POLL: Do you feel better or worse after the Lions’ win over the Saints?

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell, left, talks to quarterback Jared Goff (16) after a play against New Orleans Saints during the first half at Ford Field in Detroit on Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Co

Week 1 of the 2026 season is in the books for the Detroit Lions, and it was a mixed bag.

At the end of the day, all you care about is getting in the win column, and the Lions did exactly that, even if it took a tense overtime period to decide it. It was a roller coaster for the team, looking dominant and times then clueless the next. For a team with Super Bowl aspirations, inconsistencies like these need to be fixed sooner rather than later.

That being said, there were good and bad performances against the Saints, and with 16 more games to play, this will be a vital early-season lesson for the team. How can they make wins easier down the road? The Lions will need to assess that going forward-in the NFL, every week is a learning experience.

What did you learn about the Lions-are you feeling more or less confident in the team?

Today's Question of the Day is:

Do you feel better or worse after the Detroit Lions' win over the New Orleans Saints?

My answer: Slightly worse.

I think that there were encouraging signs from the team, but the second half collapse really dampened what was a stellar start to the game. Up 21-0, the Lions were in complete control-Ford Field was rocking, the defense was formidable, and the offense had woken up. Yet that quickly evaporated, turning a sure-fire win into a nail-biter in overtime.

First, let's start with the positives:

I was happy with the offensive line, even with Ben Bartch stepping in for an injured Christian Mahogany. It is unfortunate that Bartch's goal line holding penalty overshadows what was otherwise a great outing for him. Elsewhere on offense, Jahmyr Gibbs totally like he is completely capable of handling a full workload. He had 29 carries and looked quick on each of them, never losing a step as the game progressed.

The defensive line showed up. Aidan Hutchinson led the way with two sacks, but the efforts of himself, DJ Wonnum, Alim McNeill, and Skyler Gill-Howard made for an unexpectedly potent pass rush. Coupled with great run defense (only allowing 91 yards on 25 carries), it was difficult to pinpoint a lineman that underperformed.

Unfortunately for me, the negatives outweigh the positives.

I simply have little faith in this secondary going forward. I think that D.J. Reed's day was better than the numbers indicate, but that secondary nonetheless allowed over 400 passing yards from a Tyler Shough-led offense. Sure, I think Shough is quietly becoming an underrated passer in this league, but giving up 182 yards to Chris Olave and making the likes of Devaughn Vele and Juwan Johnson look elite is inexcusable, even for Week 1. What's arguably worse is that for the first two-and-a-half quarters, the secondary looked good, if not great. Yet somehow, the wheels came off and it led to New Orleans mounting a massive comeback.

Part of the reason why the Saints got back in this game was the faltering of the Lions offense. It's hard to describe exactly what went wrong for the offense. Jared Goff did not have his sharpest day, but he was far from terrible. Gibbs was dominant as mentioned. Amon-Ra St. Brown had two touchdowns, while Sam LaPorta was impactful as a receiver and blocker. The elephant in the room is Jameson Williams' nightmarish game, but he alone is not responsible.

I was hoping to come out of this game impressed with offensive coordinator Drew Petzing, and sadly, that did not happen. The Lions did score 31 points and rallied for an overtime touchdown when it counted, but I would not say that anything from the offensive scheme stood out.

Detroit was rarely airing it out, so a majority of their plays were happening short of the first down mark. Without having re-watched the game, I am assuming that the Saints were trying to eliminate anything over the top, but carving up defenses with short passes should be the Lions' bread and butter-yet for some reason, it was not on Sunday. The Lions officially finished with 97 yards after the catch per PFF, but almost 40 of those yards came on their final two drives. Before then, it was a historically poor output:

The Detroit Lions offense has combined for just 58 yards after the catch against the Saints.

As it stands, that would be the lowest YAC output in Jared Goff's 83 career starts with the franchise.

Only four of those games have featured fewer than 80 YAC.

64 games (77%) with...

- Al Karsten (@FootballGuy_Al) September 13, 2026

The Lions thrive on getting their star players open in space, but that was seemingly absent against the Saints. I was shocked to see that Gibbs averaged more yards on the ground than Goff was through the air. Do a few catches from Williams change the course of the game? Certainly. Is that the cure-all for any stagnation on offense? I do not think so.

I am far from pressing the panic button on these Lions-they won, after all-but I was hoping to see a more complete performance from the team. We saw flashes this week, but we will need to see consistency in the weeks to come.