2023 Week 1 · Thu, Sep 7, 2023 · GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium
Detroit LionsWinner
21
Kansas City Chiefs
20
Detroit Lions 21–20 — decided on the final possessions. Biggest swing: Q3 11:04, DET +25% win probability on one snap.
The game in one curve — scrub to replay it
Win probability
(11:04) (Shotgun) 15-P.Mahomes pass short right intended for 19-K.Toney INTERCEPTED by 32-B.Branch at 50. 32-B.Branch for 50 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
Highest-leverage plays
- Q3 · 11:04DET +25% win prob(11:04) (Shotgun) 15-P.Mahomes pass short right intended for 19-K.Toney INTERCEPTED by 32-B.Branch at 50. 32-B.Branch for 50 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
- Q4 · 2:09DET +12% win prob(2:09) (Shotgun) 15-P.Mahomes pass incomplete deep right to 84-Ju.Watson [79-J.Cominsky].
- Q4 · 5:51DET +12% win prob(5:51) (Shotgun) Direct snap to 81-B.Bell. 4-R.Rice right end to KC 31 for -3 yards (93-J.Paschal).
- Q4 · 8:31KC +12% win prob(8:31) 16-J.Goff pass short right to 8-J.Reynolds to KC 14 for 33 yards (50-W.Gay).
How the points landed
Scoring summary
- Q1 · 2:52DET Touchdown
(2:52) (Shotgun) 16-J.Goff pass short right to 14-A.St. Brown for 9 yards, TOUCHDOWN. (kick good)
Score after this play: DET 7 — KC 0 - Q2 · 11:56KC Touchdown
(11:56) (Shotgun) 15-P.Mahomes pass short left to 4-R.Rice for 1 yard, TOUCHDOWN. (kick good)
Score after this play: DET 7 — KC 7 - Q2 · 0:37KC Touchdown
(:37) (Shotgun) 15-P.Mahomes pass short right to 81-B.Bell for 4 yards, TOUCHDOWN. (kick good)
Score after this play: DET 7 — KC 14 - Q3 · 11:04DET Touchdown
(11:04) (Shotgun) 15-P.Mahomes pass short right intended for 19-K.Toney INTERCEPTED by 32-B.Branch at 50. 32-B.Branch for 50 yards, TOUCHDOWN. (kick good)
Score after this play: DET 14 — KC 14 - Q3 · 2:14KC Field goal
(2:14) 7-H.Butker 35 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-41-J.Winchester, Holder-5-T.Townsend.
Score after this play: DET 14 — KC 17 - Q4 · 12:16KC Field goal
(12:16) 7-H.Butker 39 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-41-J.Winchester, Holder-5-T.Townsend.
Score after this play: DET 14 — KC 20 - Q4 · 7:11DET Touchdown
(7:11) 5-D.Montgomery up the middle for 8 yards, TOUCHDOWN. (kick good)
Score after this play: DET 21 — KC 20
Down-to-down truth
Situational splits
| Metric | Lions | Chiefs |
|---|---|---|
| Offensive plays | 66 | 62 |
| Total yards | 371 (edge) | 316 |
| Yards per play | 5.6 (edge) | 5.1 |
| Expected points added / play | 0.05 (edge) | -0.15 |
| Success rate | 41% (edge) | 40% |
| Dropback rate | 53% | 73% |
| Dropback efficiency (EPA/play) | 0.11 (edge) | -0.08 |
| Rush efficiency (EPA/play) | -0.03 (edge) | -0.32 |
| Third downs | 5/14 | 5/14 |
| Red-zone trips → TDs | 0 → 0 | 0 → 0 |
| Explosive plays (10+ rush / 20+ pass) | 6 (edge) | 5 |
| First downs gained on snaps | 19 (edge) | 16 |
| Sacks taken | 1 | 0 (edge) |
| Turnovers | 1 | 1 |
Lions won the down-to-down efficiency fight: 0.05 expected points added per play vs -0.15.
Who moved the needle
Top performers
Passing · DET
22/35, 253 yds, 1 TD, 0 INT
6.5 expected points added · -0.1% completion over expected
Passing · KC
21/39, 226 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
-6.5 expected points added · -6.2% completion over expected
Receiving · DET
6/9 for 71 yds, 1 TD
28% of team targets · 5.6 expected points added
Possession by possession
Drive chart
| # | Team | Start | Plays | Scrim yds | Clock | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DET | DET 25 | 5 | 7 | 0:51 | Punt | |
| 2 | KC | KC 13 | 7 | 25 | 3:19 | Punt | |
| 3 | DET | DET 9 | 15 | 91 | 8:04 | Touchdown +7 | |
| 4 | KC | KC 25 | 15 | 75 | 5:56 | Touchdown +7 | |
| 5 | DET | DET 25 | 12 | 71 | 6:36 | Fumble | |
| 6 | KC | KC 7 | 4 | 5 | 1:27 | Punt | |
| 7 | DET | DET 41 | 4 | 2 | 1:45 | Punt | |
| 8 | KC | KC 18 | 7 | 92 | 1:28 | Touchdown +7 | |
| 9 | DET | DET 25 | 8 | 17 | 0:34 | Turnover on downs | |
| 10 | KC | KC 25 | 7 | 14 | 2:06 | Punt | |
| 11 | DET | DET 7 | 4 | 4 | 1:10 | Punt | |
| 12 | KC | KC 42 | 3 | 4 | 0:50 | Defensive touchdown | |
| 13 | KC | KC 25 | 7 | 16 | 2:18 | Punt | |
| 14 | DET | DET 17 | 7 | 43 | 2:52 | Punt | |
| 15 | KC | KC 10 | 8 | 32 | 3:34 | Field goal +3 | |
| 16 | DET | DET 25 | 5 | 20 | 1:04 | Punt | |
| 17 | KC | KC 32 | 8 | 47 | 3:55 | Field goal +3 | |
| 18 | DET | DET 25 | 11 | 80 | 5:05 | Touchdown +7 | |
| 19 | KC | KC 25 | 5 | 6 | 1:59 | Punt | |
| 20 | DET | DET 34 | 5 | 26 | 2:37 | Turnover on downs | |
| 21 | KC | KC 45 | 4 | 0 | 0:30 | Turnover on downs | |
| 22 | DET | KC 30 | 6 | 10 | 2:00 | End of game |
6 of 22 drives ended in points. Longest march: Chiefs gained 92 scrimmage yards over 7 plays for a touchdown.
Full stat lines
Box score
Detroit Lions
Passing
| Player | C/Att | Yds | TD | INT | Sacked | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jared Goff | 22/35 | 253 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6.5 |
Rushing
| Player | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Montgomery | 21 | 74 | 3.5 | 1 | -2.0 |
| Jahmyr Gibbs | 7 | 42 | 6.0 | 0 | 0.3 |
| Jalen Reeves-Maybin | 1 | 3 | 3.0 | 0 | 2.5 |
| Jared Goff | 5 | -1 | -0.2 | 0 | -4.5 |
Receiving
| Player | Rec | Tgt | Yds | TD | Tgt share | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Josh Reynolds | 4 | 7 | 80 | 0 | 22% | 0.3 |
| Amon-Ra St. Brown | 6 | 9 | 71 | 1 | 28% | 5.6 |
| Sam LaPorta | 5 | 5 | 39 | 0 | 16% | 1.7 |
| Kalif Raymond | 1 | 1 | 20 | 0 | 3% | 1.8 |
| Jahmyr Gibbs | 2 | 2 | 18 | 0 | 6% | 1.5 |
| Brock Wright | 2 | 2 | 17 | 0 | 6% | 1.3 |
| Marvin Jones | 2 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 19% | -6.2 |
Defense (top contributors)
| Player | Solo | Ast | Sacks | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Derrick Barnes | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chauncey Gardner-Johnson | 5 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 2 |
| Jerry Jacobs | 5 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Alex Anzalone | 4 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 |
| Aidan Hutchinson | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kerby Joseph | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Benito Jones | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Josh Paschal | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Khalil Dorsey | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brian Branch | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 |
Kansas City Chiefs
Passing
| Player | C/Att | Yds | TD | INT | Sacked | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patrick Mahomes | 21/39 | 226 | 2 | 1 | 0 | -6.5 |
Rushing
| Player | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patrick Mahomes | 6 | 45 | 7.5 | 0 | 2.9 |
| Isiah Pacheco | 8 | 23 | 2.9 | 0 | -1.3 |
| Clyde Edwards-Helaire | 6 | 22 | 3.7 | 0 | -1.0 |
| Skyy Moore | 1 | 4 | 4.0 | 0 | -0.3 |
| Kadarius Toney | 1 | -1 | -1.0 | 0 | -0.7 |
| Rashee Rice | 1 | -3 | -3.0 | 0 | -2.2 |
Receiving
| Player | Rec | Tgt | Yds | TD | Tgt share | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marquez Valdes-Scantling | 2 | 2 | 48 | 0 | 5% | 4.1 |
| Justin Watson | 2 | 4 | 45 | 0 | 11% | 1.7 |
| Isiah Pacheco | 4 | 4 | 31 | 0 | 11% | 2.7 |
| Noah Gray | 3 | 5 | 31 | 0 | 14% | -1.0 |
| Rashee Rice | 3 | 5 | 29 | 1 | 14% | 0.6 |
| Blake Bell | 2 | 3 | 12 | 1 | 8% | 1.1 |
| Jerick McKinnon | 1 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 5% | -0.2 |
| Clyde Edwards-Helaire | 1 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 3% | 0.4 |
| Richie James | 1 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 5% | -0.3 |
| Justyn Ross | 1 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 3% | 0.2 |
| Kadarius Toney | 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 14% | -11.4 |
| Skyy Moore | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8% | -2.8 |
Defense (top contributors)
| Player | Solo | Ast | Sacks | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trent McDuffie | 6 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| George Karlaftis | 3 | 4 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 |
| Justin Reid | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 2 |
| Bryan Cook | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| L'Jarius Sneed | 2 | 3 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Michael Danna | 3 | 2 | 1.0 | 0 | 1 |
| Nick Bolton | 2 | 3 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Leo Chenal | 2 | 3 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Matt Dickerson | 1 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Derrick Nnadi | 1 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
Closing number vs result
Betting context
- Closing spread
- KC -4
- Closing total
- 53
- DET moneyline
- +164
- KC moneyline
- -198
Chiefs closed -4 and lost outright — an upset against the closing number.
Total closed 53; the game landed 41 — under by 12.0.
Conditions and crew
Game environment
- Venue
- GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium
- Roof / surface
- outdoors
- Kickoff weather
- —
- Referee
- John Hussey
- Rest
- DET 7 days · KC 7 days
- Coaches
- Dan Campbell vs Andy Reid