Full disclosure up front: I’m not a football theory guy. I couldn’t diagram a cover-2 if you paid me. I watch as a casual fan who likes the Lions, yells at the TV a little, and moves on with my day. So take these as impressions, not analysis.
Sunday’s game against the Saints was a weird one to sit through, because Detroit won 31-30 and it still didn’t feel like a win.
The first half and change went about how you’d hope. Detroit built a 21-0 lead through the third quarter on two Jahmyr Gibbs rushing touchdowns and a Jared Goff touchdown pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown, and the Saints hadn’t put a point on the board yet. This is the part of the game I actually enjoyed watching.
Then it fell apart. New Orleans scored on four straight possessions, a touchdown, another touchdown, a field goal, and a third touchdown, to erase the entire lead and tie the game at 24 with just over a minute left in the fourth quarter. A 21-0 lead turned into a tie game that fast. Their quarterback finished with 410 passing yards on the day, which is a number that should not be possible against a defense that also racked up five sacks and two interceptions. Both things happened in the same game.
Detroit did answer. Goff found St. Brown again for a short touchdown to make it 31-24 with barely a minute on the clock, which should have sealed it. Instead the Saints marched right back down and scored again to make it 31-30, then went for the two-point conversion and the win instead of the extra point and overtime. The pass fell incomplete, and that’s the game.
So Detroit wins by one point after giving up 30 unanswered and needing the Saints to miss a two-point try to close it out. The Lions also lost the total yardage battle, 369 to 469, and Detroit held the ball for five more minutes than New Orleans did while still surrendering nearly 500 yards. None of that shows up in the final score, but it’s exactly why the game felt like it did.
I know a win is a win, and I’m sure there are Lions fans out there right now telling me to stop complaining about a victory. Fair. But if you were watching live, you know exactly the feeling I mean: that slow drain where a comfortable laugher turns into a nail-biter you didn’t ask for, and by the end you’re relieved more than happy.
On to Buffalo tonight.
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