The biggest thing I’m watching today is Drew Petzing in his first regular-season game calling plays for Detroit. I was impressed with what Petzing showed during the preseason, especially considering he was working mostly with second- and third-string players. Now he gets Jared Goff, Jahmyr Gibbs, Jameson Williams, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Sam LaPorta and the rest of Detroit’s starting offense.
This isn’t an offense that needs to be rebuilt. Detroit averaged 28.3 points and 373.2 yards per game last season, finishing fourth in scoring and fifth in total offense. The Lions were also third in passing offense at 253.1 yards per game.
Gibbs is another player I expect to have a huge afternoon. He finished last season with 1,839 yards from scrimmage and 18 total touchdowns, and now enters 2026 as Detroit’s clear lead back.
I think the first quarter could be slow while Detroit settles into Petzing’s offense and gets a feel for what New Orleans is showing defensively. After that, I expect the Lions to open things up and start finding the end zone consistently.
My prediction is a 34-10 Detroit win.
I’m taking Jameson Williams, Jahmyr Gibbs and Isaac TeSlaa to each find the end zone, while Jared Goff starts the season with 300+ passing yards.
Week 1 is always unpredictable, but Detroit has too much offensive firepower for me to see New Orleans keeping up for four quarters. If Petzing’s offense looks anything like what we saw flashes of during the preseason, today could be the start of another big year for the Lions.