For the last four years, Micah Parsons battled Eagles star right tackle Lane Johnson in the NFC East. Parsons is Penei Sewell's problem now.
The Lions learned that the hard way in Parsons' Packers debut. The star pass rusher played a lighter load of snaps than usual after sitting out training camp during his contract dispute with the Cowboys, but still wreaked havoc on Detroit's offense. He beat Sewell one-on-one for a couple pressures in the first half, the second of which led to a pick by safety Evan Williams in the red zone when Jared Goff hurried a throw on third down to Amon-Ra St. Brown.
Parsons said he "embraced the matchup" with Sewell. Both of them have been among the best at their respective positions since being selected in the first round of the 2021 draft, Sewell seventh overall, Parsons 12th. The Lions were content to leave Sewell on an island with Parsons early in the game, before Parsons forced them to start bringing extra help.
"You gotta win those matchups and then later on in the game, they gave me my respect, they came back with the chips, the slides and that’s the type of respect that is warranted," Parsons said. "But you gotta earn it out there on the field. I gotta go show them that I can beat their best and that’s what happened."
Parsons went on to say that his showdowns with Sewell are "going to be a rivalry for the next four or five years." He told Sewell as much on the field after the game.
"I’m not going to be able to get rid of him," Parsons said. "He’s a hell of a player. I told him, I said, 'You’re my new rivalry now. Like, I don’t got Lane no more, it’s going to be you. I’m going to see you twice a year, so we might as well buckle up. It’s going to be a long one.'"
Parsons got his first sack as a Packer late in Green Bay's 27-13 win when he broke through the left side of the line and chased down Goff from behind as the fans at Lambeau Field reached a crescendo. Packers head coach Matt LaFleur said that Parsons "looked like a speed of light or a shooting star just coming out of the sky and closing ground fast."
"That’s why he’s here, right?" said LaFleur. "That was really exciting to see."
For the Lions, not so much. Parsons ignited a pass rush that harassed Goff for most of the day, sacking him four times, hitting him nine and pressuring him several others.
"I thought all those guys up front played pretty good for them today," said Dan Campbell. "They created a lot of pressure. There was a lot of movement. But look, he’s only going to get better, more in shape, and it’s only going to get better for him."