Observations from the Green Bay Packers’ dominant win over the Lions
Pete Dougherty joins Dominique Yates to recap the Packers’ 27-13 win over the Lions to open the 2025 season.
How are NFL talking heads reacting to the Detroit Lions‘ surprising 27-13 beatdown from the Green Bay Packers in Week 1?
Not great, as expected. And it’s coming from experts who are noted Lions supporters, including a former quarterback and head coach.
“The Lions without (offensive coordinator) Ben Johnson are not the same offense,” ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter said on “Get Up” on Monday, Sept. 8. “Not as innovative, not as creative, not as dangerous. Jahmyr Gibbs caught 10 passes yesterday for 31 yards, the lowest yardage total for a receiver that ever caught 10 passes in a game in NFL history.”
“Not even close (to the same offense),” Dan Orlovsky, the former Lions quarterback, interjected as Schefter made his point. John Morton was hired as offensive coordinator and play-caller.
The Packers are the “team to beat” in the NFC North, Orlovsky added, despite the Lions having won the division the past two seasons.
Rex Ryan, the former defensive guru and NFL coach, was asked if it was a bad day or bad sign. He went with the latter, while saying he’s “certainly” a Lions fan.
“How is the interior of that offensive line gonna play without Frank Ragnow? Well yesterday is any indicator, they’re in trouble,” Ryan began. “The play-calling was drastically different. Where was the hard play-action? Where’s the vertical passing game, the deep crossers, all those types of things. No trick plays, no nothing. To me, it looked very vanilla. They were getting whipped on the interior and they became a checkdown-Charlie offense, almost unwatchable. You went from the very best offense in the league, damn near in the history of the league, to what I saw yesterday, that’s a bad sign.”
The Lions face a test in their home opener at Ford Field next Sunday, when Johnson, now the coach of the Chicago Bears, returns to Detroit. The Bears finish the NFL’s Week 1 slate with a home against J.J. McCarthy (Michigan) and the Minnesota Vikings on “Monday Night Football.”
The Lions, of course, are not panicking after one game, with coach Dan Campbell saying as bad as the loss looked, “it’s not what it appears to be.”
But the schedule does not get easier in the weeks to come, with road trips to Baltimore, Cincinnati, Kansas City, Washington, Philadelphia and the Los Angeles Rams.
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