A loss is never great, but around the NFL, teams still had worse performances than what the New Orleans Saints put up against the Detroit Lions. Let’s see how this result changes the power rankings.
NFL.com – 21 (+1)
“I’ll spend the quiet moments of the next few days wondering how Week 1 might have played out had the Saints woken up before the third quarter of Sunday’s loss to the Lions. What if Jared Goff’s fumble hadn’t been overturned by replay, Jonas Sanker scored and it was a 7-7 game in the second quarter? But
the “what if” game is a favorite of fools, and we’re not court jesters. Tyler Shough and Co. can build off this narrow loss, and hopefully, it’ll produce results before halftime of Week 2.”
Fox Sports – 19 (+6)
“QB Tyler Shough was terrible. Then he was brilliant. In the end, the Saints were one two-point conversion in overtime away from pulling off an upset that would’ve defined their season and proven to everyone they might be the surprise of the NFL this year.”
Bleacher Report – 22 (-2)
“The New Orleans Saints showed resilience by coming back from a 21-0 third-quarter deficit against the Detroit Lions. At the same time, Kellen Moore’s squad came up short in overtime and failed to finish.
Moore and his staff have done a tremendous job making the Saints a competitive squad. This time a year ago, many viewed New Orleans as having the league’s least talented roster. By the end of the 2025 campaign, the Saints were pushing for a potential postseason appearance. Thus, expectations rose.
New Orleans showed it could hang with the Lions despite playing poorly early in the contest. The ability to grind out a tough win when facing adversity is the next step the Saints must take. — Sobleskit”
CBS Sports – 23 (+1)
“The Saints have to be thrilled with what they saw from Tyler Shough in the opener against the Lions. He threw for 400 and rallied after throwing picks. That’s a good sign.”
PFN – 22
“It was admirable for the New Orleans Saints to march into Detroit and take a team like the Lions into overtime. Though the Saints were able to get a touchdown in overtime to match the one the Lions had previously, a failed two-point conversion to win the game saw the Saints pick up the narrow loss to start the new year.“
Sports Illustrated – 20
“I’ll say this about Tyler Shough, who I questioned a lot this offseason in terms of how much better he could get after a complete offseason: tough as nails down 21 points in the third quarter against a good team. He absolutely threw the Saints back into a game with several near-perfect balls. I’m more confident in this team being a legit divisional factor now than I was a few months ago.”
