GREEN BAY \u2014 Josh Jacobs bit his tongue. Jordan Love did, too.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Green Bay Packers running back and quarterback, two of the team\u2019s seven co-captains for the season, knew what their team\u2019s 27-13 victory over the Detroit Lions \u2014 the two-time defending NFC North champions, the team that had come into Lambeau Field for three years running and taken it to the home squad \u2014 meant Sunday evening.<\/p>\n
No, it didn\u2019t give them a fast-pass to Super Bowl LX or even a significant leg up in the conference playoff race. With 16 more games to go, neither of them was about to make some bold proclamation about what their team was going to do this season.<\/p>\n
But the gleams in each of their eyes were unmistakable. Because what they\u2019d been a part of \u2014 a dominating victory over a rival that clearly had their number last year \u2014 was more than just a nice little opening-day win.<\/p>\n
It was immediate confirmation of what they believed their team was capable of being this season, and justification for the confidence they\u2019d brought into Sunday\u2019s matchup.<\/p>\n
\u201cDefinitely,\u201d said Love, who competed 16 of 22 passes \u2014 to 10 different receivers \u2014 for 188 yards and two touchdowns (128.6 rating) on the day. \u201cIt\u2019s a team that, they\u2019ve got us, the last couple games we\u2019ve played against them. So it was a big test coming in here Week 1, a really good team.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd we know what type of team we have, but this definitely confirms it and gives you some more confidence to keep building on. But obviously, it\u2019s still Week 1. We\u2019ve got a long season ahead, and we\u2019ve got to just keep building and elevating every week.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut we know we have a great team, [and] to go out there and have a dominant performance, it does kind of confirm those things we have.\u201d<\/p>\n
The key word being team. This wasn\u2019t like some of the dominant victories of the bygone Aaron Rodgers era, when the offense did all the heavy lifting and the defense coattailed along.<\/p>\n
Although the Lions finished with an underwhelming 246 total yards of offense, even that number was inflated by 60 yards they gained on their garbage-time touchdown. The defensive finished with four sacks on Goff (including one by new star edge rusher Micah Parsons), nine tackles for loss and one takeaway (an Evan Williams interception) while limiting Lions running backs Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery to 44 yards on 20 carries.<\/p>\n
So even as the Lions bottled up Jacobs in the first half (six carries, 8 yards) and the offense hit a second-half lull, the defense never gave the Lions much reason for hope.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe really never got in a rhythm,\u201d confessed Lions head coach Dan Campbell, whose offense ranked No. 1 in scoring (33.2 points per game) and No. 2 in total offense (409.5 yards per game) last season but lost coordinator Ben Johnson, who is now the Chicago Bears head coach. \u201cWe did for a couple of drives, man, where we got it down there, and then we didn\u2019t finish.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought we\u2019d be cleaner than we were.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Packers defense had a lot to do with that, which is why Jacobs was trying to temper his enthusiasm.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to say it too early. It\u2019s a long season, and there\u2019s still a lot of work we need to put in,\u201d said Jacobs, who broke through in the second half and finished with 66 yards on 19 carries, including a 3-yard touchdown. \u201cBut I love the way our defense looked today. They looked really good today. They looked elite today against a really good team. That\u2019s just a good feeling as an offensive player.\u201d<\/p>\n
The complementary football allowed the Packers to build a 17-3 lead that started with Love capping an 83-yard opening drive with a 15-yard touchdown pass to tight end Tucker Kraft, followed by a 34-yard Brandon McManus field goal to make it 10-0 before the end of the first quarter.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, I wanted to beat the Lions at home. I had yet to do that in my career here,\u201d Kraft said. \u201cI don\u2019t know whatever generations of Packers came before me, who they despised the most [in the division], but you can tell when you get these two teams on the field, there\u2019s fire under our asses and we\u2019re ready to play some ball.\u201d<\/p>\n
And when the Lions finally got on the board with a field goal, it took Love & Co. all of two plays to extend their lead, with a 48-yard downfield strike to Romeo Doubs setting up a 17-yard laser to Jayden Reed for a touchdown.<\/p>\n
Love was especially on point on third downs, converting the Packers\u2019 first four situations with a 16-yarder to Dontayvion Wicks on third-and-10, an 11-yarder to rookie Matthew Golden on third-and-6, the touchdown to Kraft on third-and-9, and a 26-yard strike to Reed on third-and-7<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why those guys get paid, right? Those money downs,\u201d head coach Matt LaFleur said of Love. \u201cHe definitely delivered in those clutch, critical situations.\u201d<\/p>\n
The defense took over from there, flustering Goff (31 of 39, 225 yards, one TD, one INT, 88.6 rating) and preventing the Lions from the explosive plays that had been so prevalent in their offense a year ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot even close to good enough, right? Not even remotely close in that category,\u201d Goff said. \u201cNot even close to good enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
And while the Packers were far from perfect, they were more than good enough.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, for everybody, that was the goal, that was our mindset coming in: \u2018We\u2019ve got to start fast,\u2019\u201d Love said. \u201cObviously, everything starts with me being able to go out there and be as accurate as possible and make great decisions on the ball.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m definitely happy about the way we were able to get rolling early and make some big-time plays.\u201d<\/p>\n
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