Maybe the Detroit Lions didn’t win, but they did gain respect

What the Lions are made of

When Kansas City strutted onto the Ford Field turf last Sunday, it seemed like the biggest challenge was going to be for the announcers to find ways to entertain their audience while the Chiefs humiliated and scalped the Lions in front of millions of viewers. As it turned out, everyone was instead treated to what may have been the game of the season so far.

My personal goal for the game was to see what the Lions were made of. To see how they handled a team as talented as Kansas City and if they could be competitive.

Instead, the Lions took the field with a different idea in mind. They came out looking to win the game and played like it.

Consider that Darius Slay, Mike Daniels, Danny Amendola, and Da’Shawn Hand all missed the game, which mostly hurt the Lions defense in a big game against the premiere offensive juggernaut in the NFL.

But instead of crumbling, this defense fought hard and made Patrick Mahomes fight for every yard they gained. The Chiefs’ vaunted deep passing game was taken away completely.

Mahomes was held without a scoring pass and even though the 27 points the Lions defense gave up is more than what any NFL defense wants to allow, the Chiefs were still not overly impressive until the final drive when they had to be.

And even then, if the Lions defense had put a spy on Mahomes, we might have been singing the praises of a Detroit victory over the heavily favored Chiefs.

Yet as simple as that sounds, the Lions had chances to put the Chiefs away before that final drive. They had opportunities to deliver the knockout blow and just couldn’t quite do so. It’s an unsettling theme these Motor City cats have had so far this year, but if they can learn to deliver the death blow when the opportunity presents itself, then their upside will increase exponentially.

Chiefs cornerback Bashaud Breeland, who returned Kerryon Johnson‘s infamous fumble on the goal line 100 yards for a touchdown while everyone in the building watched in confusion, admitted that the Lions had them on the ropes and seemed very close to delivering the knockout blow.

Instead, at a crucial time when the Lions were given an opportunity to do so, they made a costly miscue.