After what was an ugly showing in their preseason Week 1 game, the Detroit Lions bounced back offensively in preseason Week 2 with a 24-23 win over the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Lions found themselves trailing late in the fourth quarter but managed to get a stop on defense to get one last shot to win the game. After an great punt return, the Lions worked their way into field goal range, where kicker Jake Bates managed to hit the game-winner, giving Detroit a 24-23 victory.
The talk of the game is no doubt Hendon Hooker, who shined once again and took control of the backup competition over Nate Sudfeld. We'll go over that and more in our takeaways from preseason Week 2.
Detroit Lions preseason takeaways
Hendon Hooker takes control
Nate Sudfeld looked a little better than last week, but he was once again out done by Hooker, who completed 12-of-15 passes for 150 yards and added a rushing touchdown. Sudfeld was 14-of-27 for 196 yards and one touchdown to one interception.
Both quarterbacks had a turnover, but Sudfeld's was an ugly interception while Hooker's was on a bad handoff that came after a bad snap. Both quarterbacks led the offense on a touchdown drive and two field goal drives, but Hooker's second field goal drive was the game-winner.
Hooker didn't just put up good numbers, though. He looked poised in the pocket, went through his progressions and delivered accurate throws.
If he wasn't already, Hooker is now clearly in the lead for the backup job behind Jared Goff. Meanwhile, Sudfeld is now in danger of not having a roster spot at all, unless the Lions carry a third quarterback.
Respectable showing vs. Patrick Mahomes
Considering the Lions didn't have their full first-team defense out there, Detroit had a good showing against Patrick Mahomes and Co., the behind-the-back pass not withstanding.
The superstar signal-caller completed 8-of-14 passes for 93 scoreless yards. Kansas City did manage to notch a field goal on both of his drive drives, but keeping Mahomes out of the end zone was a promising sign for the reserves.
Sione Vaki a weapon in the passing game
Vaki has displayed his pass-catching ability in practice all offseason long, and he did just that in preseason Week 2. On the final drive of the first half, Vaki caught four passes for a whopping 60 yards on the drive.
The drive ended with a field goal, but that didn't erase how impressive Vaki was during the series. The rookie added six carries for 22 yards, giving him 81 yards from scrimmage in total.
Jake Bates with another strong showing
Bates missed an extra point, which certainly wasn't ideal, but he also made all four of his field goal attempts including one from 55 yards and a 43-yarder that was the game-winner. That should be enough to keep him as the only kicker in town for another week.
Bubble players who shined
For the second straight week, Williams led all pass-catchers with six receptions for 71 yards and added three punt returns for 41 yards, one of which helped setup the game-winning field goal. The Illinois product solidified his spot on the 53-man roster with yet another strong showing.
Another wide receiver who stepped up was Kaden Davis, who had a 64-yard touchdown grab. On the defensive side of the ball, Khalil Dorsey, Isaac Ukwu, Joshua Paschal, Mathieu Betts and Mitchell Agude and Abraham Beauplan all made standout plays.