I had a vision for my prediction last week, but I came two sacks short. Detroit Lions EDGE Aidan Hutchinson came in clutch with the game-ending sack on Sunday afternoon against the New York Giants, but he didn’t have the big game I expected he would.
I’m flipping the script this time, and I want to focus on a different edge defender, the one on the other sideline for the Green Bay Packers: Micah Parsons. Parsons has had a strong season with Green Bay so far, racking up 10 sacks and reinforcing an already
strong Green Bay defense. The defense came up big against Detroit to start the season in Week 1, defeating the Lions 27-13.
In that game, Parsons was limited on snaps due to his short time with the team and a back injury. He was relatively quiet on the stat sheet, with one sack on Lions quarterback Jared Goff and nothing else. Just because he was quiet on the stat sheet didn’t mean he wasn’t a factor in the end. This time around, I believe he will be held quiet on the stat sheet, and his impact won’t be as strong as before.
Bold prediction of the week: Micah Parsons records zero stats
It’s rare for a defensive player not to impact a game, whether it’s recorded on the stat sheet or not. A player can usually get a tackle, pressure, force an incompletion, or do something to impact a play. Not everything in the NFL is a stat, though you can find a stat for just about anything nowadays. Parsons has been in the league since 2021 with 74 career games, and he’s done something in almost every game he’s played.
Whether it’s a monster three-sack performance like this season against the Arizona Cardinals, or it’s getting 11 tackles against the Minnesota Vikings as a rookie, Parsons is tough to stop. He’s one of the best pass rushers in the NFL, and limiting him to only a few tackles is a victory for most teams. In the last matchup, Parsons had only 30 snaps total, the lowest he’s had all season. He’s up to a season-high 61 snaps in Week 11, so he’ll be on the field even more this time.
In those 30 snaps, Parsons finished with a single sack and two pressures per PFF. He impacted the game elsewhere as his presence threw off the blocking scheme for Detroit and gave them issues when he was on the field. This time around, Detroit is going to be better prepared for him.
In his career, Parsons has been held without a single stat in only two games, one in 2024 against the Cincinnati Bengals and the other against the Giants in 2023. The Lions’ offensive line is going to be more prepared for Parsons this time around, with more time to study what he’s doing with the Packers, and they have more experience than they did in September. Left guard Christian Mahogany is down with an injury, replaced by Kayode Awosika, and rookie right guard Tate Ratledge has grown and improved from his NFL debut.
The biggest issue in the season opener was communication, something that we’ve seen improve and will be easier at home on Thanksgiving.
“It was miscommunication or guys not getting the communication, and then based on that, the execution wasn’t there, because there were times where guys were running different plays,” left tackle Taylor Decker said after the opener. “There were times where guys didn’t hear calls that they need to that were changed on the fly. There’s really no excuse for that. All of the stadiums are going to be loud, we’ve got to play on the road, and we can just work on improving from there.”
Another big factor that will change is that Lions head coach Dan Campbell will be calling the shots on offense. While he hasn’t been perfect as a play caller, he should change what offensive coordinator John Morton schemed up the first go-around. I believe Detroit will run away from Parsons, won’t call many deep shots, and get the ball out fast, so Parsons isn’t impacting the play. When he isn’t on the field, Detroit will likely try to take advantage by choosing more play-action.
If the offense doesn’t give Parsons a chance to get to Goff, he won’t show up on the stat sheet. Also, if the Lions don’t challenge Parsons in trying to stop either running back, there’s not much else he can do for Green Bay. It also helps that the Lions have arguably the best offensive tackle in the NFL in Penei Sewell blocking against Parsons. The Packers are leaning on their defense this season, so if their best defender isn’t impacting the game, Detroit has a great chance to send the fans home happy on Thanksgiving.
