The visiting locker room at Lambeau Field has become a celebratory place for the Lions of late. It was sober Sunday evening. After the Lions' worst loss in almost two years, Dan Campbell stood in front of his players and spoke the truth: "It’s tough to go in and not play close to your best game."
"You hate starting the season out with a loss," Campbell said. "As bad as that is, it’s not what it appears to be. It’s like I told them, let’s clean up the tape. We made some critical errors at the worst times possible and you don’t do those — you take those out of the equation — it looks different. You feel like it would be a totally different scenario. But, we did make those critical errors at the worst times."
The Lions were bullied by the Packers in the season-opener, 27-13 in front of a fired-up crowd in Green Bay. The score flatters Detroit's performance. If not for a circus catch by rookie Isaac TeSlaa on the Lions' final drive of the game, they would have failed to score a touchdown for the first time since 2022. As it was, they averaged the second fewest yards per play (3.8) of the Campbell era and their fewest since 2021.
Their new-look offensive line failed to live up to the old one's standard, their pass rush was mostly non-existent despite the return of Aidan Hutchinson, and their new coordinators struggled to establish a rhythm on either side of the ball. The Lions, who went 15-3 against division opponents the last three years including three straight wins in Green Bay, looked like anything but rulers of the North. The Packers looked like they're coming for the crown.
"I thought we’d be much cleaner than we were," said Campbell. "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."
Some of the Lions' critical errors also owed to the Packers' execution. When Jayden Reed shook Terrion Arnold for a 17-yard touchdown that gave Green Bay a 17-3 lead in the second quarter, it was the result of a well-timed pick route by fellow receiver Dontayvion Wicks. When Jared Goff was intercepted in the red zone on the ensuing drive, it was the product of a terrific read by safety Evan Williams after Micah Parsons beat Penei Sewell and pressured Goff into the throw. The Lions made mistakes, sure, but often because the Packers made plays.
The Packers racked up four sacks and nine quarterback hits on Goff. The Lions mustered two quarterback hits on Love, who generally had all the time he needed to find open receivers downfield. And while Detroit's defense did smother the Packers for most of the game on the ground, its offense found even fewer lanes. The Lions averaged just 2.1 yards per carry. Both Christian Mahogany and Tate Ratledge showed their youth. Veteran Graham Glasgow spent most of the game on his heels.
"The more those five play together, we got two young guards, the better we’re going to get," said Campbell. "These are real reps against other opponents."
Sunday was a dose of reality for the Lions, who spent most of the past two seasons on the heady side of games like this. They haven't been humbled so harshly since getting blown out by the Ravens in October of 2023. Detroit's season-opener that year was an intoxicating win over the Chiefs, last year a rousing win over the Rams. The Lions won the most games in the NFL from 2023 to 2024.
They opened 2025 with a dud, and a reminder that the questions they've yet to answer are real. To avoid losing consecutive games for the first time since October of 2022, the Lions will need their coordinators to adjust, their offensive line to gel -- quickly -- and their pass rush to make some noise. Otherwise, the noise on the outside will only grow louder.
"Man, we’re going to learn from it," said Campbell. "We’ll clean it up. It gives us a little barometer of where we’re at, game 1, and that’s OK. It’s always about improving, no matter what."