Lions vs. Saints Week 1: Jahmyr Gibbs and Amon-Ra St. Brown Survive Kellen Moore's Two-Point Gamble in OT

Kellen Moore had 1:34 left in overtime, a tie sitting right there for the taking, and zero interest in it. Tyler Shough had just hit Noah Fant for an 8-yard touchdown, and the Saints coach sent his offense back out to win the game on one snap. Shough looked for rookie Bryce Lance in the corner of the end zone. Incomplete. Ford Field exhaled for what felt like the first time in two hours.

Final: Lions 31, Saints 30 (OT). Detroit led 21-0 in the third quarter, watched all of it evaporate, got bailed out by a replay review in the first half and still opened 1-0, mostly because Jahmyr Gibbs carried the ball 29 times and Amon-Ra St. Brown caught two touchdowns, including the one that won it in overtime.

From Blowout to Full-Blown Panic

For 40-plus minutes, this looked like a Lions laugher. Gibbs capped a 13-play, 89-yard drive in the first quarter with a 1-yard plunge. In the second, Chase Young hit Jared Goff as he threw, the ball popped backward, and Jonas Sanker ran it in for what looked like a Saints touchdown. Replay ruled that Goff's arm was already moving forward, so it became an incomplete pass. Detroit led 7-0 at the break, and New Orleans had 111 total yards.

Then the third quarter started with a gift. Derrick Barnes picked off Shough on the first snap of the second half, and Gibbs scored again from a yard out. On the Saints' next series, Roger McCreary strip-sacked Shough, DJ Wonnum recovered at the Saints 25, and Goff found St. Brown for a 19-yard touchdown. That made it 21-0 with 8:54 left in the third.

And then Shough woke up. His first throw on the next drive was a 47-yard dime to Chris Olave, and Kendre Miller punched in an 8-yard run. A pass interference flag on the next drive set up Shough's 1-yard touchdown to Devaughn Vele with 28 seconds left in the third. A Daniel Carlson field goal made it 21-17.

Detroit had a chance to bury it late, getting the ball to the New Orleans 1, only for an offensive holding call to back it up. Jake Bates settled for a 23-yard field goal and a 24-17 lead with 2:32 to go. Shough answered by converting a fourth-and-12 from his own 23 with a 15-yard throw to Lance, then dropping a deep ball to Olave at the Detroit 9 and hitting Juwan Johnson for a 9-yard touchdown with 1:07 left. Tie game. Detroit went three-and-out, and Carlson's 62-yard try at the gun missed.

Gibbs Carried the Load, St. Brown Closed

Gibbs finished with a career-high 29 carries for 156 yards and two touchdowns, plus five catches for 30 more. Per the Lions, he accounted for 186 of Detroit's 369 yards. Call it a one-man offensive identity.

“That guy is our hot hand,” Dan Campbell said.

St. Brown caught 10 passes for 67 yards and both of his scores. Per the Lions, it was the 21st game in which he and Gibbs both found the end zone, the fourth-highest total ever for a running back and receiver duo, with Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin at the top with 32. Goff went 26 of 39 for 206 yards, two touchdowns and no turnovers, extending his touchdown streak to 24 straight games, a franchise record and the longest active run in the league.

Defensively, Aidan Hutchinson had two sacks and four quarterback hits, and Barnes added a sack and an interception. The Lions got to Shough five times.

The Arm Was Moving, and So Was the Game

Rewind to that second-quarter review. If the scoop-and-score stands, the Saints tie it 7-7 and the afternoon reads differently. Nobody on the Lions sideline expected the call to go their way.

“I’ll be the first to say, I thought we lost that one,” Campbell said.

“I was trying to figure it out on the fly,” Goff said.

Moore had the cleanest summary. “It’s unfortunate, but we know what the rule says,” he said. “Once the arm starts forward it doesn’t matter where the ball ends up.”

Then came overtime. New Orleans won the toss and chose to defend first. Goff drove 70 yards in 10 plays, with Jameson Williams making a 22-yard grab to the Saints 5 after a rough afternoon, and St. Brown scored from 4 yards out. The Saints answered with an 80-yard march that included a fourth-and-3 conversion to Olave and a 27-yard catch by Johnson before Fant scored. Moore didn't flinch.

“The Lions have a great offense, and I didn’t want to give them 1:34 to try to make a play and beat us,” Moore said.

The Numbers Behind the Chaos

• 469 to 369: Total yards, Saints over Lions. Detroit survived by winning the turnover battle 3-1.
• 410: Passing yards for Shough, who went 35 of 56 with three touchdowns and two picks. Olave caught 10 balls for 182.
• 165: Detroit's rushing yards on 33 carries.
• 3: Straight overtime wins for the Lions, all at Ford Field.

Detroit Survived, but the Film Will Sting

The defense owned the first 40 minutes and then allowed 30 points after that. Starting left guard Christian Mahogany was carted off with a knee injury in the first quarter. The Lions also have to turn around for a Thursday night trip to Buffalo on Sept. 17.

New Orleans might have found something anyway. Shough, who showed real promise as a rookie last season, opened with two interceptions and a lost fumble and still nearly stole one on the road without Alvin Kamara or Cameron Jordan, both inactive. “Our defense did a lot of good things in the first half to keep us in the game,” Moore said. “We just couldn’t find a rhythm on offense.” The Saints head to Baltimore on Sept. 20.

A Weird Game, a Real Win

Goff summed it up in five words: “Football is a weird game.”

Campbell put it in coach-speak. “We hung in there and made the last play to win and that’s the most important thing,” he said.

This one had everything: a 21-point lead, a 21-point collapse, a rulebook deep cut and a coach going for two in overtime. It played like a season finale that got moved to Week 1. Detroit will take the ending and maybe skip the rewatch.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Postgame quotes as reported by the Associated Press. Additional notes from DetroitLions.com.