The Good, Bad and Ugly From Detroit Lions OT Win Against Saints

On Sunday afternoon, the Detroit Lions needed overtime and a defensive stop on a two-point conversion attempt to escape with a victory, 31-30.

After a slow first half, where the Lions hit the locker room with a 7-0 lead, both teams utilized their top offensive weapons in the second half.

Here is the good, bad and ugly from the first week of the Lions 2026 NFL season.

Good

Rushing attack led by Jahmyr Gibbs

The Lions benefit by having arguably the top running back in the NFL in Jahmyr Gibbs. In addition, they were able to create holes as Gibbs had 156 yards rushing at the end of the game. While it came on 29 carries, that is still over 5 yards per carry, which is more than acceptable.

This came after Christian Mahogany went down injured in the middle of the second drive, alongside starting rookie Blake Miller in his first NFL game. Gibbs also added 30 yards receiving on the day. Between Gibbs and Sione Vaki, the top two Detroit backs combined for over 200 yards on the day.

Capitalizing on turnovers

At halftime, Detroit was up 7-0, with New Orleans getting the ball first. Derrick Barnes recorded an interception on the first play out of half, and Roger McCreary stripped the ball out on a nickel blitz the very next drive.

The Lions offense capitalized on a short field both times, getting touchdowns and appearing to break the game wide open 21-0.

Run defense

The Lions held New Orleans to under 100 rush yards, which turned the Saints into a pass-only team once they got down to Detroit. The Saints had 91 yards on 25 carries, with neither running back going over 50 yards.

While the Saints were one dimensional, it also exposed a glaring weakness in the Motown defense.

Pass rush

Against Detroit, quarterback Tyler Shough had 60 drop backs. The quarterback got sacked 5 times, and PFF credits Detroit with a mind-boggling 27 pressures. The Lions could generate pressure, and made Shough uncomfortable, leading to a three turnover day.

Aidan Hutchinson led the way with two clutch sacks, with both coming when the Saints held the ball and were looking to tie the game. McCreary added a sack and an additional pressure, and Derrick Barnes and Alim McNeill each finished off a play after Hutchinson and D.J. Wonnum forced Shough to step up and try to escape the EDGE duo.

The Bad

Week One Rust

This falls under bad, barely avoiding ugly due to the varying degrees of rust. Amon-Ra St. Brown hauled in 10 catches, and Jared Goff showed off his ability to drive the ball when the Lions needed it. Aidan Hutchinson added two sacks on the day.

Jahmyr Gibbs had nearly 190 total yards, but then also had an uncharacteristic fumble.

Sione Vaki ran into Penei Sewell, allowing Chase Young to escape for a near-sack on a controversial call. Jameson Williams showed the worst of the rust, with three drops and a fumble on a reverse.

Starting linemen already injured

Christian Mahogany suffered a hip injury during the game and did not return. While he was in competition with Ben Bartch for the starting guard spot, the Lions were forced into missing a starter early already.

This gives the Lions three separate starters being injured, joining safety duo Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch. In addition, the Lions are down multiple rotational pieces, including Isiah Pacheco and rookie Kendrick Law, and fellow rookie Jimmy Rolder was inactive after rehabbing an injury today.

The Ugly

Pass coverage

It was a brutal day in the secondary for Detroit. The Lions were burned multiple times, with Rock Ya-Sin and DJ Reed being subjected to big plays by Chris Olave and Devaughn Vele.

Reed was picked on for a 49-yard catch by Olave, where the corner was whistled for pass interference as the wideout still hauled it in.

Ya-Sin had his own set of penalties, and was targeted often, including on Vele’s touchdown catch. Thomas Harper was picked on during a fourth down play in overtime.

Keith Abney was whistled for a hands to the face penalty in the extra period. The Lions could not guard the pass.

Tyler Shough started the day 4-of-13 when passing, and ended on 31-of-43. Most of his production came in the second half, too. The defense is sorely missing Branch and Joseph.

The second half meltdown resulted from too many miscues in the secondary. It really is inexcusable, after getting out to a 21-0 lead, to need overtime to defeat the Saints.

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