Thursday open thread: What is your favorite Lions season opener?

It’s officially Opening Day for Major League Baseball, kicking off the 2019 season for the Detroit Tigers and 29 other teams I don’t care about. Opening Day in the MLB seems to be more ceremonious than any of the other three major American sports, but why can’t we have the fun here in the NFL?

Week 1 in the NFL is certainly celebrated, but it just doesn’t seem the same as baseball. So let’s dive into the history of the Detroit Lions and their “opening day.”

Today’s Question of the Day is:

What is your favorite Detroit Lions season opener in team history?

My answer: There really aren’t that many outstanding games the Lions have opened the season with, and my memory is bad enough where I can’t really remember much prior to 2000. There are some particularly rough games that stand out (last year, on the road against the Chargers in 2015).

That being said, my favorite comes down to two different candidates: 2017 at home against the Cardinals and the Monday Night opener against the Giants.

The Cardinals game was certainly more exciting, with the Lions coming back from a 17-9 deficit and scoring 26 straight points for the win. It was Kenny Golladay’s first game and a big one for him. It also had the extremely rare Miles Killebrew pick-six.

However, I’m going to go with the opener against the Giants in 2014. There is no better way to kick off a season than with a dominant win on national television—especially against a big-market team like the Giants.

Calvin Johnson was dominant. Matthew Stafford was on point. And the Lions defense—which turned out to be one of the best we’ve ever seen in Detroit—forced two turnovers, notched two sacks and only allowed 2.4 yards per carry.

Plus, we got this play:

It set off what would be a magical season and will likely stand as one of my favorite Opening Days for some time.

Your turn.