After going almost wire-to-wire in the NFC North the past two seasons, the Detroit Lions find themselves in a rare spot heading into Sunday’s home opener at Ford Field – second place in the division, chasing the 2-0 Green Bay Packers.
The Packers beat the Lions convincingly in their opener, 27-13, and toppled another NFC contender, the Washington Commanders, in commanding fashion Thursday, Sept. 11.
Advertisement
Green Bay has a favorable schedule ahead, with road trips to the Cleveland Browns and Dallas Cowboys the next two weeks followed by a bye. Although the Packers’ hot start makes them the team to beat in the division – and maybe the entire NFC – Lions coach Dan Campbell said it hasn’t put any more pressure on his team to keep up.
Jahmyr Gibbs of the Detroit Lions scores a touchdown while defended by Rasheem Green of the Chicago Bears during the second quarter at Soldier Field in Chicago on Sunday, Dec. 10, 2023.
IN THE TRENCHES: Lions’ Week 1 communication issues ‘an easy fix,’ says OC John Morton
“I don’t see that as pressure,” Campbell said. “And anything we’re forced to compete (in) is a good thing. And I love that, man. And we already knew what we were coming into this year with this division. It’s a tough division, man. There’s good players, there’s good coaches, competitive.”
Advertisement
The Lions won the NFC North with a 15-2 record last season and led the division or had a share of the division lead for the final 11 weeks, though they had to beat the Minnesota Vikings in Week 18 to secure the title.
In 2023, the Lions went 12-5 to lead wire-to-wire, winning the division by three games.
If they’re going to win a third straight division title (for the first time since the early 1950s), they’ll have to catch both the Packers and Vikings, who beat the Chicago Bears in their opener on Monday, Sept. 8.
The Lions host the Bears on Sunday, Sept. 14, in a battle of 0-1 teams. The loser will be two games behind the Packers and 0-2 in the division. It’s not a must-win in Week 2, but there’s plenty on the line.
Advertisement
“We got to get back on track,” linebacker Jack Campbell said. “It’s a big one this weekend. They got a very talented team and they’re going to be coming to play a division game. It’s going to be big.”
The Bears went 5-12 a season ago and were the only NFC North team to miss the playoffs.
They hired Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson as head coach this offseason. They opened 2025 by leading the Vikings, 17-6, in the fourth quarter before allowing 21 unanswered points.
Last season, three teams made the playoffs after starting 0-2 and two of them – the Baltimore Ravens and Los Angeles Rams – won their divisions despite other teams getting off to 2-0 starts.
Advertisement
Dan Campbell said every team will hit a rough patch at some point during the season, it’s how they handle that adversity that will determine where they end up.
“It’s just about playing your best football by the end of the year,” he said. “And so, we can’t worry about the Packers. We can’t worry about Minnesota. We worry about ourselves first, and then Chicago because they’re the next opponent.”
Dave Birkett covers the Lions for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions welcoming challenge of chasing Packers in NFC North