As I said in my introduction, I am a big Detroit Lions fan and I have high expectations for this season. Entering the year, I had us going 13-4 and making the NFC Championship game which is definitely wishful thinking. Now that week 1 is in the books and we play our next game at Buffalo tonight, I wanted to put out my thoughts on our week 1 performance.
Our opening drive started off with a rough kick return that bounced off Tom Kennedy’s face mask but luckily we managed to recover. We had a decent run and a short pass but had to punt. It was fine, nothing special or anything to write home about. The Saints first drive was a bit better but we forced a punt after giving up a first down on some runs and short passes. The second drive is where I felt as if I was watching the Lions of recent years. It was mostly the Gibbs and LaPorta show. Gibbs had multiple chunk plays and LaPorta was a safety blanket every time we needed him. We ended up with a Gibbs touchdown, his first of the season, and I was feeling good. The next drive we forced a three-and-out and that was the Saints final drive of the quarter.
For our third drive of the game, our offense was looking good but the drive was derailed by some untimely Jameson Williams drops. I love Jamo, he is an amazing receiver and his speed really opens up the offense but Sunday was not his day, he struggled catching the ball but I trust he will be back to his normal self as the season goes on. We had a deep ball that could’ve been another score on that drive but he wasn’t able to come down with it. We had to punt but we then forced another punt after allowing a long completion to Olave, the first of many that we would give up in this game.
The next drive was strange and very controversial. The non-controversial part involved Jameson Williams not being able to hold onto the ball again which resulted in a fumble and a loss of six yards. It really was not his day. But on the final play of the drive before we punted, there was what seemed to be a strip sack that resulted in a Saints touchdown. I was convinced it was six points for New Orleans but they decided that since his arm was moving forward it was not a fumble even though the ball went back over twenty yards. We punted after and in my opinion it was the right call only because it helped us. I texted my friend “that was 100% a fumble, the Saints got robbed” and we both were in agreement that it was a fumble. Since it benefited Detroit this time, I’ll say great call ref.
The next drive was good for our defense, pressured Shough and forced a punt and had a good return. Sadly Gibbs fumbled right back to them, this one I didn’t think should’ve been called a fumble but I guess it was fine as a make-up call. Thankfully Shough threw an interception right after to backup safety Chuck Clark. He did a nice job filling in for the injured Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph. We punted right after and then the Saints were having a decent drive but Hutchinson got to Shough and ended their drive with his first sack of the season to end the first half. We led 7-0.
Shough threw his second interception of the day to start the second half; this one was to Derrick Barnes. I’m happy for Barnes, he has worked for years to be a consistent contributor to this team and has worked his way up the depth chart. Plus he came to the game dressed as Spider-Man with his son so it was awesome to see. We capitalized on this interception with a second Jahmyr Gibbs touchdown of the day. New signing Roger McCreary made a big play the next drive and stripped Shough. Barnes also had a sack this drive and did a Spider-Man celebration, I’m sure his son was so happy to see it. We recovered Shough’s fumble and Amon-Ra St. Brown had his first score of the season three plays later. We were up 21-0 after capitalizing on costly turnovers for New Orleans and things were going great.
The Saints quickly got down the field thanks to a 47 yard reception for Olave and followed it up with a Kendre Miller rushing touchdown a few plays later. We were still up two scores and as long as our offense could put a drive together we would be able to put the game out of reach. So naturally after another Jameson Williams drop we punted back after one minute. They marched right back down the field after an Olave first down and pass interference in the end zone, setting up a one yard touchdown to Devaughn Vele. And I’ll give credit where credit is due: Vele had a great game Sunday.
We were back in the same boat, now starting the 4th quarter, we needed to put together a sustained drive to seal the win and of course we punted after two minutes. The offense was not doing our defense any favors with these short drives that get nowhere. We punted, they drove down the field, Vele had a 31 yard reception to get them to the red zone, but we held them to a field goal. We were up 21-17 now with less than 8 minutes to play. We finally put a drive together which included six plays in a row for Jahmyr Gibbs, who was on fire Sunday, but we had to settle for a short field goal which at least had us back up a touchdown.
There were now two and a half minutes left, Saints had the ball. If we could get a stop on this drive the game would be pretty much over. Hutchinson had a huge sack, we forced a fourth and long, and then we gave up a 15 yard pass play. And then another first down. And then a 42 yard pass to Olave. And then a touchdown. It was tied. We had a minute to work with to go win the game but we weren’t able to convert. New Orleans got the ball back and made their way into Detroit territory to set up the game-winning field goal. I couldn’t watch, I closed my eyes hoping to hear them say “NO GOOD” and I was shocked to hear that Carlson had missed the kick. Everything was going right for New Orleans at this point that I had expected it to go in. But he missed and we were going to overtime.
It was the LaPorta and Gibbs show again in overtime to take us down the field but our wide receivers made the plays at the end. Jameson Williams finally had a big play to bring us inside the five which was shortly followed by St. Brown’s second touchdown of the game. New Orleans got the ball back with a chance to tie or win the game. We forced a fourth down early and again, New Orleans converted thanks to a big play from Olave. The Saints continued marching down the field and they had scored a touchdown. They weren’t going to play for a tie, their offense had been clicking for five drives in a row at this point so they went for two. Thanks to the pressure by second year defensive tackle Tyleik Williams, Derrick Barnes shutting down Shough’s first read, and Rock Ya-Sin’s coverage, the pass fell incomplete and we won the game 31-30. It was a huge relief.
But what are my overall thoughts?
The offense seemed sluggish at times and most drives that went anywhere were solely on the back of Jahmyr Gibbs. The new offensive line played well with Goff only getting sacked once, LaPorta was huge on third downs, and St. Brown was clutch when we needed him. My biggest critique as I have said previously was Jameson Williams’ play. He did cost us a few drives with his drops but I know he will bounce back. The game was much closer than it could’ve been had he made a few more catches and people would be talking about how great our offense looked.
Defensively we had a great first half and overall I wouldn’t say it was terrible. We had five sacks and forced three turnovers but we also gave up nearly 500 yards. Giving up that many yards is terrible but the offense did them no favors in the second half by being unable to put a drive together. The defense was on the field for 90 plays which is an extremely high number and it is understandable that they would be gassed and start giving up chunk plays more. But that isn’t an excuse. Even with the pressure we were getting, we still kept giving up big passing plays so our coverage needs to be better. I think it can improve greatly when Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph return but that will hopefully be next month. We need to manage to make it until then without losing games that we shouldn’t.
Tonight against Buffalo might be rough for the defense but we have the Jets, Panthers, and Cardinals after before the bye week. If we go into the bye week at 4-1 or even 3-2, we should get healthier getting Cade Mays back and I would expect Branch back around that time too. Kerby is a question mark for me with the lack of info surrounding his knee issues. But if we can get healthy and manage to survive until after the bye without any major injuries, I still think we should have a successful year and return to the postseason.
Standout Players:
Jahmyr Gibbs: 29 carries, 156 yards, 2 touchdowns, 5 receptions, 30 yards
Amon-Ra St. Brown: 10 receptions, 67 yards, 2 touchdowns
Derrick Barnes: 1 sack, 1 interception, 2 passes defended, 6 total tackles
Aidan Hutchinson: 2 sacks, 5 total tackles, 4 QB hits
Tay Martin: was excellent on special teams which doesn’t translate to the box score
Later on I might start talking about more players in detail rather than purely a team recap but that would be in future weeks.
Feel free to comment and let me know your thoughts and thank you so much for reading. Go Lions!
Great post! Looking forward to more of your insights.