Packer Central

Live Updates: Packers Beat Lions 27-13 in Week 1 Showdown

The Green Bay Packers have the NFL’s longest home-opening winning streak. The Detroit Lions have won three in a row at Lambeau Field. Who will win this Week 1 showdown? Follow along for updates.
Bill Huber|
The scene at Lambeau Field before kickoff.
The scene at Lambeau Field before kickoff. | Bill Huber/Packers On SI

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Green Bay Packers

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions, two of the premier teams in the NFL, are kicking off the 2025 season on Sunday at Lambeau Field.

Follow along all day for updates.

Final Score: Packers 27, Lions 13

Fourth Quarter

Packers 27, Lions 13 (0:55 remaining)

Micah Parsons stepped on the gas and sacked Jared Goff early in the drive, which sent the Packers’ bench into a frenzy. The drive ended with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Isaac TeSlaa on fourth-and-3. Goff is 31-of-39 passing but for only 225 yards.

Packers 27, Lions 6 (4:22 remaining)

Set up in scoring position, Brandon McManus kicked a 38-yard field goal. With left guard Aaron Banks (ankle) and right tackle Zach Tom (hip) out of the lineup, the line was Rasheed Walker at left tackle, Jordan Morgan at left guard, Elgton Jenkins at center, Sean Rhyan at right tackle and rookie Anthony Belton at right tackle.

Packers 24, Lions 6 (6:37 remaining)

The “Go Pack Go!” chant is ringing through Lambeau Field. On fourth-and-2, Devonte Wyatt shot inside of rookie guard Tate Ratledge and sacked Jared Goff. Barring an all-time disaster, the Packers will beat the rival Lions.

Packers 24, Lions 6 (7:57 remaining)

Given a short field, the Packers might have put this one on ice. Green Bay’s running game, so poor for most of the game, did the work on this drive. Jacobs had runs of 15 and 6 yards in which he broke two tackles and gained 25 yards after contact. On fourth-and-1, Jordan Love snuck to the 8. Jacobs plowed for 5 on the first play before running behind Sean Rhyan’s pancake block for the touchdown.

Packers 17, Lions 6 (12:40 remaining)

Green Bay’s defense got a great stand to set  up the offense. On first down at the 8, Rashan Gary bullied left tackle Taylor Decker for a sack that was almost a safety. Edgerrin Cooper and Colby Wooden stuffed back-to-back runs by David Montgomery.

With no space, punter Jack Fox’s line-drive punt was returned by Jayden Reed for 20 yards to Detroit’s 36.

Injury update: RT Zach Tom is not on the field for the start of the possession. He is questionable with a hip injury.

Third Quarter

Packers 17, Lions 6 (0:00 remaining)

What an adventure. First, Jordan Love’s throwaway should have been an interception but Alex Anzalone dropped the pass into the flat. Given a mulligan, Love was intercepted by Brian Branch, who returned it for a touchdown. However, cornerback Rock Ya-Sin was flagged for holding before the pass. On Branch’s return, Aidan Hutchinson was flagged for unnecessary roughness for his block against Love, which sent the quarterback tumbling into right tackle Zach Tom, who was helped into the blue tent. Darian Kinnard, who was acquired before the final roster cuts, replaced Tom.

On third-and-5, Jayden Reed couldn’t make the play on Love’s deep pass. Green Bay punted on the final play of the quarter.

Packers 17, Lions 6 (4:15 remaining)

The Lions picked up one first down but, on third-and-6, Micah Parsons had a good push against Penei Sewell on the outside, which penned Jared Goff in the pocket so Lukas Van Ness, who was lined up at defensive tackle, could get the sack.

Injury updates: Packers CB Bo Melton (shoulder) is questionable. Also, DE Brenton Cox (groin) is questionable.

Packers 17, Lions 6 (7:39 remaining)

Green Bay’s running game has been stuck in the mud, not unlike the preseason. Josh Jacobs had runs of 6 and 3 yards to set up third-and-1, but a zone-read to Jacobs went nowhere because nobody blocked linebacker Derrick Barnes.

Injury update: Lions CB Terrion Arnold (groin) is questionable. Rock Ya-Sin replaced him for the series.

Packers 17, Lions 6 (9:40 remaining)

Lions quarterback Jared Goff had 75 passing yards in the first half but 61 on the opening drive of the third quarter, with completions of 32 and 16 yards to tight end Sam LaPorta. On second-and-goal from the 10, Edgerrin Cooper missed a tackle for loss on Jahmyr Gibbs. Gibbs, however, wound up going backward before he was engulfed by the defense for a loss of 6. A short completion set up Jake Bates’ 27-yard field goal.

Halftime

Packers 17, Lions 3

Jordan Love was 12-of-16 passing for 167 yards and two touchdowns, good for a passer rating of 147.7, as the Packers lead by two touchdowns at intermission. In two previous home losses to Detroit, Love’s passer rating was in the 60s.

The big play of the half might have been Micah Parsons’ third-down pressure that resulted in Evan Williams’ interception. The Lions were in position to cut the margin to 17-10 with the ball to start the third quarter.

Perhaps worth noting: It’s almost a 2-to-1 advantage in time of possession for Detroit. Goff is 13-of-16 passing but for only 75 yards.

Parsons played 11 snaps in the half.

Second Quarter

Packers 17, Lions 3 (1:10 remaining)

It was a vintage Lions drive. On third-and-1, Jared Goff hit David Montgomery for 7. On third-and-3, it was Goff to Amon-Ra St. Brown for 9. On third-and-6, a short completion set up fourth-and-2, with Goff throwing a bullet to Jameson Williams, who was running at top speed on a crossing route for 11 to Green Bay’s 19 at the 2-minute warning.

And then Micah Parsons struck. On third-and-7, Parsons blew inside of All-Pro right tackle Penei Sewell for an instant pressure. Jared Goff’s pass to the sideline to St. Brown was thrown too far inside, and Evan Williams made the interception at the 13.

The Packers didn’t take advantage and the teams will go into the break with a 17-3 score.

Packers 17, Lions 3 (8:34 remaining)

Jordan Love wasted no time in making it a two-touchdown game. First, he threw a bomb to Romeo Doubs for 48 yards. On the next play, Jayden Reed lined up in the slot and made a beeline to the pylon. Dontayvion Wicks sort of set a screen – he ran toward Reed and stopped – with Reed continuing to the outside for an easy touchdown against Terrion Arnold.

Love is 10-of-15 passing for 158 yards and two touchdowns.

Packers 10, Lions 3 (9:27 remaining)

Detroit went 78 yards in 16 plays but had to settle for Jake Bates’ 30-yard field goal. There were two big plays. First, it was Amon-Ra St. Brown’s spectacular catch for 19 yards in which Packers coach Matt LaFleur burned a challenge. Later, one player after Colby Wooden’s tackle for loss, Xavier McKinney laid out a Lions receiver and stood over him, resulting in a 15-yard penalty for taunting. But Green Bay held. On third-and-5, the coverage was excellent and Jared Goff’s pass to Sam LaPorta against Evan Williams was incomplete.

First Quarter

Packers 10, Lions 0 (3:58 remaining)

Brandon McManus booted a 34-yard field goal. On third-and-7, Jordan Love ripped a bullet over the middle to Jayden Reed for a catch-and-run gain of 26. The drive stalled, though. On third-and-3 from the 16, Terrion Arnold broke up a back-shoulder pass to Romeo Doubs near the goal line.

Packers 7, Lions 0 (6:52 remaining)

The Packers’ defense is off to a dominating start. Lukas Van Ness stuffed Jahmyr Gibbs on first down and Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine were all over a checkdown to Gibbs on second down. On third-and-7, the crowd went wild as Micah Parsons came on the field. Parsons got inside his man for a pressure, which forced Goff into a checkdown to Gibbs.

Packers 7, Lions 0 (9:26 remaining)

The season started with a holding penalty on Bo Melton, which wiped out Savion Williams’ return of the opening kickoff to the 43. That only meant more yards on the opening drive, an 83-yard touchdown march. On third-and-10, Jordan Love had all day before hitting Dontayvion Wicks for 16. On third-and-6, Josh Jacobs stuffed a blitz, which allowed Love to find Matthew Golden near the sideline for 11. One play later, Brian Branch tore the helmet off Tucker Kraft’s head and chucked it, giving the Packers a free 15 yards. Finally, on third-and-9, Love threw a spectacular pass to Kraft against linebacker Jack Campbell and Branch for a 15-yard touchdown.

Love started 6-of-8 for 65 yards to offset a nonexistent running game.

Believe in Bullard?

One of the big matchups of the day will be Packers safety/nickel Javon Bullard against star Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown. St. Brown is an elite route-runner and competitor. A fourth-round pick in 2021, St. Brown caught 90 passes as a rookie, 106 passes in 2022, 119 passes in 2023 and 115 passes in 2024.

With 430 receptions, he needs 81 receptions to surpass former Saints star Michael Thomas for the most catches by a player in his first five seasons in NFL history. St. Brown also can become the first player in NFL history to record at least 90 receptions in each of his first five seasons and the first with 100-plus receptions in four of his first five seasons.

St. Brown does a lot of his damage from the slot. That’s where he’ll find Bullard, a second-round pick last year.

Bullard had a challenging rookie season. He spent training camp anchored at safety but wound up being moved into the slot when Keisean Nixon replaced Jaire Alexander at cornerback. As he started to settle in, he sustained an ankle injury that sidelined him for two games. He returned for the final three games, including the playoff loss, before having surgery.

“It definitely was difficult,” Bullard said this week. “It was very difficult and very frustrating, but those are the things that you’ve got to deal with in life. God don’t put those things in your lap for no reason. I’m a spiritual person. I feel like He gave me those obstacles for me to face so I can overcome those things. I’m in a much, much, much better place now.”

Bullard spent most of this training camp in the slot, so he’s feeling much more comfortable now than a year ago.

“I thought Bullard had a really good rookie year,” defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley said. “I think his injuries, he kind of went up and down, in and out of games. He’s been healthy. He looks faster, more explosive. I think he’s one of the tougher, more physical guys that we have.

“He has a ton of versatility. He’s played nickel and safety throughout camp, so he gives us the ability to move him around. He’s become a guy you really don’t want to take off the field. I love the guy. He’s all ball. He is football. He is tough. He studies it. He is just locked in and I’d expect him to take a big jump Year 2.”

Bullard’s coverage ability will be put to the test against St. Brown, who is coming off back-to-back All-Pro seasons.

“It’s going to be a good matchup,” Bullard said. “I love his game. He’s a physical guy; I’m a physical guy, too. We’re going to see what’s up on Sunday.”

Josh Jacobs Leads the Offense

After a superb first season in Green Bay, running back Josh Jacobs can become the fifth player since 2000 with 1,100-plus scrimmage yards in each of his first seven seasons. The others: Matt Forte, Alvin Kamara, Adrian Peterson and LaDainian Tomlinson.

He also can become the fourth running back since 2000 with six-plus rushing touchdowns in each of his first seven seasons, joining Ezekiel Elliott, Peterson and Tomlinson.

None of that is on his mind.

“Man, I’m just trying to come out and have a better year than I did last year,” Jacobs said. “Trying to take it day by day. Work hard. Obviously, still lead these guys in terms of work ethic and things like that and how to be a pro. But just finish some games, man. I think that’s the biggest thing when it comes down to a couple of plays at the end or whatever. Try to clean all that up to go where we want to go.”

No Place Like Home

Something’s got to give. Green Bay has won 12 consecutive home openers – the longest streak since Seattle from 2009 through 2020. Detroit has won three consecutive games at Lambeau Field.

This will be the first time that Packers coach Matt LaFleur got to spend Week 1 at home, and he’s excited about it.

“Week 1 is the most playoff-type atmosphere that you can come by, just in terms of the excitement, the energy in the stadium,” LaFleur said. “The fans are certainly going to be rowdy. Everybody’s been itching, missing football. So, yeah, I think it’s a big deal, and I expect our crowd to show up and show out for us.”

Packers-Lions Inactives

Micah Parsons is active. Nate Hobbs is not. What about Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks? Here’s the inactives list.

Betting Money on the Lions

The Packers are 1.5-point favorites, according to FanDuel Sportsbook, with an over/under of 47.5. With about 2 hours until kickoff, 70 percent of the bets and 69 percent of the money is on Detroit.

The line is down from Green Bay by 2.5 earlier in the week.

Parsons is -140 to get a sack in his Packers debut while Aidan Hutchinson is -125 to get a sack in his return to the Lions’ lineup.

More Green Bay Packers News

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Bill Huber
BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.