DETROIT (Interstat) — Jared Goff threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown in overtime, and the Detroit Lions held off the New Orleans Saints 31-30 on Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, at Ford Field. The Saints answered with Tyler Shough’s 8-yard touchdown pass to Noah Fant, but a two-point conversion attempt failed, leaving Detroit with the one-point win. Attendance was 62,897. Detroit improved to 1-0. New Orleans fell to 0-1.

Detroit built a 21-0 lead behind a pair of short rushing touchdowns from Jahmyr Gibbs and Goff’s 19-yard scoring pass to St. Brown. Gibbs opened the scoring with a 1-yard run up the middle in the first quarter, and he added another 1-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Goff then found St. Brown deep right for 19 yards and a score as the Lions took control. Bates made the extra point after each of Detroit’s first three touchdowns. New Orleans recovered a Goff fumble in the second quarter when Jonas Sanker came up with the ball at the Detroit 7, though the Saints’ scoring surge did not begin until after halftime.

New Orleans stormed back in the second half. Kendre Miller ran up the middle for an 8-yard touchdown, and Shough connected with Devaughn Vele on a 1-yard scoring pass to cut into the deficit. Daniel Carlson added a 28-yard field goal in the fourth quarter, but Jake Bates answered with a 23-yard field goal for Detroit. Shough then found Juwan Johnson for a 9-yard touchdown with 1:07 remaining, and Carlson’s extra point tied the game at 24 and forced overtime.

In overtime, Goff guided Detroit to the winning score, capping the drive with a 4-yard pass to St. Brown on the left side. Bates made the extra point. Shough and the Saints responded quickly, moving downfield before Shough hit Fant for an 8-yard touchdown on the right side. New Orleans went for two points and the win, but the attempt failed with 1:34 remaining in overtime, giving Detroit the victory.

Tyler Shough, a 6-foot-5, 219-pound quarterback from Chandler, Arizona, finished 35-of-56 for 410 yards and three touchdowns while adding four carries for 8 yards. Jared Goff, a 6-foot-4, 217-pound quarterback from Novato, California, was 26-of-39 for 206 yards and two touchdowns, and he ran twice for 2 yards. St. Brown caught 10 passes for 67 yards and two touchdowns. Chris Olave, a 6-foot-1, 189-pound receiver from San Ysidro, California, led all receivers with 10 catches for 182 yards. Devaughn Vele, a 6-foot-5, 210-pound receiver from San Diego, had seven receptions for 69 yards and a touchdown. Juwan Johnson, a 6-foot-4, 231-pound tight end from Glassboro, New Jersey, caught three passes for 54 yards and a score. Noah Fant, a 6-foot-4, 249-pound tight end from Omaha, Nebraska, had four receptions for 33 yards and a touchdown. Bryce Lance added three catches for 42 yards.

Kendre Miller, a 6-foot, 220-pound running back from Mount Enterprise, Texas, rushed nine times for 30 yards and a touchdown and returned one kickoff for 19 yards. Ryan Wright, a 6-foot-3, 245-pound punter from San Ramon, California, punted five times for 238 yards. Daniel Carlson, a 6-foot-5, 215-pound kicker from Colorado Springs, Colorado, made one of two field goals. CJ Donaldson, a 6-foot-1, 230-pound running back from Miami, ran twice for 4 yards and caught one pass for minus-2 yards. Barion Brown ran once for 3 yards, returned three kickoffs for 55 yards and brought back four punts for 21 yards. Noah Fant also made one tackle.

Defensively for New Orleans, Jonas Sanker, a 6-foot-1, 211-pound safety from Charlottesville, Virginia, recorded 10 tackles. Kaden Elliss had nine, Justin Reid finished with eight, and Kool-Aid McKinstry and Pete Werner each had seven. Danny Stutsman, a 6-foot-3, 233-pound linebacker from Windermere, Florida, added six tackles, and Julian Blackmon also had six. Carl Granderson had two tackles and one sack. Vernon Broughton, Isaiah Stalbird, Quincy Riley and Nathan Shepherd each had three tackles. Davon Godchaux had four tackles. Jordan Howden, Martin Emerson Jr., Colby Wooden and Tyree Wilson each had two tackles. Treyton Welch, Anfernee Jennings, Chris Rumph II and Decamerion Richardson each had one tackle.

For Detroit, D.J. Reed made 10 tackles. Avonte Maddox, Jack Campbell and Rock Ya-Sin each had seven. Derrick Barnes recorded six tackles, one sack and one interception. Aidan Hutchinson had five tackles and two sacks. Roger McCreary had four tackles and one sack. Malcolm Rodriguez added four tackles, and DJ Wonnum had three. Tay Martin made three tackles. Sam LaPorta caught five passes for 48 yards, Jameson Williams had four receptions for 45 yards, and Brock Wright had one catch for 5 yards. Sione Vaki ran twice for 7 yards and caught one pass for 11 yards.

The game featured wild swings. Detroit led by three scores before New Orleans rallied behind Shough, who repeatedly found Olave and Vele in the passing game. The Saints tied the game late in regulation and then answered Detroit’s overtime touchdown with one of their own. The failed two-point conversion ended the comeback. New Orleans fell short despite a 410-yard passing day from Shough and a 182-yard receiving game from Olave. New Orleans will next play at Baltimore on Sunday, Sept. 20, then host Las Vegas on Sept. 27, Atlanta on Oct. 5, Minnesota on Oct. 11, and the New York Giants on Oct. 18. Detroit will visit Buffalo on Thursday, Sept. 17, then host the New York Jets on Sept. 27, visit Carolina on Oct. 4, visit Arizona on Oct. 11, and host Green Bay on Oct. 25.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Detroit 31, New Orleans 22. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Detroit with a 92 percent probability to win. New Orleans had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of +7. The total score of 61 went under the over/under line of 49.5.