Lions vs Saints, 35-27: Full highlights, final score and more

The Detroit Lions went on the road and defeated the New Orleans Saints on Monday Night Football.

For the Detroit Lions and New Orleans Saints, there wasn’t much on the line between the two teams other than pride when they faced off on Monday Night Football. For most of the night, it looked like the Lions had a lot more pride than the Saints did early on, as they jumped all over the Saints.

Matthew Stafford was slinging the ball around early in the game, as he threw three touchdown passes in the first half. Golden Tate was the recipient of two of those big passes, and with just a field goal to answer for it, the Saints found themselves in an early 21-3 deficit.

Things would get interesting at the end of the first half, when a big catch by Brandin Cooks would put the saints right on the goal line. They scored a couple of times, but penalties brought those touchdowns back and the half was over. It looked like the Saints’ momentum had been derailed, as the Lions scored to start the second half with a big touchdown run by Ameer Abdullah.

Down 28-3, the Saints began to make their comeback against Detroit a couple of possessions later, when Drew Brees threw a beautiful pass to Cooks for a 27-yard touchdown. On the very next drive, the Saints would get three more points off of a field goal, and suddenly there was life in the Superdome again.

Detroit would then turn the ball right back over to the Saints, when Abdullah fumbled the ball and set up the Saints with good field position. The Lions would forget to guard Marques Colston, and he was able to walk right in with a touchdown on a pass from Brees, to pull New Orleans within eight.

When New Orleans needed another stop late in the game, they could not get it. The Lions went down the field thanks to a big run by Abdullah. Then Stafford hit his tight end Eric Ebron to put the Lions on the goal line. Stafford would then hand off to Joique Bell, who put the lead back up to double digits.

With under two minutes left to go in the game, the Saints would pull within a score, as Brees found Ben Watson in the end zone for a touchdown. The Saints would attempt an onside kick, but the Lions would recover. Bell would bust one last big run for the Lions, and the Lions would attempt one last field goal, but the Lions would miss to give New Orleans one final shot.

The Saints would have nine seconds and the distance to go, but running back Tim Hightower would be tackled as time ran out to preserve the Lions’ victory on the road.

Three Stars

Ameer Abdullah provided a big presence on the ground for the Lions. Despite a fumble, which led to the Saints scoring, Abdullah busted out a big run that set up a touchdown late for the Lions. He had nine carries for 77 yards and a touchdown.

Matthew Stafford had another phenomenal game at quarterback for the Lions. His three first-half touchdowns really got the Lions rolling against New Orleans. He finished 22-of-25 for 254 yards and three touchdowns.

Golden Tate was a favorite target of Stafford against the Saints. He caught six passes for 45 yards, but he added two big first-half touchdowns for the Lions.

Highlights

Odds

The Saints were 2.5-point favorites coming into the game. Since they lost, the Saints did not cover the spread against the Lions.

Next Week

The Saints will play their final home game of the season next week against the visiting Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Lions will return home for their final home game of the season next week, when they play host to the San Francisco 49ers.