”
Hey, Branch might offer a counterpunch to that narrative. He maintained that the punch he threw at Chiefs receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster after the game – which will surely land him in hot water with the NFL – was a retaliatory blow stemming from an illegal block in the back. But it might also have been some good old-fashioned frustration flowing out of a dominating performance.
In any event, the Chiefs (3-3) won the round to stay within striking distance of the 4-2 Los Angeles Chargers and Denver Broncos atop the AFC West in what could shape up this season to be the equivalent of a 15-round slug fest for the division crown that Kansas City has won nine times in a row.
Chiefs, Mahomes show they won’t back down from a fight
No, they won’t back down from a fight. They’ve surely had to scratch and claw to get here. Kansas City opened the season by dropping the first two games for the first time during the Mahomes era. Beating the Russell Wilson-quarterbacked New York Giants and the undermanned Baltimore Ravens counted as W’s, but they were nothing like the type of statement victory the Chiefs achieved by snapping Detroit’s four-game winning streak.
This time, the Chiefs demonstrated a certain grit in getting the best of a Detroit team that wears “grit” on its sleeve and in its messaging. Sure, with Mahomes as their leader, the Chiefs’ identity is inextricably linked to the quarterback’s magic.
Yet it’s deeper than that. Maybe it was fitting that the game ended with the mini skirmish. The Chiefs went into the contest thinking they needed to be aggressive – Andy Reid went for it on fourth down three times, converting twice, while his defense didn’t allow Detroit to convert on either of its fourth-down tries – and challenged themselves to match Detroit’s physical intensity.
That’s why Mahomes shrugged off the end-game drama that included Branch brushing off his attempt to shake hands when it was over.
“You’re playing football, you’re being chippy,” Mahomes said. “That’s a physical football team. They have a mentality that they’re going to come in and play with. We’re going to match that mentality. We’re not afraid to go up against anybody. That’s the mentality that Coach Reid brings every day. We’re going to match the intensity of whoever steps on that football field.”
Mahomes completed 22 of 30 passes for 257 yards, with 3 TDs, and ran for another score. He rushed for 31 yards, too, and didn’t commit a turnover. Yet he also was probably encouraged that the contributions came from several members of his supporting cast.
With Isiah Pacheco rushing for 51 yards, Mahomes didn’t have to pace the running game. Travis Kelce had his best game of the season with 6 catches for 78 yards. A healthy Hollywood Brown caught 2 TDs. Smith-Schuster broke off the game’s longest play from scrimmage with a 30-yard catch and run.
Said Mahomes, “The great thing about this offense is it can come from anywhere.”
Rashee Rice’s return, improved O-line add to Chiefs’ momentum
Especially if it starts up front. As critical as any of the contributions from the skill-position cast on Sunday night was the performance of swing tackle Jaylon Moore, who was thrust into the lineup after impressive rookie left tackle Josh Simmons was scratched because of a personal issue. Moore’s solid showing added a layer of credence to the rebuilding of an O-line that was manhandled in the Super Bowl 59 loss to the Eagles.
And the unit figures to get another spark with the return of big-play receiver Rashee Rice, who has now served his six-game suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy.
What a difference a week makes for the mood of this team. After the loss at Jacksonville, Mahomes bemoaned that the Chiefs let one slip away. And the Chiefs’ defensive leader, Chris Jones, felt even worse. Jones was disappointed in himself for giving up on the 1-yard, game-winning TD run by Trevor Lawrence at Jacksonville, thinking the play was over after the quarterback stumbled while coming out of the snap.
During the week, Jones called it a teaching moment. Lesson learned.
Although Jones didn’t have a sack and was credited with just one tackle, he created a key, third-down sack on Detroit’s next-to-last drive in the fourth quarter as he forced Goff to step up in the pocket, where he was dropped by Charles Omenihu.
Of course, the tests will keep coming. The season is still weeks from the halfway point. Yet rebound performances like Sunday night provide fuel.
“Every week, we are getting better,” Bolton said.
Even when they take it on the chin.
Contact Jarrett Bell at jbell@usatoday.com or follow on X: @JarrettBell