The Lions home opener was a story of two games. Up and Down would be the understatement of the century. However, I will lean into a couple of quotes “a win is a win” and “week one is fools gold” (second quote from Chris of Detroit Lions Podcast). We will not know what the Lions truly are until next week, and how they respond to this week. In the meantime let’s dig in.
The Lions Open Dominant
There is no question about it, the Lions opened in dominant fashion, going up 21-0 in the 3rd after shutting out the Saints in the 1st half. The Lions offense looked rusty, to be clear. Jameson Williams found himself in the right place at the right time multiple times only to drop the ball. The Lions did manage one long, sustained drive. However they were the beneficiaries of the defense making plays and giving them short fields. I guess that is what a team sport is all about, units leaning on each other. However, it would have been nice to see the Lions offense show more spark than that. To be clear, I think the offense looked better than John Morton’s, but just simply not good enough.
The Saints Come Racing Back
Then, out of nowhere, the Saints came racing back scoring 14 points in the third quarter and 10 in the 4th. It’s hard to tell if this truly was adjustments by the Saints, the Lions defense falling off, or a combination of the two. However, I tend to lean on the latter. The Chris Olave and Tyler Shough connection in this game bloomed, and the Lions struggled to stop it. Period. Yes, the Saints made plays to other players. However, Olave was like 7-11, always open (and Shough was shopping).
Overtime In Week One
To be clear, the Lions could have prevented this if they had executed better. That is the in and out of it.
The Good, The Bad, The Ugly
The Good? The offense looked generally better than it did under John Morton to me, but they just lacked in execution as I pointed out above. You know, the thing that coach Dan Campbell harps on week in week out? They need to fix it, and now. They are on a short week against a tough team. The defense looked good, but they can’t be expected to hold that much of the burden. The offense needs long sustained drives to keep the defense from running out of steam, as we saw them do.
The Bad? The defense, when they were gassed, looked absolutely terrible in the secondary. The Saints tore them up and down the field. The defense needs to find a way to act more sustainably themselves, and switch up their concepts. They may need to add another veteran safety, corner, or both. Being gassed was part of it, but I tend to think the other part was the defense not executing.
The Ugly? The Ugly was how the Lions let things slip so quickly. Within a quarter then went from up 21-0 to down a score. They have to hold up better than that. That is in all three phases of the game and the coaching. They have to drain the clock better. Jamo has to catch the ball. Coverage has to be tighter. Plays have to be better disguised. Pass Blocking has to hold up better. The Lions were rustier than that old wrench in my toolbox.
Let Us Not Forget, A Win is a Win
At the end of the year, no one cares if your wins are pretty. If every player showed up. So let’s stop being every other year’s Lions fans and freaking out in week one. Once again, week one is fools gold. Teams will win this week that wont win again for 2-3 more weeks. On the other hand, teams that lose this week will go deep into the playoffs. We can overreact and freak out or we can wait, enjoy the win, and raise a glass to the Saints for having the cojones to go for two. Personally, I will choose the latter.
I have always loved Rock Ya Sin, but he looked like he needs to be on a play count. He's got old man syndrome.