There’s no easing into the 2026 season for the New Orleans Saints.
They will open the season on Sunday afternoon on the road against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field, facing a team that is very eager to put last year’s disappointing 9-8 record behind it.
For the Saints, it’s an opportunity to show just how much progress they’ve made entering Year 2 under head coach Kellen Moore.
New Orleans finished 6-11 a year ago, but the team closed the season with four wins in its final five games and enters 2026
with considerably higher expectations. Quarterback Tyler Shough has emerged as a leader, while the Saints made several offseason additions designed to give him more help.
But the Saints will have their work cut out for them Sunday.
Detroit is a difficult place to open a season, and the Lions have plenty of firepower on both sides of the football. Aidan Hutchinson is coming off a career-high 14.5-sack season, establishing himself as one of the NFL’s top edge rushers and earning second-team All-Pro honors.
The Saints also won’t have a completely healthy roster.
Running back Alvin Kamara is expected to miss the opener with an MCL injury, meaning offseason addition Travis Etienne will be taking on a significant workload. First-round wide receiver Jordyn Tyson will also miss the first four games after landing on injured reserve with a hamstring injury. Defensively, New Orleans will be without defensive tackle Bryan Bresee and possibly defensive end Cam Jordan.
Still, there are several reasons to believe the Saints can make this interesting.
Detroit will also be without two key defensive backs, Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph, who are on the PUP list and will miss at least the first four games. That could give Shough some opportunities to attack a secondary that isn’t at full strength.
The biggest question for New Orleans may be whether the offensive line can protect Shough and whether the Saints can establish enough of a running game to keep Hutchinson and the Lions’ pass rush from taking over.
If they can, I expect this to be a competitive game into the fourth quarter.
Detroit has the home-field advantage, a talented offense and a defense capable of creating problems for a young New Orleans offense. The Lions are favored by 6.5 points entering the week, and I think they find a way to make enough plays late.
Prediction: Lions 27 – Saints 24
However, if Tyler Shough proves capable of making the big throws in a hostile environment, New Orleans could quickly make it clear that this is a very different team from the one that finished 6-11 last season.
Check out all the odds for the Saints and the rest of the league on FanDuel at https://sportsbook.fanduel.com/navigation/nfl
