After weeks of preparation, the Detroit Lions‘ Week 1 game at Ford Field against the New Orleans Saints turned out to be a nail-biting battle, pushing the game to overtime. After the fourth quarter, the game was tied 24-24, and then Amon-Ra St. Brown’s crucial OT touchdown put the Honolulu Blues ahead and eventually secured a close 31-30 win.
Dan Campbell has some areas to work on. The Lions opened the season with a victory, and these are the biggest takeaways from the Week 1 game.
Jahmyr Gibbs Is Ready for the Bell Cow Role
Jahmyr Gibbs has been given a bigger role this season following the exit of David Montgomery, and he showed he is up for the challenge as the highest-paid running back in the NFL. He opened the scoring with the Lions’ first touchdown of the season. He went on to score another touchdown, taking his team to a 14-0 lead.
Statistically, he had a highly productive game with 29 carries, completing an impressive 156 rushing yards. He also logged 5.4 yards per rushing attempt. Even though the three-time Pro Bowler lost a fumble in the second quarter, his explosiveness kept the Lions offense moving.
Aidan Hutchinson Will Have A High Sack Season
After a remarkable 14.5-sack season in 2025, Aidan Hutchinson entered Week 1’s game against the Saints with a lot of expectations to lead the defense as a captain, and he lived up to the promise. He kept the Saints quarterback Tyler Shough at bay with his relentless pressure.
The 26-year-old registered a total of 5 tackles, including 4 solo tackles. But the highlight of his game was getting his name on the sack list— not once but twice. Tyler Shough was sacked by the Lions’ pass rusher 2.0 alone, including a crucial third-down stop later in the second quarter, stopping the Saints from getting into field-goal territory.
Deep Ball Bleeding Needs To Be Fixed By Week 2
Defensive Coordinator Kelvin Sheppard’s secondary looked strong in the ground game against the Saints. While the Lions rushed for 165 yards, they allowed only 91 rushing yards to the opponent, but they had almost no answer in the air, which paved the way for 30 points for the Black and Old Gold.
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Despite the loss, the Saints QB Tyler Shough piled up a total of 410 passing yards in the game, with Chris Olave alone logging 182 receiving yards. It seems the secondary still needs an answer after Terrion Arnold’s exit. Given the Saints’ QB recorded over 400 passing yards in this game, Josh Allen could wreak havoc in the next game if the Lions fail to address this issue.
Drew Petzing Needs To Work On His Offense
The Saints’ game was the new offensive coordinator Drew Petzing’s first game on charge. While his offense slightly edged past the Saints in scoring, some underlying issues need to be worked on moving forward. Jared Goff looked decent at the center, and he didn’t have a single interception, but his passing yards (205 passing yards) were almost half of Tyler Shough’s.
Amon-Ra St. Brown scored two crucial receiving touchdowns, but he was limited to just 67 yards. The biggest disappointment was Jameson Williams‘ performance. The WR2’s struggles in catching frustrated him yet again, as he caught only 4 of his 9 targets and registered just 45 receiving yards.
A much bigger test awaits the Lions in the next game when they will face off against the Buffalo Bills. With the former NFL MVP Josh Allen leading the franchise, Dan Campbell’s men need to bring their A-game to keep the early winning streak alive.
Lions vs. Saints: 4 Major Talking Points From Week 1 Win