Lions vs. Saints Week 1 Recap

The Detroit Lions nearly escaped a 21-point Saints comeback, needing overtime to defeat New Orleans 31–30. If you watched this game from start to finish, I highly suggest checking your heart rate because this game was nothing short of a roller coaster for Detroit fans.

After just seven points were scored in the first half, both teams seemingly came alive in the second half and overtime, combining for 54 points after halftime.

It was Jahmyr Gibbs who was the star of the show. Gibbs had 34 touches, including 29 carries, for 186 total yards, with 156 coming on the ground. The chase for 2,000 total yards is officially on for Gibbs.

Detroit went into halftime with a 7–0 lead. Overall, it seemed like the offense had a slow start, but the defense was playing great. The Saints struggled to move the ball at all in the first half, with their longest drive being a 36-yard drive that ended in a punt.

I will say, though, that the Lions’ offense did not look great in the first half, as they had three drives that resulted in either a three-and-out or a fumble.

Detroit also got an incredibly lucky break with nine minutes left in the second quarter. It appeared that Jared Goff was sacked, which would have resulted in a scoop-and-score for the Saints. However, the referees ruled it an incomplete pass because Goff’s arm was moving forward when the ball was knocked loose.

Needless to say, the Lions caught an incredible break on a rule that they have found themselves on the opposite side of multiple times in the past.

The second half seemed like the exact opposite for both the offense and defense.

On the Saints’ opening play of the second half, they threw an interception. Detroit would get the ball back and march down the field on a seven-play, 41-yard drive that ended with a touchdown run by Gibbs.

On the Saints’ next drive, they fumbled, and Detroit recovered. The Lions would then go three plays for a touchdown to Amon-Ra St. Brown, who caught his first of two touchdowns on the day.

With a 21-point lead, the Lions felt great—until things started to unravel.

The Saints immediately answered with back-to-back touchdown drives, cutting the lead to seven. After the teams exchanged field goals, the Lions held a 24–17 lead late in the fourth quarter.

With one minute and seven seconds left on the clock, the Saints scored a touchdown to tie the game at 24 apiece.

On Detroit’s final drive of regulation, the Lions put together just three plays for nine yards, forcing them to punt. The Saints got the ball back with 25 seconds remaining and quickly moved into Lions territory, where they attempted a 62-yard field goal. The kick ended up just wide right, sending the game to overtime.

Detroit received the ball to start overtime and marched all the way down the field on a 10-play, 70-yard drive that ended with a touchdown pass to St. Brown.

Unfortunately, the Saints refused to go away.

New Orleans responded by marching down the field and scoring a touchdown of its own. Instead of opting to tie the game, the Saints went for two—and failed to convert, leaving the Lions with a 31–30 victory.

Overall, this was an incredibly stressful game. The second half was filled with plenty of highs and lows, but at the end of the day, Detroit came away with the victory.

And you know what they say: a win is a win.