Lions lose in OT against Seattle, but show Detroit flashes of what's possible

DETROIT — The smoke billowed. The lights flashed. The crowd roared like… well, Lions.

The Detroit Lions played their 2023 home opener on Sunday, the first time the team would see their fans in their environment and benefit from their presence.

And it didn't disappoint. 

The first Detroit touchdown: roars. The first third-down stop: louder. Every time you thought the crowd couldn't possibly get rowdier, they did. The scene reached a fever pitch when the Lions pulled within three and gave the ball back to Seattle with 3:08 to play.

On first down, rookie safety Brian Branch tackles Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith after a scramble of just two yards. Cheers. Second down, Smith incomplete to tight end Colby Parkinson. Yells. Third down, Smith completes it to Parkinson for a completion of 16 yards but it's called back on offensive pass interference. More roars. 

Third and 18, Smith scrambles around the backfield for what feels like years and linebacker Alex Anzalone comes in like a heat-seeking missile, abandoning his post defending the tight end, and drops Smith for a loss of 17 yards. Anzalone almost forced a safety. Deafening.

Detroit got the ball back with 1:44 left to play and all three of their timeouts left. The building was absolutely electric. Young Jeezy's "Put On" was blasting through the stadium speakers. The Lions were down by three, but the energy in the building made it feel like they were unstoppable.

Until they weren't.

Detroit forced overtime only to lose the coin toss. Seattle then answered by marching down the field and scoring a touchdown on a six-yard pass to Tyler Lockett, ending the game.

It flew in the face of all narrative sense. Not only is this supposed to be the Lions' year, this was supposed to be their game — perhaps even more than the season opener on the road at Arrowhead. This season marks the first time Ford Field has sold out of season tickets for Lions games. I had to fight my way just to get to the correct entrance before the game, through a throng of Honolulu Blue.

Despite being down 10 points with eight minutes to play, not a single soul left their seat. When overtime hit, the stadium was as packed as it had been for the opening kick. Lions fans finally believe. They're ready for this team and what it's supposed to be.

That's why losing was so devastating.

Wide receiver Josh Reynolds, who scored two touchdowns, was visibly emotional at his locker in the postgame media scrum. He looked like if someone said the wrong thing or a reporter asked a question in the wrong way he could burst into tears at any moment.

Anzalone was sullen at his locker, though he did accidentally provide some comic relief via his facial expression upon looking up and seeing the group of media that was waiting to speak to him. 

"Oh!" he raised his eyebrows, seemingly just realizing it was, in fact, him we were all waiting for.

"It's disappointing because of how the fans showed up," Anzalone said of the loss. "My three years of being here, this is the first time I really felt that type of energy in here and it's disappointing in that regard. But we just need them to stick with us and all season long. Defensively, it helps us so much and it gives us juice."

Every player in the locker room said the same thing: they were disappointed for the fans. Many, unprompted, apologized.

Then quarterback Jared Goff reached the podium. He was visibly disappointed but accountable. And he reinforced how sorry he was that the team couldn't get it done in front of the most electric crowd Detroit has seen in a long time.

"You would like to get the first one in front of the fans," said Goff. "What probably makes it sting a little bit more is that was a real, real, real home-field advantage for us today."

"Certainly that was a disappointing loss; that was hard," said head coach Dan Campbell after the game. "Appreciate our fans. They showed up and they did their part and we didn't finish it."

But the Lions are far from out of the race. In fact, with Green Bay succumbing to Atlanta on a last-minute field goal, the Lions are still tied with the Packers for the division lead two games into the season. There's a lot of football to be played yet. And if the fans stick with them, the team can reliably, maybe for the first time, promise they won't let their city down.

Detroit plays at home again next weekend against the Falcons.

Carmen Vitali covers the NFC North for FOX Sports. Carmen had previous stops with The Draft Network and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. She spent six seasons with the Bucs, including 2020, which added the title of Super Bowl Champion (and boat-parade participant) to her résumé. You can follow Carmen on Twitter at @CarmieV.