GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Micah Parsons’ arrival in Green Bay helped the Packers put their recent NFC North struggles behind them.
Jordan Love threw a pair of touchdown passes and Parsons had a sack in his Green Bay debut as the Packers delivered an exceptional defensive performance in a 27-13 victory over the Detroit Lions on Sunday.
Opening a season at home for the first time since 2018, the Packers beat the two-time defending NFC North champions after going 1-5 in divisional games last year.
“Obviously I think a big goal for us was to be able to come in here and start the season off fast and start the season on the right note,” Love said. “To come in here Week 1 at home and get a dominant win like that is amazing and exactly what we’d been working for.”
The Packers won their 13th consecutive home opener, the longest such streak since the Miami Dolphins also won 13 straight from 1976-88.
After getting outscored 99-40 in the first half of NFC North games last season, the Packers got points on their opening three possessions to take a 17-3 lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
Love went 16 of 22 for 188 yards with touchdown passes of 15 yards to Tucker Kraft and 17 yards to Jayden Reed. Josh Jacobs added a 3-yard score in the fourth quarter, giving him a touchdown in a franchise-record nine straight games.
The Lions, who scored an NFL-high 33.2 points per game last season, didn’t reach the end zone until the final minute against a Green Bay defense featuring Parsons, who got a huge ovation from the Lambeau Field crowd when he was introduced before the game.
Parsons had spent the offseason in a contract stalemate with the Dallas Cowboys before Green Bay acquired him just over a week ago. The Packers sent two first-round picks as well as three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kenny Clark to Dallas in exchange for the star edge rusher.
Parsons got his first sack as a Packer with just over four minutes left in the game. He also applied pressure that led to Evan Williams’ second-quarter interception.
“These last six months were super draining, super toxic for everyone,” Parsons said. “It’s something that I don’t think no player should have to go through. I think players’ fates should be decided earlier. The fact I was traded before the season was really outrageous and rough. It’s something where I could have been with these guys getting better and better, and we could have had probably an even more dominant start.”
The Lions had won at Lambeau Field each of the last three seasons but never gave themselves much of an opportunity this time after numerous offseason changes.
Detroit lost four-time Pro Bowl center Frank Ragnow to retirement and offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn to head coaching opportunities after setting a franchise record for wins last season, when they went 15-2.
Jared Goff went 31 of 39 for 225 yards with a touchdown and an interception. David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs were held to a combined 44 yards on 20 carries.
The Lions netted just six points from their first three drives into the red zone before Detroit scored its lone touchdown on a 13-yard pass from Goff to Isaac TeSlaa with 55 seconds left.
“They came out and played outstanding, and we didn’t play good enough,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “We didn’t coach good enough, including me, and we didn’t play good enough. Like I told the team, it’s tough to go in and not certainly play close to your best game. You hate starting the season off with a loss, and as bad as that is, it’s not what it appears to be.”
Trailing 17-6 in the third quarter, Detroit appeared on the verge of getting into the game in the third quarter when Brian Branch scored an apparent touchdown on a 35-yard interception return. But a defensive holding penalty on Rock Ya-Sin nullified the play.
Green Bay then scored the next 10 points to put the game away.
“We made some critical errors at the worst times possible,” Campbell said. “You take those out of the equation, and it looks different.”
Injuries
Lions: Safety Daniel Thomas injured his hand in the first quarter, and cornerback Terrion Arnold injured his groin in the third quarter.
Packers: Cornerback Nate Hobbs, who had been listed as questionable, didn’t play after undergoing knee surgery during training camp. Cornerback Bo Melton (shoulder), defensive lineman Brenton Cox (groin), offensive tackle Zach Tom (hip) and guard Aaron Banks (ankle) left in the second half.
Up next
The Packers host the Washington Commanders on Thursday night.
The Lions open their home schedule against the Chicago Bears next Sunday.
