It's the moment we've all been waiting for, Packers fans. We made it. Today, your Green Bay Packers will kick off the 2025 NFL regular season against the Detroit Lions at 3:25 CST from Lambeau Field in Green Bay. Not only is it the first game of the season, but it's also the first divisional matchup of the 2025 campaign. Expectations are high for both teams this season, with the Lions looking to rebound from their disappointing divisional playoff defeat at the hands of the Washington Commanders. The Packers are hoping to make their case as one of the top teams in the NFC after falling to the eventual Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card round of the 2024 season.
The last time these two teams met was a 34-31 nail-biter in Detroit, where the Lions emerged victorious off a Jake Bates 35-yard field goal in week 14 of last season. Jordan Love finished 12/20 for 206 yards and one touchdown, with 114 of those yards going to Christian Watson, who had a big game with four receptions, his longest being 59 yards. Josh Jacobs finished with 66 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries, and on defense, Rashan Gary walked away with the lone sack of the game on Jared Goff, with Keisean Nixon picking up an interception as well. Outside of that interception, though, Lions quarterback Jared Goff walked away with a big game, going 32/41 for 283 yards and three touchdowns, spreading the ball around with six receivers grabbing at least five catches for 30 yards or more.
In the final preseason game of the season, the Packers rested most of their starters for the majority of the game; however, Josh Jacobs did grab one carry for five yards in his tiny preseason warm-up, and Romeo Doubs hit pay dirt for a 1-yard touchdown on his only catch of the game. But perhaps the biggest highlights of the game, as far as starting players go, go to Matthew Golden, who snatched an impressive catch for 39 yards, and Quay Walker, who got a sack on Seahawks quarterback Jalen Milroe after an impressive stunt move with Edgerrin Cooper driving Milroe out of the pocket.
Of course, the biggest news heading into week 1 was the Packers trading two first-round picks and DT Kenny Clark for premier pass rusher Micah Parsons and signing Parsons to a contract extension. It's still unknown how much Parsons will play today, but when he takes the field, there is no doubt all eyes will be on him to see what kind of impact he might bring to the Packers' defense.
What to see on Offense
We saw plenty of drama after week 1 of the preseason when Jordan Love had a minor surgery to repair a ligament in his left thumb. The surgery was to get him as healthy as possible for week 1 of the regular season, and it looks like Love is good to go. It is worth noting that he hasn't been handing the ball off with his left hand in practice, however, so we'll have to see if that continues today and has any impact. Last year, Love was hampered by leg and groin injuries, which definitely impacted his mobility. It will be good to see QB1 mobile again, as that should help the effectiveness of the offense in 2025.
A mobile Jordan Love will be needed, as pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson is back on the field for the Lions defense. Hutchinson is an absolute game-wrecker. For anyone who is unfamiliar, everything you've heard about Micah Parsons being a beast at rushing the quarterback in the last week, that's Aidan Hutchinson as well. The Lions' top player is returning from an injury-derailed 2024 season in which he looked like he was primed for a bid at Defensive Player of the Year, and you'd better believe he wants to come back with a bang. The Packers' starting tackles for today look to be Rasheed Walker and Zach Tom; whether or not Jordan Morgan may alternate in, we will have to see, but Hutchinson will be testing both sides all day long to see who he can get the best of. After Hutchinson, though, the Lions aren't quite as effective in rushing the passer, so containing him will be key to keeping Jordan Love comfortable in the pocket.
If Love has the time he needs to find his receivers and move around the pocket, he has weapons to choose from. First-round pick, WR Matthew Golden, impressed throughout camp, and nothing would be better than to have Golden dazzle the home crowd in his NFL debut. The Lions have some new pieces in their secondary with DJ Reed joining Terrion Arnold as the boundary CBs and former Eagle Avonte Maddox possibly manning the nickel. The Lions do boast a good secondary with safeties Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph at the safety positions, but the Packers have plenty of options with Wicks, Doubs, and hopefully Jayden Reed alongside Golden. Let's not forget the tight ends Tucker Kraft and Luke Musgrave. Kraft could be looking for a breakout season in 2025 to cement himself as one of the top tight ends, and he will likely be a factor in this game. Musgrave, though his effectiveness has been limited due to injury, could factor in and create some mismatches downfield.
Now, to the running game. Josh Jacobs was the strength of the Packers' offense last season, and the Packers have added a powerful left guard to strengthen the interior of their offensive line alongside Elgton Jenkins, now lining up at center. We haven't really seen Banks throughout the preseason, but there is a lot of excitement about what he could add to the brute force of this offensive line.
The Lions have always been good against the run. They added DL Tyleik Williams in the first round of this year's draft, and he'll likely line up alongside DJ Reader to create a pretty good run defense on the interior. The Lions are without one of their best run-defenders, though, in Alim McNeil, who went out last year with an ACL injury that will continue to keep him sidelined for the start of this season. It will be a good test for this re-modeled interior offensive line of the Packers to see how they stack up against Detroit, and Josh Jacobs will likely give them a bit of an edge as long as they can hold up.
What to See on Defense
Alright, let's get it out of the way. Micah Parsons is playing today. Let's stop with the injury skepticism. Will he play or not? He's playing today. How much he plays will remain to be seen, as you could see him on a snap count, but the new star pass rusher in town will be looking to make an impact on this game. How the Packers' new-look pass rush fares could play a huge role in the outcome of this game. With Jared Goff now Ben Johnson-less with a new offensive coordinator, will he still look like the QB he was last year? There's only one way to find out, and that's to disrupt him. While Hafley will likely want to see how his defensive line can get home with a four-man rush, I do anticipate a lot of utilization of linebackers like Edgerrin Cooper and Quay Walker in the pass rush.
Stunts from the defensive line and linebackers could be used at a premium to confuse the Lions' new-look interior offensive line on passing downs. Frank Ragnow is no longer at the center of their line after retiring in the offseason, and right guard Kevin Zeitler departed Detroit in free agency, leaving Graham Glasgow to shift from guard to center with Tate Rutledge moving to RG and Christian Mahogany settling in on the left. There's no doubt Jeff Hafley will test this interior often.
A pass rush will be essential against receivers like Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams alongside rookie standout Isaac TeSlaa. The Packers' corners are perhaps one of the biggest question marks heading into this season with newcomer Nate Hobbs and Keisean Nixon leading the way a the position. Javon Bullard is slated to be the slot corner, and those three will be tested today by the Lions receivers, as well as tight end Sam LaPorta, one of the best at the position in the league. Xavier McKinney and Evan Williams will likely be helping over the top to keep these receivers in check, but getting to Goff first will be essential in slowing the Lions' passing attack.
Now to the Lions' running attack with Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery. After Kenny Clark went to the Cowboys in the Micah Parsons trade, it left questions about the Packers' interior defensive line. Who's going to step up? Devonte Wyatt and Colby Wooden are the starting defensive tackles, with Karl Brooks backing them up, but neither is really touted as a top run defender. Nazir Stackhouse could factor in plugging up the middle, but with his inexperience, going up against Detroit's highly successful running attack would certainly be baptism by fire.
What could work to the Packers' advantage, though, against the run could be, as mentioned before, the new interior offensive line of Detroit. If there are a few hiccups early with those new starters, the Packers could take advantage of slowing the attack. But if not, this defense is going to have to get creative in stopping the run before it becomes a problem.
Extra Notes
Say it with me, folks, "we don't have to worry about our kicker!" Doesn't that feel great? For the first season opener since the Mason Crosby era, the kicker isn't a topic of conversation. That's because Brandon McManus has been very reliable since joining the team in week 7 of the 2024 season. When you're a team with championship aspirations, the last thing on your mind should be whether or not you can trust your kicker. McManus should give the Packers confidence that they'll come away with points any time they get inside their opponent's 35-yard line. Of course, we want six, but it's nice to know we can rely on McManus to put up 3 if we need him to.
Kick and punt returns should be interesting to see today. The "unofficial" depth chart showed Jayden Reed as the punt returner, backed up by Matthew Golden, and Keisean Nixon as the kick returner, backed up by Bo Melton. No one really stole this position in training camp, which is why I believe Reed and Nixon still lead the way on the depth chart. But I wouldn't be surprised to see this change up a little, especially if Mecole Hardman is elevated from the practice squad for game day.
In the End
This is the first home game to kick off the season in Matt LaFleur's Packers' tenure. Which is honestly insane, but we'll complain about that another time. It's also one of the biggest games of the season, right off the bat. Lambeau should feel like a playoff atmosphere today, so if you are heading to the game, get loud.
After this big test, the Packers have another test in turning around quickly to play Washington on Thursday Night Football. So, we could see some players on snap counts today to keep everyone fresh, still, for that big turnaround.
The Packers went 1-5 in the division last year. Which very much tainted their 11-6 record overall. Hopefully, we'll be able to come out swinging in 2025, establishing ourselves as a force to be reckoned with in securing a victory today. Go Pack Go.