The Detroit Lions defeated the New Orleans Saints 31-30 in overtime on Sunday afternoon.
The Lions got off to a slow start, but opened the game up in the third quarter. They scored 14 unanswered points to start the second half, taking advantage of back-to-back turnovers forced by the defense.
The Saints stormed back to force overtime, but failed to convert a potential game-winning 2-point conversion at the end of the extra period that would've completed the comeback.
Let's take a look at the winners and losers from Week 1's victory:
Winner: Aidan Hutchinson
Superstar pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson made his presence felt in key situations throughout this game, including two clutch sacks near the end of each half. Both sacks came in key moments as the Saints looked to quickly
move down the field.
Hutchinson finished with the two sacks, five total tackles, and four quarterback hits.
Winner: Jahmyr Gibbs
The full-time RB1 expectation for running back Jahmyr Gibbs paid off on the scoreboard.
Gibbs tallied two touchdowns as the clear-cut No. 1 back in the Lions' offense, and the Lions needed every bit of his contribution to escape Sunday's game with a win. Gibbs finished with 156 rushing yards on 29 carries, as well as five catches for another 30 yards.
Loser: Jameson Williams
The Lions' offense struggled early on in this game and needed one of their stars to make a big play. A perfect deep ball by Jared Goff went in and out of Jameson Williams' hands.
Williams also fumbled a pitch from Jared Goff on a reverse play that was schemed up for big yardage had Williams not mishandled the football.
Later in the game, Williams failed to catch a third-down conversion that hit him in the hands following a Saints touchdown late in the third quarter. Another sustained Lions drive would've helped keep the momentum with Detroit and made closing out the game a much smoother task. Instead, the Saints went on to score that following drive to bring the game back within reach.
Another drop on the Lions' last offensive drive of regulation sealed his fate as one of this week's losers. Williams finished with four catches for 45 yards on nine targets.
Winner: Derrick Barnes
Linebacker Derrick Barnes helped light a fire under what was an uninspired Lions team halfway through Sunday's game.
Barnes made a great play on the Saints' first drive of the second half to intercept quarterback Tyler Shough and set the Lions up for a scoring drive.
ACTIVATE: SPIDEY-SENSE pic.twitter.com/BU0F9yVUIv
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) September 13, 2026
Barnes had a sack in the same quarter as the Lions carried momentum to put up 14 unanswered points.
Loser: Isaac TeSlaa
Second-year wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa had a quiet preseason compared to last year's one-handed spectacles. On Sunday, he continued to be a non-factor.
Despite logging 52 offensive snaps per Pro Football Focus, TeSlaa finished with just one target and no catches.
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This article originally appeared on Lions Wire: Winners, losers from Lions' Week 1 win vs. Saints
