The Detroit Lions and the New Orleans Saints will open their 2026 campaigns at Ford Field, both hungry to put their respective fourth-place division finishes in the rearview mirror. Despite each sharing last-place finishes in 2025, that is about the only thing the Lions and Saints have in common headed into the new season.
New Orleans is in year two of Kellen Moore’s tenure as head coach, and after a promising rookie season, Tyler Shough opens the season as the starting quarterback. At the top of the roster,
wide receiver Chris Olave is likely the only All-Pro who will be active on gameday while still in a starting role. All-Pro running back Alvin Kamara has been recovering from an MCL sprain through training camp (but could play) while the Saints have added running back Travis Etienne to the room this offseason. Further, All-Pro defensive end Cam Jordan has been ruled out for the game with a hamstring injury.
In contrast, the Lions will field young, All-Pro talents on both sides of the ball with Jack Campbell, Aidan Hutchinson, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and Penei Sewell. Beyond that, Jared Goff is entering his sixth season as the Lions’ quarterback, while Jahmyr Gibbs is the betting favorite for Offensive Player of the Year and was likely drafted as the first pick in most fantasy football drafts across the country.
Why am I so focused on the blue-chip talent on each roster?
Well, it is because identifying winning matchups and exploiting them is the center of Dan Campbell’s philosophy:
“Here’s my philosophy on offense, and defense for that matter: We’re going to run a system that puts our best on your worst. That’s what we’re going to do because that’s what we did in New Orleans. We’re going to find a way to put our guys in one-one-one matchups, whether it’s run or pass. If you’re telling me that our left tackle is better than their right end, and we can run outside zone all day – we’re going to run outside zone, as long as we cut off the back side. Why not? If we can exploit a weakness, we’re going to do it.”
With the apparent advantage the Lions have in elite talent at each level of the field on both sides of the ball, there should be plenty of areas where the coaching staff can dictate winning matchups.
Let’s take a look at three of them.
Jack Campbell vs. Tyler Shough
It’s officially Captain Jack season.
Jack Campbell enters his first year as a captain and the green-dot linebacker with complete ownership of the defense, facing a young passer in Shough. Campbell enters the year with this defense being his now.
And it’s not just talk. Second-year defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard let him call the defense from the field for a full practice during training camp.
With all due respect to the ascending quarterback, Shough will simply be in a very difficult environment to succeed on Sunday.
In his favor, Shough will play behind what appears to be a strong offensive line on paper. From left to right, the line includes 2025 first-round pick Kelvin Banks Jr., newly acquired left guard David Edwards, Erik McCoy at center, right guard Cesar Ruiz, and 2024 first-round pick Taliese Fuaga at right tackle. Conventional wisdom would suggest that head coach Kellen Moore will try to support his young quarterback by leaning heavily on the run game behind this offensive line.
But that creates an interesting opportunity for Campbell to show off his command of the defense. As the quarterback of the defense, Campbell will be responsible for communicating and adapting Kelvin Sheppard’s evolving disguise-oriented scheme.
The Saints and Shough ranked 30th in the NFL in play action rate at just 18.6% in 2025, per NFL NextGen Stats. If New Orleans wants to establish the run but not put Detroit’s box defenders in conflict through play action, then Campbell’s job on gameday is one layer less complicated. The less Campbell is forced to be reactive, the more he can lead the Lions defense.
D.J. Reed vs. Chris Olave
While the Lions have plenty of blue-chip talent, the one area of the team that is lacking elite, proven talent is the secondary. Expect the Saints to try to use their best matchup piece, Chris Olave, to their advantage.
But it might not be that simple.
Just as only four wide receivers made the Lions’ initial 53-man roster, the Saints also kept only four on the active roster: Olave, Devaughn Vele, and rookies Bryce Lance and Barion Brown. Missing from this list is 2026 first-round pick Jordyn Tyson.
As a result, the key matchup to watch is Lions cornerback D.J. Reed against Olave. The question of whether Reed can bounce back after his first season in Detroit was hampered by a significant hamstring injury will be critically telling about the team’s ultimate ceiling.
Week 1 will be an excellent first test.
Olave finished the 2025 season with a 27.9 percent target share for the Saints, which ranked seventh among wide receivers who had at least 100 targets on the year, per NFL NextGen Stats.
Kelvin Sheppard will have a few options to slow down the Saints offense. Without a true stable of experienced wide receivers available for New Orleans, Sheppard will have the luxury of devoting more resources to stop the run, put pressure on the passer, or mix double coverage looks toward Olave.
But the best-case scenario is if Reed can match up with Olave stride for stride. If Reed can limit the All-Pro receiver to a modest season opener, the options for Sheppard become variable and unpredictable. That makes Reed’s assignment more than just an individual matchup, but an opportunity to give Sheppard more freedom for the rest of the defense.
Detroit interior OL vs. New Orleans interior DL
One of the biggest questions of training camp in Detroit has been how the interior offensive line would look after the position battle at left guard between Christian Mahogany and Ben Bartch, along with newly acquired center Cade Mays.
Well, the injury to Mays means Juice Scruggs is in line to be the starting center likely until the Week 6 bye, and Bartch’s battle through his own injuries has given the edge to the guard spot to Mahogany (for now).
Right guard, however, is a different story.
Second-year, second-round pick Tate Ratledge is poised to break out after a strong finish to 2025 that has carried over into a strong 2026 training camp.
Across the line, the Lions’ interior three will face a Saints group that is missing its best defensive tackle. Bryan Breese suffered a season-ending ACL injury early in camp, leaving New Orleans vulnerable. To fill the void, the Saints will show a rotation of veterans Davon Godchaux, Nathan Shepherd, John Ridgeway, and rookie second-round pick Christen Miller.
This creates an opportunity for Detroit.
Will the competition and depth in the Lions offensive line room prove themselves against a favorable matchup? Or will the offensive line start off on a poor note, inviting the same criticisms that followed the 2025 opener at Lambeau Field? The performance of Mahogany (and/or Bartch), Scruggs, and Ratledge will be under the magnifying glass of many Lions fans.
Three key matchups. Three opportunities.
Jack Campbell has an opportunity to make life difficult for a young quarterback. D.J. Reed has a chance to neutralize the Saints’ most prolific threat. And the Lions’ interior offensive line has a runway to establish itself against a New Orleans front missing one of its best players.
It’s not a light; it’s a freight train. It’s about to be fun.
