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Lions Welcomed NFL Football Back With an Embarrassing Fumble on Opening Kick

Hard to start a season on a worse note.

Kyle Koster

The Detroit Lions started the year off in the worst way possible.
The Detroit Lions started the year off in the worst way possible. / NFL, NBC
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NFL fans patiently waited several months after the Super Bowl for some live action. The Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Chargers provided some, albeit in preseason form, on Thursday night in the shadow of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Lions supporters have had a particularly trying offseason as they desperately want to turn the page from a disappointing playoff exit at the hands of Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders. Throw in the loss of coordinators Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn and they desperately wanted to see something that would suggest Dan Campbell's side will be right in the mix for a deep postseason run for a third year in a row.

They'll have to wait a bit longer as there was little to cheer about in a 34-7 drubbing. Of course, the players on the field were not the same ones who will be there when the games actually matter. Still, it's never a good sign when the very first play of the season is a bold new take on the classic butt fumble.

Grant Stuard lost control of the ball when he ran headlong into the backside of one of his players, allowing the Chargers to recover and immediately seize control. Not ideal.

“We turned it over five times and we didn’t get any takeaways,” Campbell said after the game. “You’re wearing Lions gear, you’ve got to take care of the ball, or it’s going to be hard to keep you around.”

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Kyle Koster
KYLE KOSTER

Kyle Koster is an assistant managing editor at Sports Illustrated covering the intersection of sports and media. He was formerly the editor in chief of The Big Lead, where he worked from 2011 to '24. Koster also did turns at the Chicago Sun-Times, where he created the Sports Pros(e) blog, and at Woven Digital.

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