PFF highlights two matchups that will be critical to Lions-Packers Week 1 result

Week 1 is finally here, and the NFC North tilt between the Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers gets the late Sunday afternoon spotlight with CBS' No. 1 NFL broadcast team (Jim Nantz, Tony Romo, Tracy Wolfson) on the call.

When we look back at the end of the season, the result of the Lions-Packers season opener may go a long way toward determining who wins the NFC North and/or playoff seeding. So while "it's only one week", the magnitude of the game is not lost on anyone.

When talking about the game this past week, Lions head coach Dan Campbell got Biblical when taking about the venue it will take place in.

"Man, we love Lambeau [Field]. It's awesome," Campbell said. "You know, it's just, that’s one of those places, on the eighth day, the good Lord made Lambeau ... It's got that deep history to it. You know it's the grass, it's the elements, it's just the mystique, it's awesome. If you love football, you love going to play there."

Pro Football Focus spotlights 2 huge matchups for Lions-Packers Week 1

Bradley Locker of Pro Football Focus offered up what he sees as the 10 best player matchups to watch in Week 1. Lions-Packers had two matchups worthy of the list, starting with Packers edge rusher Micah Parsons vs. Lions right tackle Penei Sewell.

"After the Packers pulled off one of the more shocking trades in recent NFL memory, it’s only fitting that the team’s first game comes against an elite opponent with a player designed to stop someone like Parsons."

"Lions-Packers pits not only two NFC title contenders against one another, but also two of the best at their positions in Parsons and Sewell. Since the two 2021 first-round picks debuted four years ago, Parsons sits second in PFF Wins Above Replacement among edge rushers, while Sewell is tied as the second-most-valuable tackle. It’s not often that two players who are this young and great get to square off, let alone twice in a season."

"The last time that Parsons and Sewell went head-to-head was in Week 17, 2023. Viewers were treated to 29 total matchups between the two stalwarts, with 21 of those on pass-blocking snaps. Parsons bested Sewell for two pressures and a 9.5% pressure rate en route to amassing five total pressures, while Sewell posted only a 52.2 PFF pass-blocking grade — tied for his second-lowest in the last three years."

READ MORE: Lions must exploit this one Packers weakness from 2024 to dominate Week 1

How Parsons will be deployed in Green Bay's defensive scheme is to be determined, and he seems likely to be on a limited snap count in his Packers' debut due to a lingering back issue. But he lined up in multiple spots across the Cowboys' defense, so Lions' left tackle Taylor Decker should also see some of him on Sunday afternoon.

The second individual matchup in the Lions-Packers game highlighted by Locker is Lions edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson against Packers right tackle Zach Tom.

"Before suffering a broken leg in Week 6, Hutchinson was effectively unblockable. He racked up 45 pressures and a 95.0 PFF pass-rush grade, which culminated in a 94.9 overall PFF grade. For Green Bay, Tom has been a steady presence at right tackle over the last two seasons, placing ninth in PFF WAR and 13th in overall PFF grade (85.3) among tackles since his rookie year."

"Hutchinson played slightly more against left tackles (171 snaps from the Left B Gap onward) than right tackles (90) in 2024, but he did encounter Tom quite a bit in 2023. Two years ago, Hutchinson generated a gaudy six pressures and a 15.8% pressure rate on 38 pass-blocking matchups with Tom."

Protecting the quarterback well is a very elementary key to broadly highlight heading into any game. But if one team noticeably holds the other's top pass rusher in-check at Lambeau Field on Sunday, that team's chances to win will increase in-kind.