In the grand scheme of things, it’s probably not ideal to face a divisional opponent in the first week of the season. It’s even less ideal to face the team that won your division last season.
That’s exactly what the Packers face in Week 1, and no, it’s not ideal. The Lions not only won the NFC North in 2024, but they’ve had the Packers’ number for, frankly, most of the last decade. Dating back to the 2017 season, the Lions hold a 10-6 advantage in their annual regular-season meetings with the Packers,
including winning four of the last five.
But this is exactly the kind of challenge the Packers should want. If the Packers are hoping to reclaim supremacy in the NFC North, they’re going to have to overcome the Lions sooner or later, and it might as well be sooner.
The Lions are a great measuring stick for the Packers. A power in their division for years now, the Lions are going through something you could probably call growing pains at the moment. Dan Campbell remains the head coach, but he was, to an extent, victimized by his own success this offseason. Thanks in part to the Lions’ recent run, Campbell lost both offensive coordinator Ben Johnson to the Rams and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn to the Jets, both taking head coaching gigs, leaving the Lions with a lot to figure out this offseason.
In addition, the Lions took two significant hits to their offensive line this offseason, previously one of the strengths of their team. They chose not to re-sign guard Kevin Zeitler, who started 16 games for Detroit in 2024, and lost center Frank Ragnow to retirement in June. The Lions balanced some of that turnover by drafting the fabulously be-mulleted Tate Ratledge in the second round this spring, but they’re still looking at new starters at two of their five offensive lines spots.
So if there’s a good time to face the Lions, it might be now. Everyone goes through a feeling-out period early in a given season, and the Lions have a lot more to figure out than most teams, and certainly more than the Packers, whose biggest challenge right now is figuring out how to integrate their newly acquired superstar pass rusher.
But more to the point, the Packers have announced themselves as would-be Super Bowl contenders. They are all in. There’s no ducking the challenge of living up to the expectations you set for yourself, and the Packers have set the bar high.
They might as well buckle down and deal with it. If the Lions are their ultimate obstacle in the NFC North, there’s no reason to sit around and wait for the inevitable confrontation.
