Detroit Lions foil reigning Super Bowl champions Kansas City Chiefs in NFL season opener

David Montgomery's eight-yard touchdown run with 7:06 left on Thursday night propelled the visiting Detroit Lions to a season-opening, 21-20 win over the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs in the NFL's season-opening game.

Montgomery's score and Riley Patterson's point-after kick brought Detroit back from a 20-14 deficit created by Harrison Butker field goals of 35 and 39 yardslate in the third quarter and early in the fourth quarter, respectively.

Jared Goff completed 22 of 35 passes for 253 yards and a touchdown for the Lions, who are a trendy pick to win the NFC Central and did nothing to slow down the hype with a solid performance. Detroit made few mistakes, committing only four penalties and one turnover.

The Lions' defense came up big in the second half. Rookie Brian Branch's 50-yard interception return of a Patrick Mahomes pass that caromed off open receiver Kadarius Toney tied the game at 14 just over four minutes into the third quarter. Detroit later stopped the Chiefs on their final two possessions after taking the lead.

Mahomes hit on 21 of 39 attempts for 226 yards with a pair of second-quarter touchdowns and one interception. He also rushed for a team-high 45 yards buthad a spate of passes dropped. Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce (knee) was held out of the game.