Ndamukong Suh outlines ways Detroit Lions can stop Patrick Mahomes in NFL opener

07 September 2023 , 17:12

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In his first Super Bowl clash with Patrick Mahomes, Ndamukong Suh sacked the quarterback with his Tampa Bay Buccaneers emerging victorious (Image: Getty Images)

Ndamukong Suh has offered his Championship-winning advice to the Detroit Lions as his former team seek to stop Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in the opening game of the 2023 NFL season.

After seven long months, the NFL returns when the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs take on the Lions on Thursday Night Football. It is set to be intriguing, with Travis Kelce suffering an injury to add to the litany of narratives surrounding the game, including pitting the champions against the resurgent Lions.

Back in February, Mahomes led the Chiefs to a dramatic 38-35 win over the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII. It was a classic contest, with dominant offenses overpowering defenses in the high-scoring, pulsating epic that will go down in history as one of the great championship finales in NFL history.

However, Suh was on the wrong side of the falling confetti. The powerful defensive tackle signed a one-year deal late in the season to add further firepower to the Philadelphia defensive line, hoping to impart his experience and wisdom on his Eagles teammates after helping the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeat Mahomes and the Chiefs two years prior.

In Super Bowl LV, Suh led the way with 1.5 sacks as Tom Brady’s Bucs secured a dominant 31-9 win over the Mahomes, the Chiefs and head coach Andy Reid. Suh, who the Lions selected with the second overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, suggested how Tampa Bay succeeded where Philadelphia failed as Detroit prepare to head to Arrowhead Stadium.

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“Having played against [Mahomes] in multiple Super Bowls, and most recently this last Super Bowl, I've had success against him and I've had failure against him,” Suh, Sky Sports' new NFL analyst, exclusively told Mirror Sport.

“At the end of the day, Patrick Mahomes is very, very talented. He's very athletic. He can run around, create plays with his feet as much as he can with his arm, so it's about being able to force other players around him to be the ones that make the mistakes.

“As a defensive line, I looked at being in his face and making it difficult for him to be consistent and able to set his feet. But the tough part is he has shown he can make great throws without setting his feet. When we won Super Bowl LV, it came down to us dominating their offensive line, and on top of that, our secondary doing a great job of making sure they gave us two seconds to get to him.

“I always told our secondary that if they could take away that first read, it was on us as a defensive line to get to him - and it worked.”

Along with millions in the United States and around the world, Suh will be keenly watching as the Lions attempt to upset the Chiefs on Thursday Night Football. Detroit resemble a popular pick to win the Aaron Rodgers-less NFC North and go on a postseason run after Dan Campbell’s team went 8-2 down to finish the season in 2022.

Ndamukong Suh pressured Patrick Mahomes but could do little as the Kansas City Chiefs won Super Bowl LVII (Getty Images)

After dominating the trenches for four years in Motor City, Suh joined the Miami Dolphins to become the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history at the time. He went on to reach three Super Bowls, winning one, while Detroit made the postseason on just one occasion where the franchise immediately fell to the Seattle Seahawks in the Wild Card round.

Regardless, Suh looks back on his time in Detroit fondly. He, like so many, expects big things from Campbell’s Lions in 2023.

“Having relationships and playing for and alongside Jared Goff as well as Dan Campbell the head coach, I definitely expect them to win the NFC North,” Suh declared. “I think it's theirs to lose, although they're going to have to battle against Minnesota and I wouldn't push it past Chicago as well as Green Bay for being very competitive. It's the NFL at the end of the day.

“But I think they have the means in the making, like Aiden Hutchinson, on the defensive side of the ball. if he can take another step forward as an elite player, and they can build some things around him, I think I think it's theirs for the taking. I hope they do well. I wish those guys great success. I love and will always love the the city of Detroit.”

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