Mahomes leads the Chiefs to a 30-17
victory over Lions, and a fistfight erupts at the finish
[October 13, 2025]
By DAVE SKRETTA
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs
knew they were going to have a fight on their hands when the Detroit
Lions, riding a four-game winning streak and a whole bunch of
momentum, rolled into Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday night.
They probably didn't expect their dominant performance to end with
an actual fistfight.
Mahomes threw for 257 yards and three touchdowns, scrambled for
another score, and led Kansas City to a 30-17 victory that was so
comprehensive that Lions safety Brian Branch boiled over at its
conclusion. Branch delivered a right hook to Chiefs wide receiver
JuJu Smith-Schuster as the teams were coming together at midfield,
touching off a brief melee among players.
“It is what it is,” Mahomes said. “You just kind of move on. We won
the football game.”
Did they ever.
Marquise Brown had two touchdown receptions and Xavier Worthy had
another for the Chiefs (3-3), who played a near-flawless game — no
penalties, no turnovers — one week after a mistake-strewn,
last-second loss at Jacksonville.
Kansas City also managed to hold in check the NFL's highest-scoring
offense to snap Detroit's winning streak.
“We just didn't make the plays we needed to make,” said Lions coach
Dan Campbell, who began his postgame briefing by saying that
Branch's cheap shot was “inexcusable and not going to be accepted
here," and that he had apologized to the Chiefs for it.
“We were able to do some good things in phases at times but not
enough for a team like that with the pedigrees they have,” Campbell
continued. “We were not able to compliment each other and we were
not able to make it a game, really. We weren't.”
Jared Goff finished with 203 yards passing for the Lions (4-2),
though he did connect with Jameson Williams and Sam LaPorta for
scores. Amon-Ra St. Brown was held to 45 yards receiving and Jahmyr
Gibbs needed 17 carries to gain just 65 yards.
Detroit was intent on trying to grind down the Chiefs' defense and
keep their potent offense off the field.
The Lions did a good job on the opening drive, too. They ran 15
plays over a 9:39 span, chewing up so much clock that Mahomes looked
downright bored on the sideline. And it looked as if it would pay
off when David Montgomery took a direct snap and threw to Goff, who
powered into the end zone from a yard out for a touchdown.
But the officials came together to discuss the play, and even though
nobody had thrown a flag, they eventually said Goff was not set — an
illegal motion penalty. After a delay of game, the Lions had to
settle for Jake Bates' chip-shot field goal.
“I've got to do a little research on exactly what went wrong,” Goff
said.
Kansas City wasted no time answering, marching 70 yards in eight
plays. Mahomes hit three receivers on the drive, and Worthy hauled
in a 6-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-goal to give the Chiefs the
lead.
The back-and-forth continued throughout the first half: The Lions
went the other way with Williams grabbing a 22-yard pass to give
them the lead back, and the Chiefs answered with Mahomes scoring on
a keeper for a 13-10 edge at halftime.
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Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy (1) scores past
Detroit Lions cornerback Amik Robertson (21) during the first half
of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo.
(AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
“It was important to get that lead back and get the
momentum and get the crowd going,” Mahomes said.
The banged-up Lions defense, missing cornerbacks D.J. Reed, Terrion
Arnold and Avonte Maddox, couldn't slow down the Chiefs, who are
finding their offensive mojo again just in time to get suspended
wide receiver Rashee Rice back next week.
They roared downfield on the opening drive of the second half, this
time with Marquise Brown hauling in the touchdown catch to extend
the lead. And when the Lions finally answered behind a flurry of
passes to St. Brown and a nifty toss to LaPorta in the end zone,
Kansas City rolled right back downfield as Marquise Brown pulled in
another touchdown reception for a 27-17 lead.
Detroit proceeded to go three-and-out, and the Chiefs put the game
away from there.
“I'm disappointing, you know? I'm disappointed, because it's been a
long time ago since you were watching someone kneel it three times
in front of you, and it's not even close,” Campbell said. “We got
worked pretty good. So yeah, it's disappointing.”
Missing Simmons
The Chiefs played without left tackle Josh Simmons, their
first-round pick, who had a personal issue that kept him from making
it back to Kansas City for the game. Jaylon Moore played well in his
place against Aidan Hutchinson and the Detroit pass rush.
More on Mahomes
Mahomes has 302 career touchdown passes, including the postseason,
becoming the quickest player in NFL history to reach the 300 mark.
He accomplished the feat in 139 games, eight faster than Aaron
Rodgers, to the delight of a crowd that included Taylor Swift — the
fiancee of tight end Travis Kelce — and WNBA star Caitlin Clark.
Injuries
Lions: CB Terrion Arnold (shoulder) and LT Taylor Decker (shoulder)
were inactive.
Chiefs: CB Nohl Williams was evaluated for a concussion and cleared
in the first half.
Up next
Lions: Host Tampa Bay next Monday night.
Chiefs: Host Las Vegas next Sunday.
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