DETROIT -- The best thing about the Lions preseason opener is that it didn’t count.

The Lions opened the exhibition slate by allowing 31 unanswered points to New England and lost at least five players to injuries in an ugly 31-3 loss on Thursday night at Ford Field. They allowed nine sacks, did not reach New England territory until 5:24 remained in the game and did not score until Ryan Santoso kicked a 37-yard field goal with 2:21 left.

They didn’t even have positive net passing yardage until 4 minutes remained in the game -- and then two false starts and yet another sack put them in a third-and-27, killing that drive too and their only real chance to find the end zone all night.

Detroit did sit most of its starting lineup, including quarterback Matthew Stafford. Kerryon Johnson, Marvin Jones, Kenny Golladay, Snacks Harrison, Trey Flowers, Jarrad Davis and Quandre Diggs were among the slew of notable players who didn’t suit up. So whatever the final score was going to be tonight, win or loss, it wouldn’t have mattered.

Still, they looked bad. Really bad.

Consider the first half numbers, although please note viewer discretion is advised.

The Lions were outgained 262-41 in the half, and 24 of their yards came on a pass to Brandon Powell on the third play of the game. They dropped back to pass 13 times, and allowed six sacks. Tom Savage and David Fales combined to complete 4 of 7 passes for 53 yards, but also lost 55 yards on their sacks. That’s a total of minus-2 yards in net passing.

For an entire half of football. If you want to call it football.

And for those hoping for better in the second -- they didn’t complete their first pass until 6:16 remained in the game.

Let’s just get to the observations, for those with a strong stomach:

-- Adding injury to insult, the Lions seemed to lose at least five players to injury. Receiver Jermaine Kearse was carted off the field after just five plays, and the NFL Network is reporting he has a broken leg. He had been the leader for the No. 4 receiver job. Running back Zach Zenner was examined in the medical tent and did not return to the game, while defensive tackles Darius Kilgo and P.J. Johnson both returned to the locker room with leg injuries. Savage -- starting for Stafford at quarterback -- lasted just two series before getting sacked on back-to-back plays and leaving the game when he landed on his head. Teams don’t usually release injury information during the preseason, so it remains unclear whether Savage was diagnosed with a brain injury. He finished 2 of 3 passing for 40 yards before exiting the game.

-- Last year, Matthew Stafford sat out a preseason opener for the first time in his career and played in a career-low two exhibitions overall. Then he turned in his lowest-rated season opener since he was a rookie. But the Lions apparently don’t feel like he needs any extra work, because they sat out the quarterback once again. And given all the injuries they sustained tonight, you can’t blame them. Yes, Stafford needs the work, but that’s a big reason why the Lions booked two weeks of joint practices with the Patriots and Texans. That allows guys like Stafford to get in their work without putting them in harm’s way.

-- With Stafford unavailable and Savage out, David Fales -- the No. 3 quarterback most of camp -- played all but 11 of the offensive snaps. He finished with fewer completions (five) than sacks (six), completed just 35.7% of his throws and had one pick. His passer rating (20.5) was barely better than mine, and I was busy housing coneys in the press box. There are a lot of reasons for Fales’ lousy numbers, most notably some lousy protection, but there’s no getting around his performance either. It wouldn’t shock me if Detroit pokes around the QB market this week for a guy who knows this system, especially if Savage is going to miss time. The Lions have joint practices with Houston next week, too, which adds another wrinkle.

-- The Lions did start their projected opening day offensive line, featuring left tackle Taylor Decker, left guard Kenny Wiggins, center Frank Ragnow, right guard Graham Glasgow and right tackle Rick Wagner. Those guys got one series together, with Wiggins and Glasgow getting additional time. But it was mostly reserves everywhere else on both sides of the ball. The rest of the starting offense: QB Tom Savage, RB C.J. Anderson, WR Brandon Powell, WR Andy Jones, WR Jermaine Kearse and TE Jesse James.

-- Yes, first-round pick T.J. Hockenson was held out of the starting lineup. But he did play, getting about two snaps before calling it day. He had a nice block while he was out there, too.

-- Cornerback Darius Slay made the surprising start on defense. He did miss the first eight practices of camp while on the non-football injury list, I get it, but it was still weird to see the All-Pro play one series of completely meaningless football. If it’s not worth the risk to put Stafford out there, even for a series, why is it worth the risk to put Slay out there, even for one series -- and against Brian Hoyer at that? I don’t get it. What exactly is that accomplishing?

Justin Coleman was the other outside cornerback, then slid inside when Amani Oruwariye came onto the field in three-corner formations. The rest of the starting defense: DT Darius Kilgo, DT John Atkins, DE Romeo Okwara, DE Eric Lee, LB Jalen Reeves-Maybin, LB Jahlani Tavai, LB Miles Killebrew, S Tracy Walker and S Tavon Wilson.

-- I have seen some people wondering whether Amani Oruwariye could push for a starting job this year. Please don’t be one of those people. That’s nothing against Oruwariye. The rookie has good size and comes highly regarded from Penn State. Hey, he even picked off Matthew Stafford last week. But rookie corners don’t usually start in Year 1 for a reason, and Oruwariye is a fifth-round pick at that. He looked like one, too, getting beat for one touchdown by Maurice Harris and nearly another by Dontrelle Inman that was brought back out to the 1-yard line after a challenge. He also allowed key catches on two other scoring drives deep in Lions territory. On the bright side, he was credited with two passes defended.

-- The Lions have spent all offseason building an offense that is expected to feature the run more prominently. But they didn’t move the chains on the ground at all until Ty Johnson’s 17-yard run with 12:14 remaining in the third quarter. But if you’re looking for silver linings in this mess, look no further than Johnson. The sixth-round pick is fast as hell and been effective as a pass-catcher throughout camp. He looked good as a runner against New England, too, and finished with three carries for a team-high 22 yards. That doesn’t include a 13-yarder that was nullified by a Kenny Wiggins holding penalty, either.

-- Miles Killebrew moved from safety to linebacker in last year’s camp, then didn’t play a single snap of defense all year. But he seems to be making some progress at the position in camp, and even earned a start against New England with Jarrad Davis, Devon Kennard and Christian Jones all held out. Killebrew finished with three tackles, one of which was for loss, but was also beat by undrafted rookie Jakobi Meyers for New England’s first touchdown of the day.

-- Matt Patricia has worn a cast on his left leg throughout training camp after undergoing offseason surgery. He’s been getting around practice on an ATV, but NFL rules prohibited him from using it in the game. In fact, rules prohibited him from even having a cast, and he said as recently as Wednesday he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to be on the sideline for the game. He wound up getting clearance to coach from the sidelines, although did so perched up on a platform behind the water coolers. He also got a chance to test out the new pass interference rules, challenging a non-call on a deep ball intended for rookie Travis Fulgham. He lost the challenge.

-- The first boos of the season rained down with 3:23 remaining in the second quarter, and grew louder when David Fales was sacked to end that dreadful first half. The loudest cheers of the night might have been for a fan wearing a Barry Sanders jersey who ran onto the field and tumbled into the end zone before being taken away in handcuffs. He wound up being the only person in a Lions jersey to make it into the end zone all night.