After a great preseason and plenty of hype around the Detroit Lions' potential for a bounce back season in 2026, we'll finally be getting real regular season football played in just six days.
The Lions will be hosting the New Orleans Saints at home in Week 1, kicking off a critical season where Detroit will be seeking to prove that 2025 was a total fluke. Of course, they'll also be battling to reclaim the NFC North and ideally win a few postseason games for the first time since 2023.
The Saints, despite some struggles in the last few years, shouldn't be written off as an easy win for the Lions. Here, we'll offer four bold predictions for this matchup, which we believe will end in a win for Detroit.
Jahmyr Gibbs will rush for 120 yards and a touchdown
Gibbs will kickoff his first game following his historic extension with a bang. He'll rush for over 100 yards and knot a rushing touchdown, and will also be a factor in the Lions' passing game to throw off New Orleans' defense. The Saints' defensive line, helmed by Chase Young and Cam Jordan, might make this a little difficult of a prediction to believe in, but Gibbs will wear down the Saints.
Skyler Gill-Howard will get his first NFL regular season sack
Gill-Howard is coming off a spectacular preseason, which resulted in the rookie defensive tackle landing a roster spot. He just moves like a wrecking ball, and has the speed to make his bull rushing actually scary to deal with if you're not a mobile quarterback. Tyler Shough is certainly not that.
READ MORE: Predicting how every Detroit Lions rookies will fare in 2026
Gill-Howard will earn his first career regular season sack in this game, building upon his offseason work and immediately contributing to the Lions' new-look pass rush.
Jared Goff will struggle in this game
While Gibbs will soar in this game, we predict that Goff will struggle behind a rough game out of the Lions' offensive line. That might be a bit of an oxymoron - how is Gibbs going to thrive in a game where the offensive line is struggling?
We're simply banking on Gibbs' unbelievably large carries in this one to do some damage against New Orleans, but their defensive line is going to be an issue for Detroit's very young O-line to manage. Goff, as a result, will be moved around a ton in the pocket and forced to make completions off-balance, although his accuracy could help him out a bit here.
At the end of the contest, we predict Goff will finish up with two passing touchdowns but under 200 passing yards.
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