Lions’ inability to create big plays on offense costly in loss to Chiefs

DETROIT — The Detroit Lions struggled in Kansas City on Sunday night.

The Chiefs had an effective game plan set up to stop Detroit and the personnel advantage needed to execute it.

The Lions lost 30-17 to the perennial AFC powerhouse.

“I’m disappointed,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said after the game. “It’s been a long time since we’ve watched someone kneel (the ball) three times at the end of a game that isn’t even close. We were down two scores and we got worked pretty good.

“So yeah, it is really disappointing.”

Campbell said he expected his team to need at least 30 points to have a chance to win — a prediction that turned out to be accurate.

“I felt like this was the kind of game where we needed at least that many and we couldn’t,” he said. “Defensively, we had some opportunities that we have to capitalize on — we didn’t get any takeaways — but, really, the offense needed to show up there.”

Jared Goff threw for 203 yards and two touchdowns, and the Lions rushed for 98 yards, but they weren’t able to break the big plays the offense usually produces. They didn’t have a rushing touchdown for just the second time this season — the other being the Week 1 loss in Green Bay — and the Chiefs took away Detroit’s catch-and-run ability.

Goff averaged 8.8 yards per completion, his second-lowest total of the season behind the 7.3 yards against the Packers.

“I don’t want to take anything away from how well their defense played,” Goff said. “They were well prepared and did a lot of things that gave us issues. But our mentality was to score on every drive, and when we had long drives, we needed to finish them with touchdowns.

“We didn’t do that and they did.”

One drive that ended in a field goal was Detroit’s first, although the Lions were originally ruled to have scored a touchdown off one of their many trick plays.

Goff walked up behind center, then went into motion and caught a touchdown pass from running back David Montgomery. However, the officials ruled he hadn’t set for 1 second before splitting out wide, making it a penalty for illegal motion.

“I was under the impression that I wasn’t declared as a quarterback until I put my hands under center,” Goff said. “But there’s a new version of the rule that I had never heard of, and I guess some of our coaches had never heard of, so we’ll have to do some research.

“But that wasn’t the reason we lost the game.”

What’s working

After struggling to get speedy Jameson Williams into the passing game all season, he caught six passes for 66 yards and a touchdown. They weren’t able to get the ball to him deep — his catches came an average of just 4 yards downfield, but he put up 44 yards after the catch.

What needs help

Jahmyr Gibbs was held in check by the Kansas City defense, finishing with 18 touches — 17 rushes and one reception — for just 65 total yards.

Stock up

Aidan Hutchinson finished with one sack and a forced fumble — the fourth straight week he has had at least one of each. That matches the longest streak since 1999, also achieved by Cedric Jones (1999), Simeon Rice (2002), Robert Mathis (2005) and Khalil Mack (2018).

Stock down

Safety Brian Branch was suspended for one game without pay by the NFL on Monday for unsportsmanlike conduct following a loss at Kansas City. Branch punched Chiefs receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster on Sunday night, setting off a postgame melee.

“I love Brian Branch, but what he did is inexcusable and it is not going to be accepted here,” Campbell said. “It’s not what we do, and I apologize to Coach (Andy) Reid and the Chiefs.”

Injuries

Safety Kerby Joseph missed 11 of Detroit’s 64 defensive snaps after aggravating a knee injury. He returned to the game, but it remains unclear how the injury will affect him in upcoming games.

Key number

4 — With Branch suspended, Joseph dealing with his knee and cornerbacks D.J. Reed (hamstring) and Terrion Arnold (shoulder) out with injuries, the Lions will be facing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night without any of their starting defensive backs at full health.

Next steps

The Lions will have to find a way to put pressure on Baker Mayfield if they want to avoid him picking apart the banged-up secondary the way Patrick Mahomes did on Sunday night.