Late in the first half of the Detroit Lions' dramatic 31-30 overtime victory against the New Orleans Saints, Saints quarterback Tyler Shough was 4/14 passing with 48 passing yards.
Shough finished 35/56 for 410 yards and three touchdowns.
The Lions' defense looked great for the first ~62% of the game, shutting out Shough and the Saints' offense. It looked like a continuation of the preseason, where the defense only gave up two offensive TDs across three games. In fact, it looked even better.
Maybe a part of that was Shough initially looking terrible, but for a majority of the game, defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard and his unit deserved their flowers. According to Lions PR on X, it was the first time since December 2015 that the defense allowed zero points, while also having at least one interception, one sack, and fewer than 115 yards allowed in a first half. It was a clinic.
That clinic continued into the second half with an interception on the Saints' first play of the half, the second INT of the day. On the Saints' next drive, Shough fumbles the ball away after a Roger McCreary sack, one of the team's five sacks on the day. The offense took advantage of both gifts to increase their lead to 21-0.
From there, the wheels did more than just come off for the secondary. They rolled down a cliff and exploded.
Defense allows Shough to drag the Saints back into the game
Down 21-0, Shough proved why he was an Offensive Rookie of the Year contender last season, leading the Saints to four consecutive scoring drives. Shough almost made it five-in-a-row, but Daniel Carlson's 62-yard game-winning field goal attempt missed, sending the game to overtime.
After the Lions' offense looked the best they had all day, driving down the field 70 yards to take the lead in OT, Shough and the Saints responded with a TD of their own. Shough picked up 73 of his passing yards in OT alone, including a 20-yard pass to wide receiver Chris Olave for 20 yards on 4th and 3.
It was the second straight TD drive for the Saints where they converted a fourth down. They previously converted a 4th and 12 from their own 23 for 15 yards just after the two minute warning.
The defense had numerous chances to seal the win, and thankfully, they did on their final chance. After their OT TD, the Saints went for two and the win. Thanks to pressure from up front, Shough rushed a throw to WR Bryce Lance in the corner of the endzone, and the tightly defended WR was unable to haul it in.
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Despite the victory, the story of this game is going to be the secondary, and how poorly they played in the final third of the game. The defensive line looked overall great throughout, even when things were going haywire. It wasn't without its missed opportunities to bring down Shough, but they allowed 91 yards on the ground, forcing Shough to beat the defense through the air.
He almost did.
There's always next week! Except "next week" is this Thursday on Thursday Night Football, and they'll be on the road against Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills, who put up 36 points and 409 yards against the vaunted Houston Texans' defense.
But 1-0 is still 1-0, and Week 1 is always a weird week. It's a better start than last year. Still, there's plenty to iron out on both sides of the ball, and very little time to do so before heading to Buffalo.
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