Lions play with fire in first overtime game of 2026 season

Heading into the slate of Week 1 games to open up the 2026 season, most people wouldn't have circled the New Orleans Saints vs. the Detroit Lions as the first game of the season to go to overtime, especially when the Saints went down 20 points to the Lions. 

Well, with a mix of heroics from second-year Saints quarterback Tyler Shough and a Lions team that made nearly too many costly mistakes, fans were treated to the game of the season so far.

The Lions beat the Saints, 31-30, to start 2026 1-0, but the win underlines lingering issues that need to be cleaned up.

Lions defense has up-and-down game against Saints

While the Lions offense looked like it was shaking off the rust, the defense was in complete control at first. The unit had three total takeaways on the day: two interceptions and one recovered fumble. The Lions also recorded five sacks, and it wasn't until the third quarter that they let up a score. 

Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard called a great game, keeping Shough under pressure and confused. With the Lions coming off a disappointing 2025 season where the defense allowed an average of 24.3 points — the 11th most in the league —this was as good of a start to the new season as Shepered could hope for. 

Then the Saints scored 17 straight points to get within one score of taking the lead. The Lions managed to kick a field goal to get the lead up to seven points, but the defense couldn't put the game away. Shough led an eight-play, 75-yard scoring drive in under a minute and a half to tie the game at 24-24. 

Yet, despite the near collapse, it was the defense that came up with the game-winning play. The Lions scored a touchdown to start overtime, but the Saints responded. However, instead of kicking the extra point to tie it and keep overtime going, the Saints opted to go for two points and win the game. 

The Lions defense returned to the smothering unit it was through the first half and didn't give Shough an easy option. The Saints QB double-clutched as he second-guessed his pass, and when he did fire the ball into the corner of the end zone, there was no way for a receiver to catch it.