– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
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DETROIT — Judging by his numbers today, Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs is more than ready to shoulder an increased workload this season and produce his same mind-boggling numbers, or better.
Judging by the second half of today’s game, the Detroit Lions still have serious work to do, especially on the defensive end, before reclaiming the throne atop the NFC North they ceded one year ago.
Gibbs ran for 156 yards on a career-high 29 carries and two touchdowns, and the Lions’ defense atoned for blowing a big lead by stopping a two-point conversion in overtime as Detroit defeated the New Orleans Saints 31-30 inside Ford Field in the season opener for both teams.
“We hung in there and made the last play to win and that’s the most important thing,” Campbell said.
New Orleans, who had rallied from a 21-0 deficit to tie the game at 24-24 to force overtime, answered the Lions’ touchdown in the extra session with a nine-yard touchdown pass from Tyler Shough to Noah Fant with 1:34 remaining. Instead of kicking the extra point, the Saints went for two and the victory, but Shough’s pass in the back of the end zone was incomplete.
“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,” Saints head coach Moore said.
Fair logic, especially given the explosive game Gibbs had for the Lions in his first without former backfield mate David Montgomery, who moved on in the offseason to the Houston Texans. Along with those 156 yards on the ground, Gibbs had five catches for 30 yards. His 1-yard rushing touchdowns in the first and third quarters gave the Lions a 14-0 lead.
Jared Goff, who threw for two touchdowns and didn’t turn the ball over, threw a score from 19 yards out on third down to Amon-Ra St. Brown to extend the Lions’ lead to three touchdowns, and the type of rout that was seen regularly in 2024 and expected yet didn’t materialize in 2025 looked to be on.
Shough, coming off a promising rookie year, threw two interceptions and lost a fumble before closing strong to finish 35 of 56 for 410 yards and three scores. The Saints suddenly showed signs of life on offense late in the third, scoring two touchdowns on Kendre Miller’s 8-yard run and Slough’s 1-yard pass to a fully extended Devaughn Vele to pull within a touchdown.
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Sunday afternoon’s game, with photos taken by ALOST staff photographer Aaron J. Thornton. After clicking on a photo to enlarge the picture, press the left and right arrow buttons on either side of the caption to scroll through the rest of the pictures that appear on the first page, Also, click on the numbers and/or arrow appearing immediately below the picture grid to load the next set of photos. There are 21 pictures in total.
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