The Saints walked out of Detroit with a loss, but they also walked out with proof they can still drag themselves back into a game that looked lost. New Orleans fell 31-30 in overtime after erasing a 21-point deficit, then came up empty on a two-point try that would have completed the comeback.
It was a rough first half for the Saints, who trailed 7-0 at the break before two turnovers opened the door for Detroit to push the margin to 21-0. From there, New Orleans finally found a spark. Kendre Miller punched in an eight-yard touchdown run, and Tyler Shough hit Devaughn Vele for a one-yard score with 28 seconds left in the third quarter.
That surge mattered because it changed the feel of the game. Instead of letting the night unravel, the Saints gave themselves a chance to keep punching back.
They kept doing it in the fourth quarter. Daniel Carlson’s field goal cut the lead to 21-17, and after Detroit answered with three points, Shough kept the pressure on by finding Chris Olave for 43 yards and then Juwan Johnson for a nine-yard touchdown to tie the game with 1:07 left. The defense forced a punt after that, and Carlson later missed a 62-yard field-goal attempt before overtime.
Once the game reached the extra period, Detroit struck first. Shough answered with an eight-yard touchdown pass to Noah Fant, but the two-point conversion try to Bryce Lance fell incomplete, ending the comeback one play short.
Shough finished with 410 passing yards and three touchdowns, though he also had three turnovers. Olave was everywhere, catching 10 passes for 182 yards.
There will be plenty of debate about the final decision to go for two. But the bigger story is the climb the Saints made to get there. They gave themselves a mountain to scale, then nearly scaled it anyway.
In Other News...
Former Saints Signees Viral Fiance Reaction Is Getting NFL Fans Talking
Brock Rechsteiners path around the NFL has already taken a few twists. The former Saints signee was waived during final roster cuts and is not currently on an NFL roster, and now he is drawing attention for a different reason after the league handed him a six-game suspension for violating the NFL-NFLPA policy on performance-enhancing substances.
The buzz came after his fiance, Neva Clark, posted a joking video about how the suspension would affect her social media plans. It was the kind of lighthearted post that can take off quickly online, and it has fans talking again about a player whose Saints stint ended before the regular season even began. [Read more 🡒]
Saints Fans Already Have Plenty To Say About This Officiating Sequence
The first half of the Lions-Saints opener already had one of those sequences that can take over a whole fan bases conversation, starting with a call that wiped out what looked like a huge Saints moment. Officials ruled Jared Goffs backward ball as a forward pass, which negated a fumble and kept New Orleans from turning the play into a touchdown. In a game that was still settling in, it was the kind of ruling that instantly changed the tone around the home crowd and the sideline alike.
Then came another officiating flashpoint, this time in the other direction, when Jahmyr Gibbs was ruled to have fumbled before he went down and the Saints were awarded possession. The contrast only added to the sense that the first half was being defined as much by the whistle as by the football, giving New Orleans plenty to digest before the game had even reached halftime. [Read more 🡒]
Tyler Shough Gave Saints Fans Hope Before A Brutal Late Twist
Tyler Shough gave Saints fans a real jolt of optimism in a game that looked like it was slipping away early. New Orleans struggled out of the gate against Detroit, and the offense never found a first-quarter spark, with Shough throwing two interceptions as the Lions built control of the matchup.
Then Shough helped turn the whole afternoon around, throwing for 410 yards and fueling a second-half rally that carried the Saints into overtime tied at 30. Even after the late push, the ending turned brutal in the extra period, leaving New Orleans to absorb a 31-30 loss after a controversial overturned touchdown tied to an obscure rule about quarterback intent. [Read more 🡒]