KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Back in 2023, the Detroit Lions were coming off a red-hot finish, falling just short of reaching the playoffs the previous year.
They finished 9-8 in 2022, beating the Packers in Aaron Rodgers’ last game in Green Bay, eliminating them from the playoffs in the process. Then, they opened the 2023 campaign against the reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.
It was an opportunity to prove to the football world that their impressive finish was for real. They took full advantage, and haven’t looked back since.
The Lions went into Kansas City the night the Chiefs received their Super Bowl rings, and set the tone for that season. They beat the Chiefs 21-20, and rode that wave to their first division title in 30 years all the way to an NFC title game appearance.
“That was big, I felt like that kind of kicked our season off,” Lions head coach Dan Campbell said. “Guys really believed we could go out there and win and played their tails off.
“That was good, but that was also two years ago.”
That game also saw the NFL debuts for running back Jahmyr Gibbs, linebacker Jack Campbell, tight end Sam LaPorta and defensive back Brian Branch. That factor makes it all the more impressive, especially with Branch’s pick-six interception acting as a major turning point in the victory.
Dan Campbell’s Lions set the tone for their dominance in primetime that night, too. They have also remained the NFL’s hottest ticket ever since.
“Well, it was huge, right?” Lions assistant head coach and receivers coach Scottie Montgomery said. “There was a lot of question marks. A lot of question marks, coaching question marks, player question marks. Kind of what I remember is that our guys handled the lights and the noise, especially some of our young guys like ‘Jah’ and our O-line. They handled a lot of the noise that was going on.
“They were a really good football team. And I just remember that kind of setting us up for an understanding that we can win the tight ball games against great teams.”
Montgomery made his debut for Detroit’s staff in that game, too. He noted that a lasting takeaway he still sees was that the young players felt the pressure of rising to the challenge of playing like their stars, and becoming “those A-players.”
Since then, the Chiefs have appeared in back-to-back Super Bowls, winning it all later that year in 2023. The Lions have won back-to-back division titles, winning a franchise-record 15 games last season and earning their first No. 1 seed.
The main thing Lions quarterback Jared Goff feels when reminiscing about that night is the hope “teams feel that way about us (as the Chiefs) and we are having to prove ourselves every week still.”
While coaches and players were open about those fond memories, they all made sure to note it was two years ago, and much has changed since.
And while coaching staffs have shifted, players have come and gone for both sides. The expectations for both the Chiefs and Lions have remained sky high.
“Yeah, it’s hard. It’s really hard,” Goff said of consistently winning like the Chiefs. “You’ve got to show up to work every day and try to get better every day and work hard, hold your teammates accountable, hold yourself accountable and really have to prove it every single day in practice.”
Kansas City has made seven straight AFC title games. They have played in five of the last six Super Bowls, winning three championships along the way.
Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard said Chiefs coach Andy Reid and quarterback Patrick Mahomes are no-doubt Hall of Famers, even if they retired tomorrow. Sheppard said the latest challenge, especially with all the defensive injuries, is another one along his “murderer’s row” first five games leading the team’s defense.
“Their standard is championships, and to be able to hold that line for almost a decade, we understand how hard that is now in the realm that we’re in here,” Sheppard said. “And then as far as schematics, I mean, it’s all over the place. You can’t get any tells and tendencies. I’ve always respected and revered coach Reid, but now I see why. It’s always the why with me, and I always wanted to know why people viewed him in such high regard. Now, having to gameplan against him, I see why. It’s unorthodox, he’s going to keep you off-kilter on defense, he’s never going to show his hand.”
Since these two teams last played to open 2023, the Lions are 30-8 and the Chiefs are 28-10 in the regular season. To open this season, Detroit is 4-1 and back in first place in the division and tied for the conference’s best record. The Chiefs are an uncharacteristic 2-3, losing all three games by single digits for a combined total of 12 points.
Dan Campbell has so much respect for them that he hopes people look back and talk about his Lions the way people do about the Chiefs in a couple of years.
“ ... To be able to come back year in and year out and stay hungry, stay competitive, do the right things, don’t get complacent, eliminate entitlement when you’ve been a champion over and over,” Campbell said. “That is so difficult to do, and so I’ve got the utmost respect for those guys. And that’s why they’re never out of it. They’re always going to have a chance because they have that makeup. They have that winner’s makeup, that champion’s makeup. But that’s right up our alley, we love this. This is -- you want to look back on this in a few years and say that’s what we’ve become.
“Absolutely, it’s building (here). And that’s what we preach here. Our players believe in it. You’ve got to stay hungry, and every game is a new game, and you’ve got to take it personal. You’ve got to take it personal.”
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