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 at the last second against the New Orleans Saints in overtime to pick up the 31-30 win.

It literally came at the last possible second, as the Saints opted to go for two after scoring an overtime touchdown with just 1:34 left to play.

Saints pass catchers, who had been excellent the entire game, failed to get open quickly, causing Saints quarterback Tyler Shough to throw the ball too far out of the back of the end zone.

To that point, Shough and the Saints had shown a ton of fight in the second half and overtime. With the team needing a touchdown to stay alive, Shough converted multiple difficult throws on the final drive of the game, with Chris Olave and Juwan Johnson coming up with massive catches to extend the drive and give the Saints a chance to win.

Instead of settling for another round of overtime, Saints coach Kellen Moore decided to go for two and end it. The decision didn’t work, resulting in a tight win by the Lions.

Lions lean on Jahmyr Gibbs early

The Lions looked comfortable leaning on the running game early, using Gibbs early and often. But the Saints’ defense played things close in the first half, limiting the Lions to just seven points on a Gibbs run.

Coming out of halftime, though, the Lions finally seemed to find their stride. Another Gibbs score and a touchdown catch by Amon-Ra 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, Saints quarterback Shough had turned the ball over three times — two interceptions and one fumble. It looked as if the Saints were done.

Saints mount a second-half comeback

Somehow, New Orleans found a way to rally. 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 nine-yard line.

On the next play, Shough hit tight end Juwan Johnson to tie the game 27-27.

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. Daniel Carlson’s attempt sailed wide, sending both teams to overtime, where the Lions finally got back on track and got the stop they desperately needed in the game’s biggest moment.

This story will be updated.