Packers-Lions: Five Key Players for Week 1 Showdown 

The Green Bay Packers will look to start the season 1-0 on Sunday with an NFC North rivalry game against the Detroit Lions. From a Packers perspective, here are the players who must step up or be held in check to get a critical season-opening win. 

Packers CB Carrington Valentine/Nate Hobbs 

The Lions have one of the NFL’s top passing attacks, highlighted by All-Pro receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown. St. Brown is coming off three consecutive seasons of 100-plus catches and 1,100-plus receiving yards. He enters the season needing 81 receptions to surpass former Saints star Michael Thomas (510) for the most by a player in his first five seasons in NFL history.   

St. Brown moved around a lot between the slot and the boundary under former offensive coordinator Ben Johnson. With his skill-set and past production, that is unlikely to change under new coordinator John Morton. 

While he’s in the slot, he’ll be Javon Bullard’s responsibility. When he moves outside, he’ll be matched against Keisean Nixon and either Nate Hobbs or Carrington Valentine. Hobbs was one of Green Bay’s big free-agent additions. He was out more than a month following knee surgery and returned this week with two limited-participation practices. With such limited reps, the Packers might prefer turning to Valentine. 

With St. Brown moving around so much, Hobbs or Valentine will have to rise to the occasion against Detroit’s WR1. Even when Nixon is matched against St. Brown, the job doesn’t get any easier guarding the speedy Jameson Williams, who was a 1,000-yard receiver in only 15 games last year. 

Hobbs, who is questionable on the injury report, received high praise from coach Matt LaFleur on Friday, saying “Nate’s a dog. He’s a great competitor. That’s why we got him. He’s really worked hard at doing all the little things to put him in this position to potentially play on Sunday.” 

Lions QB Jared Goff 

“If you give him a sliver of light, he’s going to make you pay. I think he is so decisive as a quarterback,” is what Matt LaFleur had to say about Lions quarterback Jared Goff. LaFleur was the Rams’ offensive coordinator in 2017, when Goff had his first Pro Bowl season, and Goff played at a near-MVP level for Detroit in 2024. 

He finished the season ranked second in passing yards, fourth in passing touchdowns, second in completion percentage, second in yards per attempt, second in yards per game and sixth in quarterback rating.  

Goff might get dinged because he plays alongside one of the best supporting casts in football, but he’s no slouch. He makes good decisions and has a good arm so he can push the ball down the field. 

It’s going to take more than Nixon and the rest of the secondary to limit Goff. It’s going to require a team effort from the pass rush getting in Goff’s face, the linebackers taking away the underneath completions, coordinator Jeff Hafley’s play-calling and even the offense finding ways to stay on the field and give the defense some rest as well as an opportunity to play ahead on the scoreboard rather than behind, as they did so often last season. 

Packers RB Josh Jacobs 

Josh Jacobs was the Packers’ workhorse on offense last season. While the receivers were struggling with drops and injuries, Jacobs was rushing for more than 1,300 yards and 15 touchdowns, coming in at sixth and fourth in the league, respectively, in those categories. He also caught 36 passes for 342 yards and his first receiving touchdown. 

According to PFF, Jacobs was third in the NFL in forced missed tackles with 66, eighth in yards after contact per attempt at 3.45 and sixth with 33 runs of 10-plus yards. 

On top of Jordan Love recently coming off a thumb surgery, three of the Packers’ six receivers are coming into the game questionable with various injuries. This means they could be forced to lean on the running game, giving Jacobs a lot of touches, especially with one of the only healthy receivers being a rookie, even a highly touted rookie like Matthew Golden. 

Packers RT Zach Tom 

Similar to Micah Parsons, who the Packers acquired in a trade last week, Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson is a potential game-wrecker coming off the edge. 

Coming off a broken leg that limited him to five games last season, Hutchinson is the kind of player who can stop drives before they even begin. With Jordan Love coming off thumb surgery that limited him during training camp and the preseason, the last thing the Packers want is an unchecked, heat-seeking missile like Hutchinson bursting off the edge and burying him in the dirt.  

That is where right tackle and full-time bodyguard Zach Tom comes in. 

Before his injury, Hutchinson spent most of his time on the left side of the defensive line, which, fortunately for the Packers, puts him right across from Tom, the top offensive lineman on the squad. 

“They move him around, but I’m expecting to see him all game,” Tom said this week. 

Tom will need to keep building on an incredible 2024 campaign, in which he only allowed three sacks, two QB hits, and 24 pressures in more than 1,000 snaps. He will have a tough task ahead of him trying to stop Hutchinson, who can beat tackles with speed, power, finesse and tenacity. 

Packers DE Micah Parsons 

The biggest storyline this week for the Packers is the addition of Micah Parsons to the defensive front. He has been one of the best pass rushers and defenders overall in the NFL since he was drafted in 2021. Last season, he finished third in the NFL with 12 sacks despite playing in only 13 games. 

All eyes will be on Parsons in what could be limited reps after not practicing in training camp due to a contract dispute and back injury. A strong performance against one of the best teams in the league could help legitimize this defense and cement the Packers as a true Super Bowl contender. 

It won’t be easy for Parsons. He’ll be going up against a solid Lions offensive line that features All-Pro right tackle Penei Sewell and sturdy veteran left tackle Taylor Decker. With Parsons’ versatility, the Packers might prefer to have Parsons going against Decker. 

Parsons is an explosive, game-changing player, not unlike the Lions' Aidan Hutchinson. He’ll be counted on to make a tide-turning play on third down or late in the game.