The Detroit Lions get the Kansas City Chiefs wet to kick off the new NFL season. German Amon-Ra St. Brown plays a special role in the game

What a start to the new NFL season! In the first game of the 2023 season, the Detroit Lions led by German wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown have added a 21:20 defeat to the current Super Bowl winner Kansas City Chiefs.

It is the first time since 2017 that Detroit has started the season with a win.

At Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, it was St. Brown, of all people, who scored the first touchdown of the new season towards the end of the first quarter. After a 9-yard pass from quarterback Jared Goff, the Lions cheered in the end zone.

St. Brown proved to be the most reliable pickup for his signal caller during the game. He also became the first player in Lions history to reach 200 catches in his first three NFL seasons with his fourth catch of the game.

In addition to the German, rookie defensive back Brian Branch also impressed for the visitors, carrying the ball 50 yards into the end zone after an interception in the third quarter.

Quarterback Goff, meanwhile, remained flawless and extended his streak of consecutive passes without an interception to 359, the third-longest streak in NFL history.

Chiefs struggle without Kelce

His counterpart, on the other hand, was much more sobering. Chiefs superstar Patrick Mahomes did throw two touchdown passes – Rashee Rice and Blake Bell both caught short passes from their playmaker – but Mahomes also had to accept the aforementioned interception after a shortcoming by his receiver Kadarius Toney.

In any case, the Super Bowl winners struggled noticeably without tight end Travis Kelce, who was injured at short notice. Receivers dropped passes several times and the running game did not work as well with only 45 yards and 17 runs.