Detroit Lions vs. Kansas City Chiefs: Game recap, highlights from preseason game (2024)

Nothing like a preseason thriller.

The Detroit Lions were on the road Saturday afternoon for the second week of NFL preseason against the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs and won on a last-second field goal kicker and new addition Jake Bates in a second-half comeback led by Hendon Hooker.

The Lions had three weeks of training camp practice, and two joint practices and one game against the New York Giants so far, and will now use the second of three exhibition games as another test to determine who will make the final 53-man roster by the Aug. 27 deadline. They open the regular season Sept. 8 vs. the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday Night Football.

TRENDING: Who is Lions kicker Jake Bates? You don't have to worry about him in the clutch

The Chiefs played their starters for the first quarter against the Lions, but Detroit rested most if not all starters as it did against the Giants.

[ Lions fans: Get ready for this season by reliving the team's epic 2023 season with a new book from the Free Press, "From Grit to Glory." Order now! ]

Check out the game recap below and follow this link for observations from Lions beat writer Dave Birkett on the first half live from Kansas City.

Detroit Lions vs. Kansas City Chiefs game recap

Final: Jake Bates hits game-winning FG, Lions beat Chiefs 24-23

With preseason stakes, Jake Bates has proven he has some level of ice in his vains. Bates hit a 43-yard field goal, easily splitting the uprights after the offense picked up a first down to shorten the distance after Williams' nice punt return. Bates has a history of making big kicks and just proved it with the Lions on the NFL level. The Lions move to 1-1 in the preseason with the win in Kansas City. Hendon Hooker finished 12-of-15 for 150 yards and a rushing touchdown in the second half, finishing his first complete NFL game without leaving early.

DAVE BIRKETT: Lions observations vs. K.C. Chiefs: Backup CBs had good points despite struggles

2:00, 4Q: Lions force punt; Last drive starts from Chiefs' 38

The Lions' defense did its part again and forced a quick punt while preserving a timeout due to an odd pass play call on second down that led to an incompletion by the Chiefs. The Lions will start their final drive of the game from the Chiefs 38-yard line after a nice return by Isaiah Williams, potentially setting up Jake Bates for a chance at a game-winning kick. Dan Campbell said he wanted Bates to kick in high-pressure scenarios, potentially setting up perfectly in his plans from the beginning of training camp.

2:14, 4Q: Lions fumble inside Chiefs 5-yard line, KC recovers

There is chaos happening late with the reserves on the field and no one can hold onto the football. On third and goal from the 4, Hendon Hooker tried to hand the ball off to Zonovan Knight, but the two bobbled the handoff and the ball fell directly into the Kansas City defensive line for a turnover.

2:59, 4Q: Josh Paschal forces fumble, Lions recover deep in KC territory

The Lions are doing what they can to walk out of Kansas City with a preseason win under their belt. On third and long deep in Kansas City territory, the Chiefs tried to throw a screen, but Ian Book pump-faked the pass at first, giving Josh Paschal enough time to get home and rip the ball loose. The Lions recovered at the Chiefs' 7-yard line, setting up a chance to take the lead for the first time late.

5:29, 4Q: Hendon Hooker scampers in for TD, Lions trail 23-21

Hooker led a seven-play, 70-yard drive that ended with him tucking and running for a 7-yard touchdown because everyone was covered downfield. He started the drive with an 11-yard dump off to Jake Funk, then found Isaiah Williams for 27 yards into Chiefs territory. He hit Jalon Calhoun in the flat which turned into a 12-yard gain near the 10-yard line, then finished the drive off himself. On the two-point conversion to try tying the game, the Lions tried a long-developing play-action play, but Hooker was sacked by a rusher up the middle, keeping the deficit at 2.

9:22, 4Q: Cornell Powell burns Lions secondary for 64-yard TD, Lions trail 23-15

Cornerback Steven Gilmore gambled and try to make a play on Chris Oladokun's pass to Powell on a pass to the right, but was too far underneath the pass and got burnt. Powell broke a tackle from Chelen Garnes and raced into the endzone for the long touchdown.

The Lions stopped the Chiefs after their field goal at the end of the third quarter, but had to settle for a quick punt, a booming 71-yarder from Jack Fox.

3:15, 3Q: Lions trim deficit to 16-15 with 32-yard FG

Hendon Hooker moved the Lions down the field on his second drive after the first quickly ended in a punt. The 14-play, 75-yard drive started with two Zonovan Knight runs for a first down, followed by a completion to Isaiah Williams to the right for another. Hooker continued to find open receivers underneath, picking up two more first downs to reach midfield. He then hit Maurice Alexander for a 28-yard gain to the Kansas City 16-yard line, but the Lions couldn't go any further and settled for a 32-yard kick from Jake Bates.

Halftime: Sione Vaki powers 2-minute offense that ends in Bates FG, Lions trail 16-12

The Lions got a stop and bled the rest of the clock in the first half with a 15-play, 83-yard drive that was just over two minutes. Rookie running back Sione Vaki was the main motor of the drive as a receiver out of the backfield. He caught four passes for 59 yards — could he be another potential answer to the Lions' wide receiver question? — and kicked off the drive with a 20-yard then 16-yard catch. The Lions marched down to the Kansas City 5-yard line, but Sudfeld had three incomplete passes, leading to a successful chip shot from Bates.

Sudfeld's day is done, clearing the way for second-year quarterback Hendon Hooker to take over. Sudfeld was 14-of-27 for 196 yards with a touchdown and interception. The Chiefs scored on their first three drives, but Detroit's backup defense held Kansas City to field goals on the first two possessions with Patrick Mahomes and the entire starting offense on the field.

3:48, 2Q: Nate Sudfeld throws interception

On the first play of the drive after the field goal, Sudfeld tried to squeeze a pass to Donovan Peoples-Jones over the middle, but Keith Taylor jumped in front of the pass for an easy interception at the Lions' 46-yard line. The Lions are minus two in the turnover category in the first half.

4:00, 2Q: Chiefs add another FG to go up 16-9

Deneric Prince instantly put the Chiefs in Lions territory with a 41-yard run to Detroit's 34. But the Lions' defense held strong from there, including a third-down sack from Mathieu Betts, who won with a clean inside rip against the Chiefs right tackle to get the stop. Harrison Butker hit the 55-yarder for his third field goal of the first half.

6:53, 2Q: Kaden Davis gets loose for 61-yard TD, cuts Lions' deficit to13-9

Kaden Davis has the first big play of the preseason. The second-year wide receiver out of Northwest Missouri State got open on an over route and Nate Sudfeld delivered a strike over the middle. Davis broke one arm tackle then outran everyone down the left sideline for the Lions' first touchdown of the preseason. A play before, the Lions picked up a first down with a 17-yard completion to Isaiah Williams, who shook one defender after the catch for an extra 7-8 yards. However, Jake Bates missed the extra point for his first miss in a game in a Lions uniform.

14:12, 2Q: Jake Bates hoofs a 55-yard FG, Lions trail 13-3

Jake Bates is now 2-for-2 on field goals this preseason, both coming from 50-plus yards. The Lions picked up 13 yards on a pass over the middle to James Mitchell, then moved into Chiefs' territory with 11 more yards from Sione Vaki and Isaiah Williams on the ground. The offense couldn't do anything more from there, setting up Bates with 55 yards from the right hash. He nailed the kick, keeping it inside the right upright with plenty of distance to spare.

1:47, 1Q: Jalon Calhoun fumbles kickoff, Chiefs recover and immediately score on Worthy TD; Lions trail 13-0

Things just escalated quickly against the Lions. Jalon Calhoun, an undrafted free agent wide receiver out of Duke, fumbled on a hit from Cam Jones on the kickoff and Kansas City recovered deep in Lions territory. On the third play of the drive, backup quarterback Carson Wentz found Xavier Worthy behind the Lions' secondary for a 22-yard touchdown on a play-action pass.

3:21, 1Q: Lions hold Chiefs to red zone FG again, trail 6-0

The Lions' second-team defense is bending but not breaking against the Chiefs' starting offense. The Lions' offense picked up a pair of first downs —- one on a Tom Kennedy catch and another on a Craig Reynolds pitch — but had to punt from midfield after Sudfeld found Kaden Davis short of the sticks on third down.

The Chiefs moved into Lions' territory on a trio of completions to Rashee Rice over the middle. Kansas City got as far as the Detroit 14 on a end-around by Xavier Worthy, but a pair of stops on Carson Steele runs, including a nice play by linebacker Mitchell Agude for a loss of 9 yards, forced another short field goal by Harrison Butker.

12:16, 1Q: Chiefs take 3-0 lead on Butker FG

The Chiefs offense with Patrick Mahomes at the helm displayed a taste of its firepower on the first drive, but the Lions forced a field goal after getting a stop at their own 15. Mahomes connected on three passes for 59 yards, including a 39-yard deep shot to first-round rookie Xavier Worthy, who found a gap in the zone behind Brandon Joseph. Josh Paschal stopped an Isiah Pacheco run to the left and Jalen Reeves-Maybin broke up a pass over the middle to force the 33-yard field goal.

Pregame notes

Hendon Hooker, who returned to practice midweek after suffering a concussion against the Giants, and Nate Sudfeld will get a majority, if not all, the snaps under center leading the Lions' offense. Hooker showed some promise in limited action against the Giants before exiting with a concussion, and Sudfeld struggled. The second- and third-team offense sputtered overall.

TIME TO BATTLE: 5 players to watch as battle for roster spots heats up in Lions-Chiefs preseason game

At running back, Craig Reynolds, Jermar Jefferson, Sione Vaki and Zonovan Knight will all rotate in, and every backup receivers will be on the field as the coaching staff searches for a big-bodied complement to help fill the void left by starter Josh Reynolds.

Campbell hinted some starters on the defensive line might play, but it will primarily be defensive backups facing against Patrick Mahomes and the starting Chiefs offense in the first half. There is competition for the reserve spots all along the defense, and players such as cornerbacks Steven Gilmore and Khalil Dorsey, linebacker Mitchell Agude and Isaac Ukwu, and defensive linemen Mekhi Wingo, Brodric Martin and Mathieu Betts. On special teams, all eyes will be on Jake Bates again as he works to prove himself as an NFL kicker.

The Lions have 10 more days to determine the final 53-man roster for the start of the regular season. This game against the Chiefs and the preseason finale next weekend against the Steelers at home will be large determining factors in filling out the final spots on the roster.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions vs. Kansas City Chiefs: Game recap, highlights