● What: Detroit Lions at Green Bay Packers
● When: Sunday, Sept. 7, 4:25 P.M. EST
● Where: Lambeau Field
● How to watch: CBS (Jim Nantz/Tomo Romo
● How to listen: 97.1-FM The Ticket in Metro Detroit or any number of network affiliates around the state.
● Line: Packers -2
● Injury report: The Lions have ruled out linebacker Trevor Nowaske (elbow), running back Sione Vaki (hamstring) and offensive tackle Jamarco Jones (ankle), placing the latter on injured reserve on Saturday.
The Packers, meanwhile, listed six players as questionable, including Micah Parsons (back), cornerback Nate Hobbs (knee) and wide receiver Jayden Reed (foot).
● Officiating assignment: Clete Blakeman’s crew. A regular official for the Lions, Blakeman was in charge of two NFC North matchups last year, wins in Chicago and Green Bay.
● Last meeting: The Lions swept the season series from the Packers in 2024, including a hard-fought 34-31 victory at Ford Field in early December. The victory was effectively sealed by a bold fourth-down call and conversion, despite quarterback Jared Goff stumbling on the handoff to David Montgomery. That set up Jake Bates’ game-winning field goal as time expired.
Three things worth watching
● All eyes will understandably be on Detroit’s two first-year coordinators after Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn departed for head coaching opportunities this offseason.
Kelvin Sheppard has been groomed for this opportunity for the past couple of years. The former middle linebacker shares Glenn’s penchant for aggressiveness, from a heavy reliance on press-man coverage in the back end to a dizzying array of blitzes, particularly their deployment on third downs.
While the heart of the operation should remain the same, Sheppard will put his spin on things, including how linebacker Derrick Barnes, one of the coach’s prized protégés, will be deployed.
Offensively, this isn’t John Morton’s first rodeo. However, it will be his first time in the coordinator chair since a disastrous one-year stint with a talent-deficient Jets squad in 2017.
Morton inherits one of the best offenses in the NFL, which retained almost all its key pieces from last year’s unit that set the franchise record for points scored.
No one should expect things to be perfect in Week 1. There are wrinkles to iron out at the start of every season, particularly when you’re new on the job. Regardless, the national perspective is that the Lions are sure to regress because of these coaching changes. Both Sheppard and Morton can quell some of those concerns with some smart play calls in their debuts.
● More significant than the coaching changes was the unexpected retirement of All-Pro center Frank Ragnow. It was well known he’d been playing through a number of injuries the past couple of seasons. Regardless, the 29-year-old lineman was coming off a tremendous 2024 campaign. And even though he told the team he was weighing the decision, hanging them up still came as a surprise.
The Lions were as prepared as they could be for the massive loss. They kept veteran Graham Glasgow in the fold and drafted two interior linemen, trading up to secure both. Those selections were headlined by Tate Ratledge, who might end up Ragnow’s long-term replacement snapping the ball, but begins his career at his college position, right guard.
Combined with the departure of stopgap solution Kevin Zeitler in free agency, the Lions’ offensive line will have three starters in new spots this year. Christian Mahogany, a 2024 draft pick, gets the bump from backup to starting left guard. Glasgow is shifting to center. And, as noted, Ratledge is being plugged into right guard.
That’s still a formidable group. Glasgow’s experience is stabilizing, but that’s a lot of inexperience on his shoulders. There’s likely going to be some rocky moments as the group builds chemistry and the young guards bank reps.
Green Bay will be a good spot for the new-look line to get its feet wet. The Packers don’t blitz much under second-year coordinator Jeff Hafley, and the team’s interior defensive line isn’t particularly impressive, especially after trading away Kenny Clark to acquire All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons. Defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt has some juice as a pass rusher. However, the rest of the interior rotation — Colby Wooden, Nazir Stackhouse, Karl Brooks and Warren Brinson — are a pedestrian collective.
● There are plenty of other things worth monitoring in this game, including first-round pick Tyleik Williams’ debut, and how the stellar camps for Terrion Arnold or Jameson Williams translate. However, I want to bring attention to Detroit’s edge rotation.
Obviously, this is the triumphant return of Aidan Hutchinson after breaking his leg last season. That’s one of the game’s biggest stories. Regardless, I’m equally interested in how Detroit deploys all of the team's edge defenders.
Typically, Hutchinson plays between 80-90% of snaps. Will he be immediately thrust back into that heavy workload? Opposite him, Marcus Davenport will get the start and is expected to be a key contributor this year after a few injury-plagued seasons. And the first man off the bench is Al-Quadin Muhammad, who filled in when both starters were sidelined a year ago.
Those three should dominate the available playing time, but there should be at least a handful of leftover snaps. Who gets them? Will it be newcomer Tyrus Wheat, who was claimed off waivers last week? How about Pat O’Connor, the front’s Swiss Army knife?
How Sheppard spreads the workload will be interesting and should set a tone for at least the first month of the season. At that point, Josh Paschal should be nearing his return to round out the rotation.
Something kind of interesting, 2 rookie DT expected to play for Green Bay were practicing against Tate Ratledge last year at Georgia. Shoot, bet Tate got a few practice snaps against Wyatt back 21. Suire he blocked LB Quay Walker a few times, wonder if Tate knows how to push Quay's buttons.
It's a small world when you play at Georgia.
All good things to watch. Nothing good to listen to with Romo constantly telling us how great the packers are. It will be radio time even though they ruin it with the delay. The NFL does its best to alienate the consumer.