The 2023 NFL season got started with a bang on Thursday night as the Detroit Lions marched into Arrowhead and won a thriller against the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs had a 20-14 lead in the fourth quarter, but a David Montgomery touchdown put the Lions up 21-20, and the defense stepped up big time in the late stages of the fourth quarter to secure the victory. After finishing last season with wins in eight of their last 10 games, many people expected the Lions to be a playoff caliber team this year, and that is why Detroit was put in this game against the Chiefs to begin the season. However, not many people were expecting the Lions to win on the road against the defending champs in week one. Lions safety CJ Gardner-Johnson wasn't surprised, though.
“Quote me right now,” CJ Gardner-Johnson said to Colton Pouncy in the locker room after the game. “I told you in training camp this s**t was different.”
Gardner-Johnson came to Detroit from the Philadelphia Eagles in the offseason, and he is expected to be a key piece to the Lions' secondary this season. He had a nice debut against the Chiefs with five tackles and two passes defended. He was also right, this Lions team does look different.
Detroit has looked better the past two years under head coach Dan Campbell, who is now in his third season with the franchise, but one thing they haven't been able to do under his leadership is start the season off strong. In Campbell's first year, Detroit went 0-8 to begin the season before getting a tie in game nine, and the Lions started 1-6 before completely flipping a switch for the back half of the season last year. Now, the Lions are 1-0 for the first time under Dan Campbell, and the future is looking bright in Detroit.