Lions Insider Provides Insight on Packers’ Week 1 Opponent

GREEN BAY, Wis. – As far as season-opening games go, it doesn’t get much bigger for the Green Bay Packers than hosting the Detroit Lions on Sunday.

The Lions have won the last two NFC North championships and have dominated the series with wins in six of the last seven matchups. Will they win a fourth consecutive game at Lambeau Field or will the Packers turn the tables?

To get some answers, we turned to John Maakaron, who covers the Lions for On SI.

1. Aidan Hutchinson is back. But where else will the pass rush come from this season?

If training camp is any indication, Aidan Hutchinson is going to dominate this season. The team had to tweak its rules by the middle of camp, as the standout was dominating to the point that coaches would refrain from whistling plays dead even if he was already in the backfield. Working against All-Pro right tackle Penei Sewell every day has helped him sharpen his skills, and the motivation he has from missing most of last season with a broken leg is palpable.

Elsewhere, the Lions were quiet on the defensive end front this offseason and seem to be placing a lot of their hope on Marcus Davenport. Josh Paschal is on NFI and Ahmed Hassanein was waived-injured, so the team only has Hutchinson, Davenport, Al-Quadin Muhammad and newcomer Tyrus Wheat as options on the edge.

Davenport is an ideal complement to Hutchinson when healthy, but has appeared in just six games over the last two years due to various injuries. If he’s healthy, he’ll help, but that’s a tough ask for an extended period based on his injury history.

Elsewhere, the Lions will be relying on their interior to bring pressure. Not having Alim McNeill for at least the first four games due to last year’s torn ACL will hurt, but D.J. Reader could free up some opportunities by drawing double teams. The Lions have plenty of questions outside of Hutchinson as to where the pass rush will come from.

2. Offensively, Detroit’s skill-position players are among the best in the NFL. How big of a concern is the interior of the offensive line with two first-time starters?

The foundation of the Lions’ offensive line is in good hands, with right tackle Penei Sewell and left tackle Taylor Decker serving as solid options. However, the youth at the guard positions certainly is cause for some concern.

There’s a lot to like about the way that both Christian Mahogany and Tate Ratledge performed in camp, but the regular season is a different beast. As a result, both have plenty to prove.

Mahogany, a sixth-round pick last season, did impress in his first chances to play as a rookie last season but will have to show that this is sustainable throughout a full season. Ratledge, a second-round pick this year, will need to acclimate quickly on the offensive line.

3. I’ve always thought it’s players, not plays. So, from that perspective, who cares if the Lions lost their coordinators to head coaching jobs. Plus, it’s still Dan Campbell’s team. But Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn really were top-shelf play-callers. So, starting with Johnson here, will it matter? Is Jared Goff and Co. so good that it doesn’t matter who’s calling the plays after the Lions led the league in scoring by a considerable margin last year?

Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16) celebrates after last year's victory at Lambeau Field. | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

I think the Lions’ offense will be all right because it doesn’t seem as though new coordinator John Morton plans to change a lot. Morton was with the Lions in 2022 when Johnson first installed the offense, so he has a rapport with Jared Goff as a result.

Morton won’t have to be an innovative, change-it-all type of coach because he has all the talent necessary to have success. Any new offensive coordinator would be helped greatly by the group Morton is inheriting. I expect some early ups and downs, but the group should be solid once again in 2025.

4. OK, now to Aaron Glenn, who seemed like a miracle worker given the insane number of key injuries his unit endured last season. What are the big concerns to you? And what, if anything, has new defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard changed?

Kelvin Sheppard is a disciple of Aaron Glenn, so the identity of the defense isn’t going to change much. However, players spoke throughout camp that Sheppard was more aggressive than Glenn.

Granted, it’s early, but Sheppard looks like he’s ready for the challenge of being a first-year coordinator.

The sheer amount of injuries was jarring last year, and the Lions’ defensive depth was strapped as a result. As long as the group stays healthy, it should be solid. However, if things go south on the injury front, the Lions may not be able to weather the storm against a first-place schedule.

5. I’ll throw three rapid-fire questions at you. First, who wins on Sunday and why? Second, does Detroit still have a Super Bowl-caliber team? If so, what roadblocks must be overcome?

I’ve got the Lions winning at Lambeau for the fourth straight year, 27-23, thanks to a late touchdown. It’ll be a hard-fought battle, with the Lions putting a late drive together to win it.

The Lions still have a team that is capable of making a run in the postseason, but it’s hard to say that they have the league’s best roster while teams around them have made bigger moves. Dan Campbell is one of the NFL’s best motivators, so it’s hard to count the Lions out, but this roster has something to prove in 2025 after last year’s disappointing playoff loss.

If the Lions are to come up short in 2025, it will be because they don’t have enough depth in certain areas such as the edge. There’s a lot to like about the Lions’ roster, but the depth could become an issue.

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— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) September 5, 2025