KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Detroit Lions had their four-game winning streak snapped by the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday Night Football.
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Three key mistakes doomed the Lions in this one -- an illegal formation on the opening drive, a dropped pass in the second quarter, and a roughing the passer penalty in the middle of the comeback.
In the end, Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs had no problem carving up the Lions defense and cruising to a 27-17 win.
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First half
The Lions began the game with a nearly 10-minute drive, scoring a touchdown on a trick play David Montgomery pass to Jared Goff. But the score was called back by a delayed penalty, and the Lions were forced to settle for a field goal.
It appeared to be the correct call, even though it took a long time for the officials to throw the flag. Goff lined up under center and then didn’t have a chance to stop and establish himself as a receiver before Montgomery took the snap.
READ: Very delayed penalty erases hilarious Lions trick-play touchdown
Another key moment came midway through the second quarter, when the Lions held a 10-6 lead and had the ball just across midfield.
The offense was humming along, but faced a fourth down and 2. Goff found Amon-Ra St. Brown, though his pass was a bit low. It went through St. Brown’s hands for a turnover on downs.
A few minutes later, the Chiefs scored right before the half to go up 13-10. It was a potential 14-point swing.
Second half
Kansas City scored coming out of the break, but the Lions answered with a touchdown of their own thanks to a fantastic grab by Sam LaPorta in the end zone.
With the defense needing a stop to get the ball back down 20-17, a critical roughing the passer penalty on Aidan Hutchinson negated what would have been a third and long for the Chiefs and sparked a touchdown drive that put the game on ice.
Kansas City wasn’t called for a single penalty until garbage time, when an offsides was declined by the Lions with 2:14 left in the game.
Lions fall to 4-2
The loss ends Detroit’s four-game winning streak and drops them behind the Green Bay Packers in the NFC North Division.
Next up, they’ll host the 5-1 Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday Night Football.