GREEN BAY, Wis. – Matt Patricia has a reputation for being conservative, but in Monday’s game against the Green Bay Packers , the Detroit Lions were anything but. The Lions burned the Packers for two big pass plays early in the first quarter, including a 66-yard flea flicker on the first play from scrimmage. Patricia’s gameplan – and offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell’s play calling – got the Lions off to a hot start as they scored the game’s first 13 points and led 13-10 at halftime. Kenny Golladay beat Kevin King on the flea flicker, when it appeared as if safety Will Redmond, who was starting in place of the injured Darnell Savage, bit on the run fake. The Lions opened their second drive with a long pass as well, this one from Matthew Stafford to Marvin Hall for 58 yards, once again against King. Stafford, who entered the game 352 yards shy of becoming the fastest quarterback in NFL history to reach 40,000 yards passing , had 168 yards in the first quarter on 8-for-9 passing, and was 12-for-16 with 219 yards in the half. • Officiating in the NFL has been more terrible than usual this year, but the Lions got the benefit of the doubt on Kerryon Johnson’s 1-yard first-quarter touchdown run. While one official ruled Johnson short of the goal line and referee Clete Blakeman initially pointed the other way is if the Packers got a stop on fourth-and-goal, line judge Tom Symonette raised his hands to signal a touchdown. The play was too close to overturn on replay and the touchdown stood, but give the Lions credit for once again being aggressive on fourth-and-goal and not settling for a field goal inside the 1. • The Lions are masters at forcing fumbles. They recovered their seventh of the year Monday - as many as they had all of last season - when A’Shawn Robinson raked the ball away from Aaron Jones on a first-quarter running play. Christian Jones recovered the loose ball. Of course, the Lions settled for their second field goal of the game on the ensuing possession, and not capitalizing on red-zone drives could be costly. • Special teams are always an adventure for the Lions, and they had two crucial mistakes on the same second-quarter possession that cost them a touchdown . First, Sam Martin sent the ball out of bounds on the kickoff to give the Packers possession at their own 40-yard line. Then, after the Lions dodged two bullets with dropped touchdown passes by Aaron Jones and Jimmy Graham, they lined up with 12 men on the field for a short field-goal attempt. The penalty gave the Packers first-and-goal at the 8, and Green Bay scored its first touchdown two plays later on an Aaron Rodgers flip pass to Jamaal Williams. • T.J. Hockenson had a quiet first half in his return from a concussion. Hockenson was on the field as part of a two-tight, two-back look on the flea flicker, but his most notable moment in the first half came when he dropped a fade pass upon landing hard in the end zone. The Lions settled for a field goal on the drive after trading penalties on third down. • Bevell has done a good job with his opening-game scrips in recent weeks. Along with the deep shots to start Monday’s game, the Lions got off to a good start against the Chiefs when they recognized a fault in the defense that led them to hit a couple chunk plays out of their trips formation. That wasn’t the only coaching point the Lions took advantage of Monday, though. They ran their hurry-up offense several times in the first half on third downs, and caught the Packers mid-substitution. Stafford hit Golladay for a 22-yard gain on one play, and on the next, the Packers were forced to call timeout when they had too many men on the field. • The Lions' run defense is still M.I.A. The Packers had 101 yards rushing in the first half, including a 45-yard run on their final possession of the second quarter. Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com . Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett. Read more on the Detroit Lions and sign up for our Lions newsletter .