In one of the craziest games of this NFL season, the Saints jumped out to a huge lead, the Lions nearly engineered the greatest comeback in NFL history, and ultimately New Orleans hung on to win.
The Saints were up 17-7 at the end of the first quarter, 31-10 at halftime and 45-10 midway through the third quarter. And then something extraordinary happened: The Lions nearly came back.
Matthew Stafford threw two touchdown passes, Jamal Agnew scored a punt return touchdown and A’Shawn Robinson scored an interception return touchdown, and in a matter of just 15 minutes the Lions had cut the 45-10 deficit to 45-38.
The biggest comeback in NFL history was 32 points, when the Bills famously beat the Houston Oilers in a playoff game. But the Lions, down 35, had a real chance to beat the Saints today. They got the ball back down just seven points with five minutes left in the fourth quarter, but Stafford threw an interception to Cameron Jordan in the end zone to give the Saints a 52-38 lead. That was the final score, and the 90 combined points were the most in any NFL game this season.
Neither team can be thrilled with how it played, as the Lions looked awful early on and the Saints allowed the Lions to get back into a game that never should have been close. But both teams can say they were part of what may have been the craziest game of this NFL season.