The Detroit Lions beat the New Orleans Saints 31-30 in overtime Sunday at Ford Field. The Saints' two-point pass failed with 1:34 left in the extra period. Detroit built a three-touchdown lead in the third quarter, and New Orleans erased all of it before falling a point short.
How It Happened
Jahmyr Gibbs opened the scoring with a 1-yard run at 3:39 of the first quarter. Neither team scored in the second, so Detroit took a one-touchdown lead into halftime.
The Lions looked like they had put it away early in the third quarter. Gibbs scored again from 1 yard at 11:14, and Jared Goff found Amon-Ra St. Brown for a 19-yard touchdown at 8:54 to make it a three-touchdown game.
New Orleans answered before the quarter ended. Kendre Miller ran it in from 8 yards at 4:27, and Tyler Shough hit Devaughn Vele for a 1-yard score with 28 seconds left. That made it a one-score game after three.
Daniel Carlson's 28-yard field goal at 7:41 of the fourth pulled the Saints closer. Jake Bates answered with a 23-yard kick at 2:32 to push Detroit's lead back to a touchdown. Shough then threw a 9-yard touchdown to Juwan Johnson with 1:07 left to tie it.
Overtime
Detroit struck first in the extra period. Goff hit St. Brown for a 4-yard touchdown at 5:04, and Bates' kick put the Lions up by a touchdown.
The Saints came right back. Shough found Noah Fant for an 8-yard score at 1:34, and New Orleans went for the win rather than the tie. The two-point pass failed, and the Lions escaped by a single point.
Key Performers
Jahmyr Gibbs: 2 rushing TD – 1 YD, 1 YD
Amon-Ra St. Brown: 2 receiving TD – 19 YDS, 4 YDS (OT)
Tyler Shough: 3 passing TD – Vele, Johnson, Fant
Lions rushing: 33 ATT, 165 YDS, 5.0 per carry
Saints passing: 35-56, 378 YDS, 3-2 (TD-INT), 5 sacks
Detroit had the clear edge on the ground. The Lions ran for 5 yards a carry and picked up 14 first downs rushing, twice as many as New Orleans. The Saints managed fewer than 4 yards per rush and leaned heavily on the pass.
Shough's arm brought New Orleans back, but the volume came with a cost. The Saints threw 56 times, were sacked 5 times and threw 2 interceptions. Add a lost fumble and New Orleans gave the ball away three times to Detroit's one.
What It Means
Detroit opens 1-0 with a home win, but the Lions will not love how they got there. They let a three-score lead vanish and converted just 5 of 13 third downs, and they needed overtime to finish the job.
New Orleans falls to 0-1, though the offense gave the Saints plenty to build on. They outgained Detroit, scored on 4 of 5 red-zone trips and went 2-for-2 on fourth down. The giveaways are the part to clean up.