The long, arduous wait for Week 1 is almost finally over. This Sunday, just 72 hours from when this article is posted, the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers will be playing a football game that matters at Lambeau Field. It’s one of the most joyful moments for football fans of all walks of life. We come together as one to celebrate meaningful football back on our television screens and back in our lives. Outside of my wife, it’s hard to find someone who isn’t excited about the return of Packers football.
It’s all fun and games up until 4:25 p.m. EST. Once that football is kicked off, it’s time for the Packers to get back to what they have done for decades before: beat the Detroit Lions at Lambeau Field.
These aren’t your grandfather’s Lions, however. These Lions are high-powered on offense, fast and physical on defense, and well-coached in all areas a football team should be. It just so happens that the 2025 Packers are too. Football at the professional level comes down to matchups at the end of the day. Below are 4 matchups that could decide this pivotal divisional showdown in Green Bay.
Micah Parsons vs. Penei Sewell
There was nowhere else we could legitimately start than with the Packers’ new blockbuster acquisition. While his status for Week 1 is still up in the air due to a back injury he’s been dealing with all offseason, all signs point to us seeing some of #1 in some form or fashion against the Lions. If he’s on a pitch count, it would be wise for the Packers to deploy him against Lions right tackle Penei Sewell.
One might be thinking: why attack one of the best tackles in all of football? Well, Parsons has been effective against him throughout their careers so far.
Penei Sewell has allowed a pressure rate of only 7.3% since the 2022 season, which is the 8th-lowest in that span. Micah Parsons, meanwhile, has generated a pressure rate of 20% during that same time span, which is 1st in the NFL. In two career matchups against each other, Parsons has lined up directly against Sewell on 30 total passing plays and generated 6 pressures (20%) against him. That’s tied for the highest pressure rate Sewell has allowed to any single pass rusher in his career.
In simplest terms: Sewell’s pressure rate nearly triples against Parsons compared to the average pass rusher. Even if Parsons plays just a handful of snaps on Sunday, it would make sense to maximize his efforts and line him up where he can be most effective—and that appears to be Sewell. What a way it would be to end a whirlwind two weeks by seeing Parsons blow past Sewell on his way to a game-clinching sack on Jared Goff.
Amon-Ra St. Brown vs. Packers Cornerbacks
Since entering the NFL, Amon-Ra St. Brown has torched the Packers in eight career games. He has logged 47 catches for 481 yards and 3 touchdowns. Even with Jaire Alexander on the field in the past, the Packers have had a hard time keeping him in check. Now, with Jaire a Baltimore Raven, it might be even harder for the Packers’ collection of corners to slow him down.
Nate Hobbs’s status for Sunday is still a question mark, and the fact that he didn’t practice on Wednesday when the first official injury report came out isn’t a good sign for his availability. It’s likely to be the Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine show trying to slow down #14.
Completely shutting down St. Brown isn’t a necessity for Green Bay to win on Sunday. Most great receivers aren’t shut down on a weekly basis. The key is not letting him wreck the game the way he has in past meetings. If the Lions sense a weakness in the Packers’ secondary, they are going to attack it consistently throughout the game. If St. Brown is getting behind Nixon, Valentine, or whichever corner is on him down after down, Jeff Hafley will have to shade safety help—and that’s going to limit the effectiveness of the entire defense. In simple terms, Nixon and Valentine better come ready to play.
Aidan Hutchinson vs. Rasheed Walker & Zach Tom
Aidan Hutchinson, one of the premier edge rushers in football, is back. Before fracturing both his tibia and fibula in Week 6 last season against the Cowboys, Hutchinson was on his way to being the frontrunner for Defensive Player of the Year. In five complete games, he recorded a league-leading 7.5 sacks and 19 total tackles. There were even rumors he would have been ready to play if the Lions had advanced to the Super Bowl, but we’ll never know. What we do know: he’s ready to take the field against the Packers this Sunday.
I would imagine the Lions will try to take advantage of the matchup against Rasheed Walker, so Hutchinson will likely see most of his time there. However, the Lions do like to move him around, so he will see his fair share of Zach Tom throughout the contest. Tom is one of the best right tackles in football, so that should be a fun battle of iron sharpening iron.
Hutchinson against Walker, on the other hand, severely leans toward the Lions and is even more of a reason Tom needs to be his normal solid and steady self. He has the ability to wreck a game, and that’s something the Packers cannot allow. After the offensive line underperformed throughout training camp, Walker is going to find himself battling with Jordan Morgan for playing time most of, if not the entire, season. He needs to get off to a good start, and there will be no bigger test than limiting a returning Aidan Hutchinson.
Sonic and Knuckles vs. Packers Defensive Line
I didn’t like writing those nicknames probably as much as you didn’t enjoy reading them, but the reality is Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery are really good running backs. Gibbs is one of the most explosive backs in the NFL, while Montgomery provides the physical presence to help wear down opposing defenses.
What makes the Lions so difficult to defend is their ability to beat you in the air and on the ground. Last year, they combined for 138 yards on 28 carries against the Packers in Lambeau during the first matchup. In the second game in Detroit, Montgomery alone ran for 119 yards on 17 carries, while Gibbs added a 15-yard touchdown run.
That was against a Packers unit that finished as the 5th-best rushing defense in football. This year’s unit is missing two of the biggest contributors to that success: T.J. Slaton, now a Cincinnati Bengal, and Kenny Clark, now a Dallas Cowboy. Run defense is going to be a major question mark early in the season, and you can bet Dan Campbell will test it early and often. Especially on 4th-and-short, one of these two is going to get the football. Devonte Wyatt, Colby Wooden, Karl Brooks and company better be ready.
Bonus Matchup: Dan Campbell vs. Matt LaFleur
While technically these two aren’t going up against each other on the field directly, they will have as much say in the outcome of the game as any player. Matt LaFleur is one of the most successful coaches in the NFL during the regular season. He is 67-33 since taking over as head coach of the Packers in 2019. However, he is only 2-6 against Dan Campbell since Campbell became the Lions’ head coach in 2021.
With Lafluer finally able to open the season at home and can make a statement with a big divisional win against Campbell’s Lions. With a seat rumored to be warming under new leadership in Ed Policy, the Packers getting back to winning their divisional home games is an absolute must. LaFleur needs to use Campbell’s aggression against him, similar to how he did on Thanksgiving Day back in 2023—one of the defining wins of the LaFleur era.