Jahmyr Gibbs rushed for 156 yards and two touchdowns, Jared Goff threw two touchdown passes to Amon-Ra St. Brown and the host Detroit Lions held off the New Orleans Saints 31-30 in overtime Sunday afternoon.
Goff passed for 206 yards and the Lions had to stop a two-point conversion on the final play to prevail.
Detroit got the ball first in overtime and Goff threw a 4-yard TD pass to St. Brown for a 31-24 lead with 5:04 remaining. Tyler Shough drove the Saints to his 8-yard touchdown pass to Noah Fant, but his two-point conversion pass was incomplete in the back of the end zone.
Shough recovered from three turnovers to pass for 410 yards and three touchdowns, including the 9-yard strike to Juwan Johnson late in regulation that forced OT. Chris Olave hauled in 10 receptions for 182 yards.
On the first play of the third quarter, Derrick Barnes intercepted Shough, giving the Lions the ball at the Saints’ 41. Seven plays later, Gibbs ran 1 yard for his second touchdown and a 14-0 lead.
On New Orleans’ next possession, Shough fumbled while being sacked by Roger McCreary and DJ Wonnum recovered at the Saints’ 25. Three plays later, Goff threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to St. Brown for a 21-0 lead.
On the first play of the ensuing possession, Shough connected with Olave on a 47-yard completion, which soon led to Kendre Miller’s 8-yard touchdown run.
New Orleans forced a three-and-out and drove to Shough’s 1-yard touchdown pass to Devaughn Vele that trimmed the lead to 21-14 at the end of the third quarter.
The Saints scored for a third straight possession when Daniel Carlson’s 28-yard field goal pulled them within four points midway through the fourth quarter. Jake Bates’ 23-yard field goal pushed the lead to 24-17 with 2:32 left.
Shough helped New Orleans drive 75 yards in eight plays and just 1:25 of game time, ending with his TD pass to Johnson to tie the score with 1:07 left.
Goff directed a 13-play, 89-yard drive in the first quarter that ended with Gibbs’ 1-yard touchdown run. The 7-0 lead held up through the end of the first half.
