The Detroit Lions and Kansas City Chiefs capped off a thrilling NFL Sunday with a big-time matchup on Sunday night. It’s hard to beat the Sunday night showdown we were treated to last week between the Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots, but this game certainly tried.

In the first half, it looked like we were in store for an all-time classic. It was 13-10 at halftime, and both teams had found success on offense, but the Chiefs’ defense came out and dominated the second half. The Lions scored just seven points in the final 30 minutes, and Patrick Mahomes did Patrick Mahomes things to help the Chiefs take home a 30-17 victory.

Here were my takeaways from Sunday night’s game.

Patrick Mahomes has entered the MVP conversation

As much as you might hate him and the Chiefs, Patrick Mahomes has asserted himself into the MVP conversation after tonight’s big win.

Coming into this game, Mahomes had 1,257 passing yards, eight passing touchdowns, 190 rushing yards, and three rushing touchdowns. The only reason he wasn’t in the conversation was because his team was 2-3. Now that they’ve got a statement win, he should be one of the favorites for the award.

On Sunday night, Mahomes threw for 257 yards and three touchdowns while adding 32 yards and a score on the ground. He was nearly flawless in the Chiefs’ win over the Lions, and with Rashee Rice coming back, he’s only going to get better.

It’s been a couple of years since Mahomes has had an MVP-caliber regular season, but we’re getting one this year.

Lions asserted their dominance early, but the Chiefs made adjustments

One of many reasons the Lions are so hard to beat is because of their run game. Their offensive line might be the best in the NFL, and their 1-2 punch of Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery is as good as we’ve seen in years. With the NFL being so pass-centric now, it’s not often we get to see a team just impose its will on the ground, but that’s what the Lions did tonight.

According to Next Gen Stats, the Lions’ running backs were hit behind the line of scrimmage just 24 percent of the time in the first half, which was a season-low for Detroit. They also rushed for 92 yards, which was their most in a half this year. However, when push came to shove in the first half, they really struggled.

In the final 30 minutes, the Lions totaled just six rushing yards. Part of this was because they were trailing and were throwing it more, but they still tried to run it, and just couldn’t find that same success. You have to give credit to the Chiefs. They made adjustments, and they worked like a charm.

Lions’ injuries in the secondary really hurt them

We just talked about how good Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs’ passing game were tonight, but that’s largely due to the injuries the Lions had in their secondary.

Coming into tonight, the Lions were down two of their best cornerbacks. Terrion Arnold and DJ Reed were both ruled out earlier this week, and the Lions were also missing some of their depth pieces in Avonte Madox and Khalil Dorsey. To make matters worse, Kerby Joseph, who was questionable before the game, went out early with a knee injury.

If all those guys were healthy, it’s hard to know how much things would’ve changed, but I’ll tell you it certainly wouldn’t have hurt. Instead, Mahomes threw the ball all over the field, and the Lions couldn’t do anything to stop it.

Almost had an all-time touchdown

We were so close to a legendary trick play. Usually, it’s the Chiefs that pull out the trickery in big games, but this time, it was the Lions.

On the opening drive of the game, the Lions marched all the way down the field in 15 plays, taking over nine minutes off the clock, and had the ball on the two-yard line. Instead of pounding it up the middle with David Montgomery, the Lions sent Goff in motion and had Montgomery swing it out to him. The play actually worked, but they were flagged for illegal motion.

The Lions had to settle for a field goal, but man, could you imagine if that had worked? It would’ve been one of the funniest touchdowns of all time.

I’m convinced this will be the Super Bowl matchup

Might be a hot take, but I think there’s a decent chance this ends up being the Super Bowl matchup.

We all know the Lions are the best team in the NFC and are probably the odds-on favorite to represent the conference in the Super Bowl, but not many people have the Chiefs coming out of the AFC after their slow start. Still, I’m not so quick to dismiss Mahomes and Kansas City, and tonight was a perfect example of why.

I still believe the Chiefs can beat anyone in the AFC. As long as Mahomes is under center, anything is possible for this team. I know it’s popular to kick the Chiefs while they’re down because of their recent success, but this is still largely the same team that made it to the Super Bowl last year, and now they’ve taken down the top team in the NFC.

I don’t care that they’re 3-3; they’re still my pick to come out of the AFC.