Three Reasons Why Packers Will Beat Lions Today Includes Micah Parsons

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Every season-opening game is big. For the Green Bay Packers, their Week 1 showdown against the Detroit Lions on Sunday just seems bigger.

A series once owned by the Packers has now been dominated by the Lions, with six wins in the last seven matchups including three in a row at Lambeau Field.

Here’s why the Packers will get some revenge with a huge win over the two-time defending NFC North champions to start the season.

1. Pass Protection vs. Aidan Hutchinson

The best player on the field on Sunday might be Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson. In less than five games last season, he had 7.5 sacks, which put him on a pace to blow the NFL single-season sacks record to smithereens.

Last season, 95 edge rushers played at least 180 pass-rushing snaps. Hutchinson was No. 1 by a huge margin in Pro Football Focus’ pass-rushing productivity, which measures sacks, hits and hurries per pass-rushing snap. While 95th in rushes, he was 34th with 45 pressures – just two less than Rashan Gary in 211 fewer pass-rushing snaps.

“He’s kind of in the same vein like with Micah (Parsons),” offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said. “You’ve got to have a plan for him, wherever he’s at. He’s a really active player and he does a really good job of just playing hard to the whistle and getting after people with relentless effort.

“That’s one thing that’s very impressive about his game, so you’ve got to make sure you have hats on him, you have eyes on him, you have guys accounting for him – multiple guys – so that you can minimize his effect on a game.”

Two things will help Green Bay minimize his impact. One is the matchup. In his three seasons, Hutchinson rushed from the defense’s left (meaning mostly against the offensive right tackle) 70.0 percent of the time in 2024, 78.0 percent of the time in 2023 and 62.3 percent of the time as a rookie in 2022. While he can and will move around the defense, the history shows he mostly will be going against Zach Tom, who is one of the best right tackles in the NFL.

“Obviously he’s a really good player,” Tom said. “He can change a game for them, so we have to know where he’s at at all times and just make plays when we can. Obviously, we’re going to have a plan for him, but it’s no different than any other week apart from the fact that he’s just a really good player.”

The other thing helping Green Bay is the rest of Detroit’s defensive line, which lacks a standout pass rusher opposite Hutchinson. The projected other end is Marcus Davenport. In seven seasons, he has only one year of more than six sacks (nine in 2021). He had just a half-sack in 15 games for the Saints in 2022, two sacks in four games for the Vikings in 2023 and a half-sack in two games for the Lions in 2024.

Defensive tackles D.J. Reader and Tyleik Williams will make life difficult for Josh Jacobs but Reader has only 12.5 sacks in nine seasons and Williams is a rookie who had 11.5 sacks in four seasons at Ohio State.

Hutchinson is a handful, to state the obvious. He’s one of the best in the business and is going to get his wins against Tom. But the lack of pass rush from the other positions should give Jordan Love the time to get comfortable and make some plays.

2. Power of Micah Parsons

The Packers mortgaged their future to acquire Micah Parsons. There’s no other way to look at it after they gave up two first-round picks and made Parsons the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history. Green Bay is going to face significant challenges to build for the next handful of years.

Who cares, though, if Parsons makes the kind of impact that Reggie White and Ted Hendricks made for Ron Wolf? The answer is nobody will care if Parsons delivers game-changing plays over the next five seasons, including one or two against Jared Goff and the Lions.

There will be a lot of premier players on the field for the big #Packers-Lions showdown. @JacobSlinkman picked out five of the most important.https://t.co/ydSmCqG5sE
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) September 6, 2025

Since entering the NFL in 2021, Parsons is fifth in the NFL in sacks and tackles for losses. He is first in pressures. When it comes to his toolbox of ways to get to the quarterback, he is Harbor Freight. He’s the total package of talent, effort and intelligence.

“Smart guy, loves ball, very high football IQ,” defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington said on Friday. “A guy obviously with God-given talent, unbelievable talent. That’s my first impression with him. He fits right in with the room. He’s building a relationship with the guys already. And then, obviously, he’s a hard worker, trying to learn the playbook as much as possible and he’s willing to do whatever you ask.”

Parsons is an elite player. So is Lions right tackle Penei Sewell. Left tackle Taylor Decker is solid but can be vulnerable – back-to-back seasons of eight sacks allowed, according to PFF – and the Lions have two first-time starters at guard and a new starting center with veteran Graham Glasgow sliding inside to replace the retired Frank Ragnow. Expect Parsons to line up here, there and everywhere to take advantage of potential mismatches or to set up a teammate.

“Yeah, we’ve got two pretty good tackles, so I’m not as much concerned about that,” Lions offensive coordinator John Morton told reporters in Detroit this week. “So, we’ve got some great players here. But Parsons and (Rashan) Gary, they’re really good. So, we’ll have plans but our two tackles are pretty damn good.”

On Thursday, Parsons said he had learned about 80 percent of the playbook. While his snaps might be limited after missing all of training camp, he figures to be on the field for all the key moments.

“They’re putting a lot on my plate and I take that and I’m excited about the opportunity,” Parsons said.

3. No Place Like Home for Packers

A generation of Packers fans had never seen the team lose at home to the Lions. From 1992 through 2014, the Packers won 24 consecutive home matchups against Detroit.

Now, Detroit has won three in a row, including commanding wins the last two years.

However, Green Bay has won 12 consecutive home openers – the longest streak since Seattle from 2009 through 2020. And while there might no longer be a “Lambeau mystique,” they have the second-best home winning percentage in the league during Matt LaFleur’s tenure.

Speaking of LaFleur, this will be the first time his Packers have opened the season at home.

“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.”

The Lions went 8-0 on the road last season. Last year, they built a 24-3 lead on their opening drive of the second half for the most lopsided 24-14 score imaginable.

“Man, we love Lambeau. It’s awesome,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said.

However, the Week 1 atmosphere, with the addition of Micah Parsons providing the gasoline and blow torch, could swing this game in Green Bay’s direction.

Quarterback Jordan Love hopes the defense will be introduced to add additional fuel to the fire.

“Micah last, you know what I mean?” Love said. “Crowd’s going to go crazy. I already see it. I already see it. Defense go out there first, get a three-and-out, Micah get a sack on third down. I already see it. I already see it.”

Death, taxes and the #Packers beating the Lions at Lambeau Field used to be the three certainties in life. Not anymore.

Here are three reasons why the Packers will lose to the Lions again today. ⬇️https://t.co/XPwlS58uUt
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) September 7, 2025

1. Pass Protection vs. Aidan Hutchinson

2. Power of Micah Parsons

3. No Place Like Home for Packers

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