The Lions began their season down south, taking on the New Orleans Saints. The Saints struck first with just over 12 minutes left in the first quarter with a 9-yard TD catch by Marques Colston from Drew Brees. They made it 14-0 3 minutes later when Robert Meachem caught a 29-yard TD pass by Brees. The Lions got on the board with just over 5 minutes left in the first quarter with a 47-yard Jason Hanson field goal. They scored again just after the start of the second quarter when Kevin Smith ran in a TD from 4 yards out. The Saints responded 10 minutes later with 2 back to back touchdowns by Jeremy Shockey: from 1 yard and 15 yards respectively, putting the Saints up 28-10 at halftime. After the break, Lions QB Matthew Stafford ran a TD in himself from 1 yard out. The Saints responded a few minutes later with a 39-yard field goal by John Carney. The Lions countered with a 24-yard Jason Hanson field goal 3 minutes later. Less than 20 seconds later, the Saints' Devery Henderson caught a 58 TD-yard pass. The Lions responded when Louis Delmas picked up a Saints fumble and ran it back 65 yards for a TD. The only score of the 4th quarter was a 13-yard TD catch by Heath Evans of the Saints.With this loss, the Lions began 2009 0-1 which brought their losing streak to eighteen consecutive regular season games.. Which player caught the most TD passes in the first half?