Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season is kicking off, and the Detroit Lions are facing off against the New Orleans Saints, a team that’s got everyone’s attention because of former Lions backup QB Kellen Moore, who’s now their head coach. After a tough first year in 2025, Moore and the Saints are rolling into year two with zero changes to their coaching staff. Instead, they’re all about cohesion and upgrading the roster to get this team clicking. It’s a huge early test for both squads right out of the gate.
Moore’s Offense: Eagles Influence and Play-Calling Control
Kellen Moore is entering his second season as the Saints’ head coach, but he’s been an NFL offensive coordinator for years, calling plays for the Cowboys, Chargers, and Eagles. His influences are deep, coming from guys like Scott Linehan and Mike McCarthy, and he’s coached under big names such as Jason Garrett, Brandon Staley, and Nick Sirianni. Moore’s got full control as the playcaller, and Saints’ Offensive Coordinator Doug Nussmeier, who’s also in his second year as OC, has worked under many of the same guys, including Moore himself. Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell even gave a shout-out to some of Moore’s staff, praising their work from when he coached with them, singling out Offensive Line Coach Brendan Nugent and Associate Head Coach/Running Backs Coach Joel Thomas. This means the Saints have continuity, which they hope translates to results.
Scheme Breakdown: Shotgun Spread and a Pass-Heavy Attack
The Saints’ offensive scheme under Moore is straight out of the shotgun spread playbook, running it roughly 75% of the time. Think Eagles offense with a lot of RPOs, because that influence is definitely there from Moore’s time in Philly. When they’re in shotgun, it’s a 70% pass, 30% run split. They love to throw it between the 20s with a 60-40 pass-to-run ratio, but it evens out closer to 50-50 in the red zone. Moore is known for adapting his scheme to his players, but here’s where it gets interesting: play-action is minimal. Last season, the Saints used play-action a measly 18.4% of the time, ranking them 31st in the entire NFL! QB Tyler Shough, in his nine starts, only used it 18.6% of the time. That’s a huge tell.
The Elephant in the Room: Pressures and Sacks
Now, here’s the major problem area for the Saints, and what the Lions HAVE to exploit on Sunday: their protection was rough last year. As a team, New Orleans gave up 49 sacks, which is almost 3 sacks per game. Shough himself was sacked 29 times in his nine starts, meaning he was going down more than three times *every single game*. On top of that, the team allowed a staggering 227 pressures, almost 13.5 pressures per game. With such a low play-action rate, defenses know what’s coming, and it looks like their offensive line struggles to hold up. If the Lions can bring the heat on Shough without much play-action to slow them down, Week 1 could get ugly fast for the Saints. This is a massive vulnerability the Lions need to attack right from the opening whistle.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Pride of Detroit.
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