Lions avoid collapse, narrowly beat Saints in overtime after blowing a 21-point lead

The Detroit Lions are walking away from Week 1 with a win, but it took a lot more effort than anyone expected. After blowing a 21-point lead, Detroit found a way to force a key stop at the last second against the New Orleans Saints in overtime to pick up the 31-30 win .

It literally came at the last possible second, as the Saints opted to go for two after scoring an overtime touchdown with just 1:34 left to play to make it 31-30.

Saints quarterback Tyler Shough , who had converted a number of tight throws on the drive previously, couldn't find a receiver in time, forcing the final throw just a little too far out of the corner of the end zone to lose game.

To that point, Shough and the Saints had shown a ton of fight in the second half and overtime. After coming back from 21-0 and nearly winning the game on a 62-yard field goal in regulation, the Saints looked as though they would rally again after an overtime touchdown by Amon-Ra St. Brown finally got the Lions back on track .

The Saints attempted to answer back, with Shough converting multiple difficult throws on the final drive of the game. Chris Olave and Juwan Johnson , in particular, came up with massive catches to extend the drive and give the Saints a chance to win the game.

After a Noah Fant touchdown narrowed the lead to a point, Saints coach Kellen Moore decided to go for two and end it. The Saints' pass catchers and Shough just couldn't come up with one more clutch conversion to win it all.

The Lions seemed comfortable leaning on the running game early, getting Jahmyr Gibbs a ton of action in the first half. But the Saints' defense played things close, limiting the Lions to just seven points at halftime thanks to a Gibbs run.

Coming out of halftime, though, the Lions finally seemed to find their stride. Another Gibbs score and a touchdown catch by Amon-Ra St. Brown put Detroit up 21-0 with a little under nine minutes to play in the third quarter.

At that point in the contest, Saints quarterback Shough had turned the ball over three times — two interceptions and one fumble. It looked as if the Saints were done.

Somehow, New Orleans found a way to rally. After the Lions went up 21-0, the Saints scored on their next drive, cutting into the lead. The Saints then forced a three-and-out and scored again, making it a one-score game in the fourth quarter.

After both teams traded field goals, the Saints faced a seven-point deficit with just 2:32 to play. Shough found himself in a some trouble early on the drive, but eventually hit Olave with a 42-yard pass to get the Saints down to the nine-yard line.

Olave, in particular, turned in a huge performance, finishing the contest with 10 catches and 182 yards in the loss.

On the next play, Shough hit tight end Juwan Johnson to tie the game 27-27.

The Saints were able to stop the Lions and turn in one more drive before the end of the game. The team even managed to drive the ball down the field enough to force a 62-yard field goal as time expired. Daniel Carlson 's attempt sailed wide, sending both teams to overtime.

The Lions finally snapped out of their second-half malaise on their first drive of overtime, but still needed a last-second stop to come out ahead against the feisty Saints.