The Kansas City Chiefs started out the 2023 season in shocking fashion: losing on their home field. The Detroit Lions made one of the most cowardly punts in recent memory and lived to tell the tale, winning 21-20. Travis Kelce being a late scratch ended up being a costly blow for Andy Reid's squad. It wasn’t the way the reigning Super Bowl champs wanted to begin their title defense, to say the least.

Without Kelce, the Chiefs still outscored the Lions' offense. But they also spotted their defense a touchdown when Kadarius Toney let a ball slip through his hands and rookie cornerback Brian Branch took the fortuitous deflected pass for six.

Reid didn’t let Kelce's absence excuse the loss, according to Tod Palmer of KSHB. The Chiefs head coach explained how the Lions outperformed them on key plays and how his team wasn’t able to make up for it.

“No excuses at all,” Reid said, via KSHB. “We’ve got guys that can play. We were right there to take care of business. They got us on special teams (fourth-down fake punt) and continued the drive. They got us on the tipped ball (Branch’s pick-six).”

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The Chiefs, even with Kelce injured and Chris Jones playing the role of fan by watching from a suite amid his contract holdout, were still favored to beat the Lions. But without Jones, Detroit's run game was strong, compiling 118 yards on the ground. Amon-Ra St. Brown had a solid game with six catches for 71 yards and a tuddy.

Patrick Mahomes threw for 226 yards and two touchdowns. He completed at least one pass to 11 different players — with Skyy Moore not being one of them, much to the dismay of many fantasy football players — with his favorite target out due to a knee injury.

If there’s one thing Chiefs fans will remember from this game, it's Toney having one of the worst performances you'll ever see from a wide receiver. His multiple dropped passes crushed Kansas City's chances at sustaining drives. Mahomes stood by his wideout after the game but it's up to him to step back up. The Chiefs will look to bounce back next week on the road against the Jacksonville Jaguars.