The Detroit Lions open the 2026 season on Sunday afternoon with a Week 1 home date against the New Orleans Saints at Ford Field, and Dan Campbell isn’t treating this like a soft landing.
Campbell described New Orleans as “a hungry opponent” with “a new turnover from what I remember when I was there,” noting that while there are “a few holdovers,” most of the roster looks different now. He pointed to a group of “young, hungry players, talented players” and said the Saints showed real progress as last season wore on.
“You could see their progression as the season went on; last year, toward the end of the year, they started playing pretty good football minus Atlanta. That last game, that defense played really really good.
Just the quarterback, there’s a level of maturity, composure that you see, that looks like that’s here to stay. Kellen Moore’s done a good job.
I know a lot of people there still; I know what they’re about. Mickey Loomis, I have a lot of respect for, and the way he goes about his business and what they’ve done.
This will be a good opponent, but we got them in our house, and we’ll be ready to go.”
Pride of Detroit also has its staff weighing in with Week 1 picks for the Lions, along with score predictions for the opener.
For the full set of POD predictions around the league, the outlet also has its Week 1 moneyline, spread, and over/under picks.
And if you want to jump in yourself, the question for fans is simple: can the Lions start 1-0, or will the Saints come marching in and spoil the season opener?
In Other News...
Lions Escape Saints But A Bigger Concern Just Took Center Stage
The Lions left New Orleans with a win, but it came with a lot of noise attached to it. Detroit needed overtime to get past the Saints, and while the offense leaned hard on Jahmyr Gibbs, who piled up 156 rushing yards and two touchdowns, the bigger takeaway was how much the secondary struggled to hold up for much of the night. The defensive line did its part with five sacks, and special teams flashed better coverage with several key tackles, but the back end was exposed repeatedly.
Jameson Williams also had a rough outing with multiple drops, adding to the uneven feel of a game Detroit controlled only in stretches. For a team with bigger expectations than simply surviving close ones, the concern is less about the win itself than the way the Saints were able to test the Lions through the air. The front seven gave them enough chances to escape, but the secondarys performance is the sort of issue that tends to linger after the postgame celebration fades. [Read more 🡒]
Lions Suddenly Have A Joey Porter Jr. Question Worth Watching
The cornerback market suddenly has a name that would have to get the Lions attention. Joey Porter Jr. has reportedly asked the Steelers for a trade as extension talks have stalled, and Pittsburgh is at least willing to listen, even if its current asking price appears steep. For Detroit, it is the kind of opening that is hard to ignore: a young defensive back with upside becoming available, and a team that still has a clear need at the position.
Nothing formal is happening yet, but that is part of what makes this worth watching. The Lions have the cap flexibility to explore a move if the price softens, and Porters situation could become one of the more interesting fallback options on the market. For now, it is simply a question of whether the Steelers lower their demands enough for Detroit, or anyone else, to get serious. [Read more 🡒]
Lions Already Have A Backfield Problem Fans Didnt Expect
The Lions spent the spring reshaping their backfield around Jahmyr Gibbs, moving on from David Montgomery and planning for a new pecking order behind their lead runner. The idea was simple enough: Gibbs would handle the featured work, Isiah Pacheco would fill the Montgomery role, and Detroit could keep the ground game balanced without overcomplicating things.
Instead, the early returns have already created a wrinkle. Pacheco opening the season on injured reserve left the backup job unsettled, and Dan Campbell pointed to Jacob Saykors and Sione Vaki sharing those reps. In Week 1, Gibbs saw plenty of work and produced, Vaki logged more snaps than Saykors but had a rough outing, and Montgomery made his Texans debut by scoring three total touchdowns, leaving the Lions with a familiar question in a very different form. [Read more 🡒]