Lions Avoid Collapse, Narrowly Beat Saints In Overtime After Blowing A 21-point Lead

The Detroit Lions are walking away from Week 1 with a win, but it took a lot more effort than anyone expected. After blowing a 21-point lead, Detroit found a way to force a key stop on the game's final play against the New Orleans Saints in overtime to pick up a 31-30 win.

The Saints opted to go for 2 after scoring an overtime touchdown with just 1:34 left to play to make it 31-30.

Saints quarterback Tyler Shough, who had converted multiple tight throws on the previous drive, couldn't find a receiver in time, forcing the final throw a little too far out of the corner of the end zone to lose game.

To that point, Shough and the Saints had shown a ton of fight in the second half and overtime. After coming back from 21-0 and nearly winning the game on a 62-yard field goal as time expired in regulation, the Saints looked as though they would rally again after an overtime touchdown by Amon-Ra St. Brown got the Lions back on track. It was St. Brown's seond touchdown of the game. He finished with 10 catches for 67 yards and two scores.

The Saints attempted to answer, with Shough converting multiple difficult throws on the final drive of the game. Chris Olave and Juwan Johnson, in particular, came up with massive catches to extend the drive and give the Saints a chance to win the game.

After a Noah Fant touchdown narrowed the lead to a point in overtime, Saints head coach Kellen Moore decided to go for 2 and end it vs. playing for a likely tie. The Saints' pass catchers and Shough just couldn't come up with one more clutch conversion to claim the upset.

Lions lean on Jahmyr Gibbs early

The Lions seemed comfortable leaning on the running game early, getting Jahmyr Gibbs a ton of action in the first half. But the Saints' defense played things close, limiting the Lions to just seven points at halftime — a lone Gibbs touchdown.

Coming out of halftime, though, the Lions seemed to find their stride. Another Gibbs score — he finished with 156 rushing yards on 29 carries — and a touchdown catch by St. Brown put Detroit up 21-0 with a little under nine minutes to play in the third quarter.

At that point in the contest, Shough had turned the ball over three times — two interceptions and one fumble. It looked as if the Saints were heading for a blowout loss.

Saints mount a second-half comeback

Somehow, New Orleans rallied. After the Lions went up 21-0, the Saints scored on their next drive, cutting into the lead. The Saints then forced a three-and-out and scored again, making it a one-score game in the fourth quarter.

After both teams traded field goals, the Saints faced a seven-point deficit with just 2:32 to play. Shough found himself in a some trouble early on the drive, but eventually hit Olave with a 42-yard pass to get the Saints down to the 9-yard line.

Olave, in particular, turned in a huge performance, finishing the contest with 10 catches and 182 yards in the loss.

On the next play, Shough hit Johnson to tie the game 27-27. Shough finished the game with an astounding 411 passing yards. He threw three touchdowns against two interceptions in the loss.

The Saints were able to stop the Lions and turn in one more drive before the end of the game. The team even managed to drive the ball down the field enough to force a 62-yard field goal as time expired. But Daniel Carlson's attempt sailed wide, sending both teams to overtime.

The Lions snapped out of their second-half malaise on their first drive of overtime, where the team relied on Gibbs and all their pass catchers — including Sam LaPorta and Jameson Williams — to re-take the lead.

Despite that, the team once again allowed the Saints to battle their way back, only winning the contest after the Saints' 2-point attempt fell incomplete.