Week One: Detroit Lions (0-0) @ Green Bay Packers (0-0)

[MichiganCardinal]

          vs.          

Setting: 09/07/2025 4:25pm EST on CBS

Site: Lambeau Field in Green Bay, WI

Weather: 66° High / 46° Low, 7% chance of rain, 7mph wind

Opening Spread: Packers -2.5

All-Time Series Record: Packers lead, 106-78-7

Last Meeting: 12/05/2024, Lions won 34-31

 

Green Bay Packers (0-0)

Head Coach: Matt LaFleur (7th Season: 67-33)

Projected Starting QB: Jordan Love (6th Season: 18-15)

Last Season/Game: 11-6, finished 3rd in NFC North, 22-10 L @ Philadelphia Eagles in NFC Super Wildcard Weekend

Looking Ahead to Week #2: Thursday Night Football @ Washington Commanders (0-0)

 

Your Detroit Lions (0-0)

Head Coach: Dan Campbell (5th Season: 39-28-1)

Projected Starting QB: Jared Goff (10th Season: 81-52-1)

Last Season/Game: 15-2, NFC North Champions, 45-31 L vs. Washington Commanders in NFC Divisional Round

Looking Ahead to Week #2: Sunday vs. Chicago Bears (0-0)

 

Elsewhere in the NFL

Primetime: Cowboys @ Eagles (TNF), Chiefs @ Chargers (Friday Night in São Paulo, Brazil), Ravens @ Bills (SNF), Vikings @ Bears (MNF)

1:00pm: Buccaneers @ Falcons, Bengals @ Browns, Dolphins @ Colts, Panthers @ Jaguars, Raiders @ Patriots, Cardinals @ Saints, Steelers @ Jets, Giants @ Commanders

4:05/4:25pm: Titans @ Broncos, 49ers @ Seahawks, Texans @ Rams

[MichiganCardinal]

For a Lions team that hasn’t lost a divisional game since December 2023, and has won 6 of 7 against Green Bay, and is coming off a 15-2 season… I’m surprised to see the Packers as betting favorites.

[Jason_R]

Agreed. Conventional wisdom is that the defense sucks and the offense can’t fathom the loss of Ben Johnson. But without catastrophic, historically-bad injury luck, this has the makings of a top-ten defense — more likely top five. Also, the offense may not be as flashy this season, but TeSlaa seems to be an upgrade at X and I think they will focus a bit more on protecting Goff. GB got better but people who think Detroit got worse are missing it. 

[Shinzaki]

I can understand the hype around the Pack getting Parsons...look how many playoff games Dallas won with him...

[Jason_R]

I just posted in another thread but it seems like the Cowboys are burning up Albert Breer’s phone to talk about how much they disliked Parsons. GB was already an emotionally fragile team. Will Parsons be the straw that stirs them up?

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/micah-parsons-reportedly-viewed-by-some-cowboys-teammates-as-egotistical-self-centered-before-packers-trade/

[Motown Bombers]

 

[MichiganCardinal]

42 minutes ago, Motown Bombers said:

 

It’s going to be pretty funny when he turns into an often injured pumpkin now that he’s been paid.

[gehringer_2]

1 minute ago, MichiganCardinal said:

It’s going to be pretty funny when he turns into an often injured pumpkin now that he’s been paid.

and trying to push 300 lbs guys around on the line of scrimmage is just the thing for L4/L5 issues.

[MichiganCardinal]

6 minutes ago, gehringer_2 said:

and trying to push 300 lbs guys around on the line of scrimmage is just the thing for L4/L5 issues.

That’s just it. His back is tight before he’s taken a single real time block this season? Not a recipe for success.

[Mr.TaterSalad]

On 8/31/2025 at 1:33 PM, Jason_R said:

I just posted in another thread but it seems like the Cowboys are burning up Albert Breer’s phone to talk about how much they disliked Parsons. GB was already an emotionally fragile team. Will Parsons be the straw that stirs them up?

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/micah-parsons-reportedly-viewed-by-some-cowboys-teammates-as-egotistical-self-centered-before-packers-trade/

To be fair, Cowboys ownership is chaotic and emotionally fragile. So it's not like Jerry built a powerhouse of an organization and team that Parsons came in and ruined. Jerry ruined Dallas long before Parsons was even playing college football, let alone in the NFL.

Edited Monday at 07:22 PM by Mr.TaterSalad

[Jason_R]

1 hour ago, Motown Bombers said:

 

Was this his face after they gave him the epidural?

[Shinzaki]

Having had an issue at L4 in the past...I think this can be just a minor blip or a sign of a larger issue to come...at least that's what my chiro told me

[RedRamage]

30 minutes ago, Shinzaki said:

Having had an issue at L4 in the past...I think this can be just a minor blip or a sign of a larger issue to come...at least that's what my chiro told me

Not to bad mouth your chiro, but... that's seems a bit like saying: "Oh, look: clouds in the sky. That might mean rain or it might not mean rain."

[Motown Bombers]

 

[Sports_Freak]

The Lions with a new OC and a new DC. How deep into the 1st quarter before a certain poster calls for both of their heads?? 1st time our offense doesn't score? And the 1st time our defense gives up a first down?

With the coordinators changes and the OL changes, I see why the betting line has GB favored. Imagine the surprise when this Lion team is even better than last season...Lions roll...

[sagnam]

I think it’s legitimate to question if the offense will remain elite. We just won’t know if Ben Johnson was the mastermind until games are played.

Not surprised to be the underdog on the road against a team expected to be good.

If the offense is still explosive and unpredictable and the defense is at least what it was end of last year this is likely a win.

[Motown Bombers]

The question should be if Ben Johnson remains elite without Goff. He was a nobody and Goff is the only QB he has ever worked with. 

[MichiganCardinal]

The more I think about the Ben Johnson infatuation the more I think it is all smoke and mirrors behind a Dan Campbell offense.

An OC who has never been a head coach of a high powered offense is always going to get interviews. An OC who turns down a head coaching job though? Well now they're a wanted commodity on top of everything else. That's the hype train rolling down the tracks before you even evaluate who they are as a coach though.

Ben Johnson had a long stint in the Miami Dolphins offense before coming to Detroit under Matt Patricia. In Miami, Johnson-involved offenses ranked 27, 27, 15, 26, 24, 25, and 31. In Detroit, without Campbell, the Johnson-involved offense ranked 17 and 20. In Detroit, with Campbell, the Johnson-involved and then Johnson-led offenses ranked 22, 6, 3, and 2.

On top of that, the best head coaches are oftentimes not known or appreciated outside of the walls of the building where they come. They're not the obvious choice. Dan Campbell was not a household name in 2021. Urban Meyer and Robert Saleh were. Head coaches are leaders of everything, not just the offensive game plan. Johnson hasn't worked on a single defense. Will Dennis Allen be able to help that?

That's not to say there isn't room for a bit of learning on the part of the Lions new OC. Johnson has nothing to do with Morton, except for the common denominator in that Campbell -- who has no issue being portrayed as a meathead in front of curtains -- is the guy actually pulling the strings on this team.

[holygoat]

1 hour ago, Motown Bombers said:

The question should be if Ben Johnson remains elite without Goff. He was a nobody and Goff is the only QB he has ever worked with. 

It's a legitimate question. Not only Goff, but the O-line and skill guys around him. All the questions that surround Goff's success in Detroit apply to Ben Johnson, but nobody wants to have that conversation.  

[gehringer_2]

19 minutes ago, MichiganCardinal said:

Campbell -- who has no issue being portrayed as a meathead in front of curtains -- is the guy actually pulling the strings on this team.

This. In the history of the NFL the good coaches usually continue to put good teams on the field even as their assistants come and go. 

[gehringer_2]

35 minutes ago, holygoat said:

It's a legitimate question. Not only Goff, but the O-line and skill guys around him. All the questions that surround Goff's success in Detroit apply to Ben Johnson, but nobody wants to have that conversation.  

Goff especially. Goff's rep going right back to Cal is that he is a thinking QB and at this stage in his maturity and confidence, I have a hard time seeing him let his OC put the O in a bad place, let alone Campbell. We've all seen the clips where it's Goff who goes to Campbell on the sideline and says, "we're going to do this" and Campbell goes along with HIM.

[Jason_R]

MB makes an excellent point. Any OC should be able to put up points with a roster like he had in Detroit. The trick plays were cool and gave him an aura, but as we know all too well sometimes they backfired. And sometimes it seemed Ben was calling plays for his resume, not necessarily to win games. I think Dan alluded to this when he said Johnnie Morton was a grinder, didn’t want to be a head coach, just wanted to coach offense. I think they’ll try to run a little more and take a little bit of the load off Goff. 

[RedRamage]

6 hours ago, Motown Bombers said:

The question should be if Ben Johnson remains elite without Goff. He was a nobody and Goff is the only QB he has ever worked with. 

The QB is very important to an offense, but the QB is only part of it. A big part, yes, but only a part.

How much of Goff's success with the Lions is Goff and how much of it is elite RB, elite OL, great WR, great play calling? It's hard to say. Everything is far more connected in football than in many other sports. 

Is it fair to ask: "Can Goff succeed in an offense without Ben Johnson?" I don't think so no, but it's clear Goff has had some level of success under two different coaches/OCs. Add in that the RBs and WRs are the same and much of the OL is the same... it's up to Morton to keep the offense - which is KNOWN to be elite level - going.

If it fair to ask: "Can Ben Johnson succeed without Goff?" I don't think so no. Because he's going into a whole different org with different RBs, WRs, OLs, etc. etc. etc. If Ben fails it isn't necessarily because no Goff. Heck, it may not even be the offense. Ben could fail because he's not a good HC instead of because he can't win without a great QB.

[gehringer_2]

29 minutes ago, RedRamage said:

The QB is very important to an offense, but the QB is only part of it. A big part, yes, but only a part.

How much of Goff's success with the Lions is Goff and how much of it is elite RB, elite OL, great WR, great play calling?

Yup - a lot factors play into a successful offense.  For instance, how often does the called play actually comprise a set of options that a QB is choosing from once he sees the defense? If the offensive system gives the QB options, the QB can make the OC look a lot better or worse by how well he chooses from among those options. 

Edited Wednesday at 07:45 PM by gehringer_2

[Motown Bombers]

Jared Goff is the luckiest QB to ever play. He always ends up on the teams with the best players and coaches.