Chiefs upset by Lions on opening night of the 2023 NFL season

Maybe Patrick Mahomes could use a few more weapons.

The Kansas City Chiefs kicked off the 2023 season by hosting the Detroit Lions.

The Lions were the feel-good story of the 2022 season after fans fell in love with head coach Dan Campbell’s appearance on HBO’s Hard Knocks. The Chiefs lost tight end Travis Kelce during practice this week to a knee injury, but they still have reigning MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

How bad could it really be?

The answer is pretty bad. Mahomes looked good. He was on point with most of his throws. The big issue was his receivers having huge drops. The most obvious example of this was Kadarius Toney tipping up a pass that hit him right in the hands for Lions rookie safety Brian Branch to pick it off and run back for a touchdown.

And there were some pretty obvious gaffes made with Jawaan Taylor.

Kansas City appeared to be in control most of the game, but sometimes mistakes like that come back to haunt you, and letting Detroit hang around caught up with them. It will be interesting to see how this team looks after their long rest till Week 2. Especially if Kelce still can’t go.

But Cincinnati Bengals fans know that when you’re a team with a good quarterback, a slow start isn’t something to overreact about.