Jared Goff and the Detroit Lions got a huge Week 1 win over Patrick Mahomes' defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. This victory validates the positive feelings about this team coming into the season and sets it on a path to make the playoffs for the first time since 2016. However, coming out of this Lions-Chiefs tilt, it’s not all sunshine and roses for Detroit. There are a few causes for concern as the season heads to Week 2.

3. Defensive injuries

The biggest thing the Lions needed to do in Week 1 was show that all their investment on defense — both in terms of free agents and draft capital — this offseason paid off. And Detroit did just that.

Chauncey Gardner-Johnson made some big plays, as did Cam Sutton, although he had a costly pass interference penalty. At the turning point of the game, rookies Jack Campbell and Brian Branch stepped up, with the linebacker breaking up a key pass and Branch giving Patrick Mahomes just the third pick-six of his illustrious career.

Along the defensive line, 2022 No. 2 overall pick Aidan Hutchinson was a problem all game with three QB hits, and second-year lineman Josh Paschal had a big tackle for a loss when his team needed it.

All that said, there were some scary moments on the injury front. Brian Branch left the game with what looked like a non-contact injury but seems to be good after just suffering cramping issues. Hutchinson looked like he got banged up as well after suffering an ankle injury in the preseason, but returned fine in the end.

Injuries are the great equalizer in the NFL, and if any of the key Lions defenders go out this season, it could make the unit revert to the low-end defense it looked like at the beginning of last season.

2. WR2

Here’s the good news. Most of the skill position players and groups looked excellent on Thursday’s Lions-Chiefs game. Amon-Ra St. Brown is still excellent, rookie tight end Sam LaPorta looked promising, and David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs could be one of the best 1-2 running back punches in the league.

The problem in the Lions’ Week 1 game is that outside of St. Brown, the rest of the receiving corps didn’t look great.

Marvin Jones Jr. had a big fumble in the red zone and Josh Reynolds had a big drop. Additionally, while Reynolds did look big and dangerous at times, Jones didn’t seem all that explosive as he entered his age 33 season.

Jones had just two catches or eight yards, and after that performance, it looks like there’s a real chance he may be over the hill. Reynolds led the team in receiving yards with 80, but he needs to show more consistency as the year goes along. Kalif Raymond is another WR with the opportunity to step up, and he did have a 20-yard grab, but that was his only catch of the game.

As mentioned above, the Lions may need to lean more heavily on the offense as the season goes on if the defense can’t sustain this level of play for whatever reason. If that is the case, they will need to get more production out of receivers not named Amon-Ra St. Brown.

1. Jared Goff is still Jared Goff

In the end, Jared Goff outdueled the great Patrick Mahomes to get the Lions a Week 1 win vs. the Chiefs, and that’s what matters most. However, Goff didn’t look sharp at times, and unfortunately, that’s just what Detroit fans are going to get during stretches this season.

Goff finished the game 22-of-35 (62.8%) for 253 passing yards with one touchdown and no interceptions.

That’s an efficient line that was enough to get the job done against a Chiefs team without their best defensive player in Chris Jones and their best non-quarterback in Travis Kelce. There will be times this season where Goff doesn’t just need to help his team win, though, he will need to lead them to a victory.

The question is, is Goff up for the challenge?

Luckily, the Lions’ schedule isn’t all that tough from an opposing quarterback perspective this year. Goff will go head-to-head with Lamar Jackson, Justin Herbert, Dak Prescott, Kirk Cousins, Jimmy Garoppolo, Russell Wilson, and Derek Carr this season.

There is no shame in getting outplayed by the likes of Jackson and Herbert. The real challenge will be for Goff to be the better QB against the league’s middle class of Prescott, Cousins, Garoppolo, Wilson, and Carr. If he can do that, the Lions are a playoff team for sure.

The issue is that Goff has had seven NFL seasons to put his name on or even at the top of that middle-class list, and he hasn’t done it yet.