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By Emmanuel Williams

My intention here is simple: What are the Chiefs (2 -3) doing so wrong this season? And what are the Lions (4-1) doing so right that has them winning their last 4 games straight.

It didn’t take long for the Lions’ opening drive to come right up to 20 yards shy of the goal. If you blinked you missed it but they were at 2nd and 7, and they’ll run the ball for a first down. The receiver simply couldn’t be stopped.

1st and goal. Another run and they’re half the distance.

WIll they score on the opening drive?

Pickup of 2 more yards, 3rd and goal. 2 yards shy.

Up the gut. Stopped short. 4th and 1.

And the Lions will call a timeout to interrupt their own snap midplay.

Still 4th and Goal.

It’s tossed somehow forward to quarterback Jared Goff but he finally gets into the end zone, and the Lions are on the board with 6.

Hold it, the refs call an illegal motion on the Lions QB, removing the touchdown.

The lions will hold on to the ball and cause a delay of game forcing them back to the 18 yard line where they’ll put the pigskin through the posts for a field goal.

And it’s 3-0, Detroit.

In aunty sport you have errors forced on you by your opponent. Like false starts, interceptions, and broken tackles by receivers. Then you have the unforced error that you make all on your own that can set you back very far by size or continued poor performance. 

These unforced errors cost the Lions their touchdown in the last drive, and could spell disaster if they keep it up.

And here come the Chiefs in their opening drive. Receiver Travis Kelce won’t be taken down and it’s a gain of 18. QB Patrick Mahomes passes across the chest on the next down for a 30 yard gain. A hand off behind Mahomes to Isiah Pacheco leads straight to another first down.

This is fast-paced football on both sides. I mean it looks like we have a football game here folks.

13 yards from the goal, Mahomes will throw away on the second down/. On third Mahomes runs in himself gaining about 4 yards.

4th and 4. 7 for a TD.

And… Touchdown Kansas City.

They’ll kick for the extra point and miss the hell out of it from 15 yards away. Another unforced error that could spell disaster for the Chiefs at clench time.

Detroit’s responding drive will be cut short by the end of the first quarter.

Q2 and the drive continues. Advancement is quick and within 2 minutes, it’s a Detroit Touchdown. They take the lead, it’s 9-6 and they’ll kick for the extra point which is good. 

Detroit 10, Kansas City 6.

You can hear Chris Collinsworth commentating for NBC as usual and he loves what he saw during that touchdown drive for Detroit, especially when one receiver got a handoff and got 9 yards through traffic before being even touched by a defender.

The Chiefs will try to respond. Mahomes escaping a sack to land a first down pass, it’s 1st and 10 again. Another pass, it’s complete for a gain of 7.

An injury timeout is called. It’s the second delay because of injury so far.

Its clear both teams are high energy, and full of readiness in Kansas City. They still have the ball as the play resumes and the Chiefs are having a tough job trying to cross center field.

We now know it was a Lions player who was injured by a recurring knee issue.

Collinsworth seems to believe the game will be decided by 4th downs. We’ll see if he’s right.

1st and 10 Chiefs.

They’ll run a funny play where the ball passes between 2 players then  back to the qb who ran in for a first down. I’d call that an effective 3 Layer Quarterback Sneak.

The next play dazzled too as Mahomes thought he was safe until Detroit got to him, stripped the ball for a fumble, then Mahomes fell on it to recover.

3rd down. They’ll get just shy of the next first, its 4th and 1. Time out Kansas City.

The Chiefs have started putting on a show, that’s for sure. 

They’ll go for it, and… it’s a pass destroyed before reception, and the Lions will gain possession.

Detroit will have a tough Chiefs defense to deal with now, but at 3rd and 4, Goff will take the skin to the 1st down.

A wide open field will give the Lions another 1st Down right away.

4 minutes left in the first half.

2 plays later the Lions give up possession. 

Play after play the energy of these two professional teams is transferred back and forth and it looks to become stronger as the game goes by. The next half oughtta be just as exciting as the first as the Chiefs look to try and score something in Q2.

2 minute warning. Chiefs drive. Still 10-6 to Detroit.

All you can see is a failure to connect between Mahomes and his receivers from over thrown balls to dropped receptions under pressure. There was a pass interference call at 54 seconds, it was meant for Kelce but it was visually over thrown it just so happened the defender was grabbing his jersey.

Next play Mahomes finds Kelce and is only a yard shy landing on his head after contact. Time will tell if he can shake that off.

40 seconds, 1st and Goal (1.5yards).

Mahomes walks it right in there. There is a flag on the play but it was on the defense, so it’s 12-10 before the extra point which is…

Good. 13-10 to Kansas City.

Lions will have another chance at a drive before the clock runs out in Q2.

It didn’t go so well, it’s a kick to give Kansas City the ball and they will kneel the clock down at 10 seconds.

 13-10 at the half.

Again, we have a football game, folks.

So far it looks like the same Chiefs team as we’ve seen these last few years. It’s entertaining, it’s atypical with plenty of surprises, and Mahomes is still ready to run and does so often. It’s clear that his go-to receiver is Kelce who, if this were the NBA, operates as a Power Forward due to his size, speed, and ability to shake off a majority of Defensive Tackles, Linebackers, and Safeties.

The Lions look like an electric group overall and have been mostly shutting down the Chiefs more near the line of scrimmage than further out from the snap. An advantage to Mahomes if he can accurately place the ball. 

As for the run games I give each team a tie in their ability to gain from a run in ways you could not see in this morning’s Broncos/Jets game.

My advice for the Chiefs is to pass, pass, pass, and connect. But the jury is still out on how the Lions can pull a win out of this matchup.

3rd Quarter in Kansas City.

Chiefs receive the kickoff and it’s straight up the field for a gain of 9 on the first snap.

Picking up about the same on 2nd and inches. Kelce notably off the field.

Chiefs making progress quickly, can they seal the deal?

Kelce right back in the mix and Mahomes goes right to him. Chiefs set up the line quickly.

1st and 10. Gain of 10. Chiefs on the move.

It’s a hopeful pace. And it’s rewarded with a touchdown on the next play.

Chiefs. Unstoppable for their last 2 drives. The extra point is good.

20-10 to Kansas City.

What a show!

Make no mistake the upset will be if the Lions lose. The Chiefs started the season with 2 losses, then 2 wins, only to lose to Jacksonville last week by a field goal. They’re trying to avoid a nasty 2 loss, 2 win, 2 loss pattern while at the same time, breaking the Lions winning streak.

Lions with the ball, it’s 3rd and 3. Pass complete and it’s a 1st down at the 37. Another 1st down and this is pass after pass up the field. They’re at the 50 yard line now.

You wonder how the defense is allowing the progress or if the offense is truly being effective. And it looks more like a tug – o – war at this point. So much that the Chiefs are starting to win the rope.

And the Lions will punt it off. 6:42 left in Q3.

Chiefs with possession. Mahomes under pressure tries to find a late opening, unsuccessful. You see that more from him than the QB’s of late.

Hits Kelce for the 1st down.

Finding no one he’ll run it himself. You see Mahomes mostly open to any way to get the team up the field, and if you isolate that skill it’s something you WANT to see at the quarterback position no matter what your preferred team.

Mahomes keeps the ball again, running it, getting smashed along the way. And the Chiefs will kick it off to a fair catch by Detroit.

The Lions have broken up the field on this drive, they sit now at 23 yards to goal. It’s a run to a first down.

Again the quarter ends on their drive.

Detroit, scoreless in Q3, it’s been the Chiefs dominating the field. Will the Lions’ final roar scare the Chiefs from the jungle?

20-10 to Kansas City, as the final quarter is upon us. 

Lions pickup at 1st and Goal. They remove half the distance right away. Time to seal the deal.

Looking long, Goff finds a receiver at the back edge of the end zone, barely inside the zone, but it’s a touchdown for the Lions.

The extra point is… 

Good. And it’s 20-17. A strong start to Q4 and a 3 point game.

Chiefs receive the kickoff and will start at the 30. 3 yards gained on the 1st down.

They’ll snap, and Mahomes will chuck the ball down right away then get forced down after the play, a 15 yard penalty on Detroit and the Chiefs have found the 50.

A pass caught 10 yards up, taken 10 yards further. 10 more yards gained from the 1st down. They’ll get 9 more yards, and just like that, they’re sitting at 11 yards to goal.

It’s the most successful run game all Sunday. And they’re now 5 yards away. 2nd and Goal.

This drive did not take long.

But it’s incomplete and now it’s 3rd and Goal (3 yards).

Wide open for the touch down is number 5, Hollywood Brown.

The extra point is good.

27-17 to Kansas City.

9:30 left in regulation.

Lions in possession. 

Loss of 3 yards on a run.

Next they’ll pass it, and end up 3rd and 10.

Sacked by the Kansas City defense for another loss. They’ll punt it away. 

But the Chiefs return the kick so far they land at the 46. There was some confusion on whether or not there was a fumble at the tackle, but the receiver was ruled down by contact.

The Chiefs will start their drive up the gut (dead center run) for a gain of 5. 

They’ll go nowhere, and on the next down Mahomes finds Kelce for the first down and the camera finds Taylor Swift for 3 seconds and some unknown reason, not too relevant, honestly.

Still 27-17.

It’s 3rd and 1 and the Chiefs will find another 1st Down. They’re now 15 yards from goal and the Lions will take their first time out of the game.

This is the kind of upset the Chiefs wanted. To come out and show up like a Superbowl champion team taking out a Big Boss like a 4-consecutive-win team.

The standings in the AFC West won’t change because both the Broncos and the Chargers won their games earlier today, but the Chiefs should be proud of themselves for the sheer point difference they’re putting up against Detroit.

3 minutes to go in Q4.

The Chiefs will set up for a field goal before another time out by Detroit.

It’s good. The score moves to 30-17 to the Chiefs.

Lions with possession. Looking for hope at 1st and 10, there’s a flag, a penalty on defense, ultimately declined.

Goff almost sacked, he’ll toss it away. Out of the huddle it’s 3rd & 1.

Thrown straight to the ground and they’ll give up the play. It’s 4th and 1 and… it’s an incomplete pass.

It’s the 2 minute warning.

So what are the Chiefs doing wrong? Whatever it was, the same KC team wasn’t playing today. Today it was the Chiefs we’re all used to. The beasts, the monster threat, the dancing quarterback and the high level offense, defense, and individual receivers.

The Lions could not shake them off tonight, so neither of my intentions could survive this matchup. 

The Chiefs pull off the upset.

A fight broke out as the clock wound down, but it cools off to the final image of the score: 

Kansas City 30, Detroit 17

Keep it professional, folks.