Lions Don't Play Anywhere Near Standard in Disappointing Loss

The Detroit Lions entered the 2025 season with sky-high expectations. 

Equipped with one of the league’s deepest rosters and the confidence that comes with being a legitimate Super Bowl contender, Detroit was expected to make a statement in its season opener. 

Instead, the Lions laid an egg at Lambeau Field, falling, 27-13, to the Green Bay Packers in a game that raised more questions than answers about their readiness to meet championship-level standards.

From the opening drive, it was Green Bay – not Detroit – that looked like the reigning back-to-back NFC North champions. 

Jordan Love and the Packers’ offense moved the ball at will, scoring on their first three possessions, including a touchdown strike to tight end Tucker Kraft that immediately put the Lions on their heels. 

Meanwhile, Detroit’s offense sputtered, producing a lone field goal in two first-half red-zone trips, with Jared Goff tossing a costly interception on the other.

For a team that boasted the league’s No. 1-ranked offense just a year ago, the performance was vastly underwhelming. 

Detroit managed just 246 total yards of offense – its second-fewest in a game since 2022 – and reached the end zone only once, courtesy of a late touchdown pass from Goff to rookie wideout Isaac TeSlaa with under a minute remaining. By then, the outcome had long been decided.

What was most concerning, though, wasn’t the lack of production, but instead the lack of identity. 

The Lions, under head man Dan Campbell, have established a reputation as a hard-nosed, physical team that wins at the line of scrimmage and sets the tone offensively with a bruising ground attack. 

On Sunday, that was far from the case. The running back tandem of David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs – one of the league’s most dynamic last season – was kept in check all game long. The duo produced a measly 44 rushing yards with no scores. 

Additionally, Gibbs’ 10 catches resulted in just 31 yards, the lowest single-game total in league history for a player with that many receptions.

If the offense was underwhelming, the defense was downright concerning, especially when it came to generating pressure on Love. 

The Lions finished the game without a single sack, and were barely able to muster a semblance of a pass-rush against the Green Bay signal-caller. 

Meanwhile, All-Pro pass-rusher Micah Parsons, acquired by the Packers in a blockbuster trade at the end of August, repeatedly wreaked havoc against Goff. 

Parsons even forced Goff’s first-half interception, displaying exactly why many Lions fans and pundits alike thought the organization should have aggressively pursued him.

Aidan Hutchinson, the centerpiece of Detroit’s pass-rush, was neutralized for much of the afternoon and clearly outshined by Parsons. 

Without pressure up front, the Lions’ secondary was left vulnerable, and Green Bay took full advantage by controlling the pace of the game from start to finish.

In many ways, the opener highlighted the challenges facing new coordinators John Morton (offense) and Kelvin Sheppard (defense). 

Morton’s play-calling lacked rhythm, with drives stalling before they could gain momentum. The red-zone execution was particularly lackluster, as Detroit converted just one of four trips into points. 

Sheppard’s defense, meanwhile, looked unprepared and struggled to adjust to Green Bay’s balanced attack. 

Both coaches will be under heavy scrutiny moving forward, as Week 1 was a harsh reminder that replacing veteran coordinators with inexperienced play-callers can come with growing pains.

After the game, Goff didn’t mince words about the offense’s inefficient play. 

"Not even close to good enough, right?" the Lions franchise quarterback expressed. "There needs to be an urgency of improvement. There has to be. Today wasn't even close to good enough offensively.” 

Campbell struck a more measured tone but acknowledged the disappointment. 

"I thought we’d be much cleaner than we were," he said in the postgame. "But there again, you’re talking about a few plays that were critical. Like I told the team, these are so correctable, and we’ll hit it head on. Our players are accountable, man, they’re ready. Nobody takes it worse than they do, and that’s the good news. We got the right dudes.”

Still, accountability alone won’t fix the deeper issues that were exposed on Sunday. 

Detroit didn’t just lose; it failed to play anything close to a winning brand of football. 

The grit, execution and swagger that defined last year’s NFC North champions were missing. And in their place was an uninspired performance that made the Lions look like the very antithesis of a Super Bowl contender.

One game doesn’t define a season, but it surely can set a tone. 

And for the Lions, the takeaway from Week 1 is crystal clear: they are a long way away from meeting their standard.