The Kansas City Chiefs have thrashed the Detroit Lions 45-10 after a dominant defensive performance at Wembley.
Matthew Stafford tried to get the Lions on the board early, looking for wide receiver Calvin Johnson, but the NFC North side had to settle for a Matt Prater field goal in the opening drive.
The Chiefs were also on the scoreboard with their first possession, but the designated home side managed to find the endzone, as De'Anthony Thomas found space out wide with an 11-yard run for the touchdown.
The AFC West side extended their lead further early in the second quarter when quarterback Alex Smith found himself in space, leaving him to scramble across from 12 yards out.
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The Chiefs quickly got the ball back when Stafford's pass for Ameer Abdullah was intercepted by Sean Smith, resulting in Cairo Santos adding a field goal.
Stafford lost the ball again on the next Detroit possession, with Justin Houston getting in front of Brandon Pettigrew to get the interception.
Kansas City cashed in on the turnover again, with Smith completing passes to Thomas and Travis Kelce before handing the ball off to Charcandrick West, who powered over for a third rushing touchdown for the Chiefs.
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Stafford tried to get the Lions back into the game before the break, but the Chiefs defense continued to restrict the quarterback.
Kansas City extended their lead when their opening drive of the second half ended with a short pass to Kelce.
Stafford's poor form continued as a series of incomplete passes forced Detroit into a punt on their own 17-yard line. The Chiefs were unable to take advantage though, as they advanced to the 44-yard line before a fourth-down punt.
The Detroit quarterback was sacked once more before the end of the third period, and again shortly after the start of the fourth to bring the total sacks to six in the match.
Both teams failed to score with their next drive, but Jeremy Maclin added another touchdown with 4:49 on the clock when he caught Smith's 18-yard pass.
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Detroit finally scored a touchdown when Stafford made five passes and finished the drive with a 21-yard throw to Lance Moore.
That was cancelled out by Kansas shortly afterwards, though, when Spencer Ware caught in the endzone as Kansas ran out winners by 35 points.
Jonathan McIntosh
