"In his first regular-season NFL game, Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford's passes were too high, too low, too long and too wide.

It wasn't quite the performance the No. 1 overall draft pick envisioned for his debut against the Saints at the Superdome on Sunday.

Stafford was far too erratic, missing open receivers and throwing three interceptions as the Saints overpowered the Lions 45-27.

"It was tough," Stafford said. "Playing from behind is never easy. That's on us as an offense and me as the quarterback, the leader of the offense.

"I made some mistakes. We all did as an offense, but I'll just learn from it and try to come back and get ready for next week."

Stafford, who won the starting job during preseason by beating out veteran Daunte Culpepper, appeared poised early. But he eventually faltered, playing from behind against an array of Saints defensive packages.

He completed 16 of 37 passes for 205 yards with no touchdowns and three interceptions. He finished with a 27.4 passer rating, more than 100 points fewer than his counterpart Drew Brees (137.0)."