GREEN BAY, Wis. – Green Bay hadn't hosted a season opener at Lambeau Field since 2018 before welcoming Detroit Sunday to kick off the 2025 season. The Packers felt right at home, jumping out to an early lead and keeping their foot on the gas by defeating the Lions, 27-13.
The loss was the first opening season loss by the Lions since dropping a Week 1 contest to the Philadelphia Eagles (38-35) in 2022.
Packers quarterback Jordan Love threw two first-half touchdowns as Green Bay's defense held Detroit's high-powered offense to just three first-half points as Green Bay led 17-3 at the half.
The biggest play of the first half was Green Bay safety Evan Williams intercepting Lions quarterback Jared Goff at the Packers' 10-yard line with just over a minute left in the half to keep points off the board.
After a scoreless third quarter, Green Bay pushed the lead to 24-6 with just under eight minutes to go on a Josh Jacobs 3-yard run. They added a field goal late in the fourth quarter to push the lead to 27-6.
Detroit scored their only touchdown of the contest with 55 seconds left on a one-handed grab by rookie third-round pick Isaac TeSlaa for a 13-yard touchdown, the first of his career. The subsequent onside kick went out of bounds and Green Bay ran out the clock from there.
QB comparison: Goff, who had guided the Lions to a win in each of his last three games at Lambeau Field, finished 31-of-39 passing for 225 yards with one touchdown, one interception, and a passer rating of 88.6. Goff was sacked four times and hit on nine different occasions.
Love completed 16 of his 22 pass attempts for 188 yards with two touchdowns, no interceptions and a passer rating of 128.6. He threw touchdown passes to tight end Tucker Kraft (15 yards) and wide receiver Jayden Reed (17).
Key stat: The Lions were the No. 3 red-zone offense in football last season, converting a touchdown 69.4 percent of the time. They were 1-for-4 Sunday while Green Bay was 3-for-5. That ended up being the biggest difference in the contest.
In the red zone last season, Goff threw 23 touchdowns and zero interceptions. He was just 4-of-9 passing with an interception and a touchdown in the red zone against the Packers.
Big play: Trailing 17-6 with just over nine minutes left in the game, the Packers faced a 4th & 1 at the Lions' 10-yard line and Love was able to pick up the first down with a 2-yard scramble up the middle. Green Bay scored a touchdown on Jacobs' 3-yard run to push their lead to 24-6.
Star performance: Packers veteran edge rusher Rashan Gary recorded seven tackles, 1.5 sacks, three quarterback hits and a tackle for loss to lead a nice outing by the Packers' defense.
Injury report: Lions starting outside cornerback Terrion Arnold suffered a groin injury in the second quarter and was ruled out for the remainder of the game.
Up next: vs. Chicago, Sept. 14, 1 p.m.
