Who would have thought that it would take a full four quarters and overtime for the Lions to beat the Saints at Ford Field in Week 1? The overtime win was one of the most surprising results of the weeks as Detroit entered the game as seven-point favorites and most people were expecting the Lions to roll.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.
There was some first-game rust to shake off and a new offensive coordinator to break in. Combine those two and the result wasn’t as pretty as the coaching staff would’ve liked. A win’s a win, though.
Who were the biggest winners and losers from the gut-wrenching win?
Winner: Aidan Hutchinson
Arguably the best defensive player on the field for the Lions on Sunday was the hometown kid, Aidan Hutchinson. The Michigan product finished with two sacks and five total tackles, proving that he’s going to avoid the “invisible” talk this year, which has happened at times throughout his career where he kind of turns into a ghost when the team really needs him. He was dominant and wreaked havoc all game long. The Saints’ offensive line was exhausted trying to stay in front of him.
While it’s not going to happen, it’s laughable to think that he’s on pace to finish with 34 sacks this season.
Loser: The secondary
After a strong start that made Tyler Shough look human, the secondary fell apart in the second half and allowed the second-year quarterback to throw for 410 yards and three touchdowns, although they did pick him off twice.
In the second half and overtime, Shough was able to complete pretty much anything he wanted, and while Dan Campbell was complimentary of his defensive backfield before the opener, he knows he has some deficiencies to address.
The secondary was a worry all offseason, and after a week, it seems like that’s going to be the biggest weakness of this team until Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph return.
Winner: Jahmyr Gibbs
Not having a true backfield mate was a big concern for Jahmyr Gibbs entering the season, but he found a way to stay fresh despite accounting for 29 of the team’s 33 carries.
Is it lazy to choose the biggest star on each side of the ball as the winner from the opener? Maybe, but not when both were clearly the best players on the field. Gibbs was fantastic from start to finish, totaling 186 yards and two touchdowns.
That massive contract he signed in the offseason already looks like it was well-deserved. He’s up to 51 touchdowns through his first 50 career games — that’s more than Barry Sanders had in his first 50 games.
Loser: Jameson Williams
While Jameson Williams did have four catches for 45 yards, he was overall contained by the Saints’ defense, and he accounted for several key drops that would have either extended drives or put the Lions in position to score. He dropped a few passes, but you could argue that a couple of them weren’t his fault, as they were high and outside.
But if he gets his hands on the ball, he should be able to tell it in. That’s something that needs to be cleaned up this week before the Lions head to Buffalo on Thursday night.
Jamo is still one of the best WR2 options in the NFL and should be treated as such, but it was an underwhelming opener for the 1,000-yard pass-catcher.
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