On Monday, the Green Bay Packers announced that the team had released running back Israel Abanikanda from the practice squad and picked up 2022 fourth-round selection Pierre Strong Jr. Abanikanda joined the Packers’ roster in July, when Green Bay picked him off waivers from the San Francisco 49ers. Abanikanda never displaced the four Packers running backs on their active roster or injured reserve — Josh Jacobs, Chris Brooks, MarShawn Lloyd and Emanuel Wilson — but he notably took over kick return duties in the preseason with receiver Savion Williams, Green Bay’s Week 1 starter at the position, out with an...

On Sunday afternoon, the Green Bay Packers staked a loud, strong claim to be the early leaders in the race for an NFC North title as they soundly defeated the Detroit Lions 27-13. By taking down the repeat division champs, the Packers put the rest of the division on notice that they are legitimate division and Super Bowl contenders in 2025.

But barring a tie in tonight’s Monday Night Football game, they will not be alone atop the division standings after week one, because the other two teams in the NFC North play each other in the final game of...

It’s probably not wise to draw sweeping conclusions about any team’s performance in week one of the NFL season.

However, examining the Packers home opener on its face does give us some insights about the state of each team as of Sunday, September 7th.

The Detroit Lions that entered Lambeau were not yet fully formed, and probably won’t be for a few weeks. They’ve lost both their top coordinators and have had to completely remake their interior offensive line.

The lack of gelling on the offensive line is exactly what Packers DC Jeff Hafley looked to exploit – and boy...

A familiar scene played out at Lambeau Field on Sunday.

On a 2nd-and-12 play late in the first quarter, Jared Goff found Amon-Ra St. Brown for a deep completion along the right sideline. St. Brown made what appeared to be a terrific catch on the sideline, narrowly getting down both feet to haul in Goff’s pass, giving the Lions their first substantive gain of the day.

It was a bang-bang play, one that had potentially saved the Lion from a 3rd and long with Micah Parsons and the rest of the Packers’ pass rush ready to tee off. And it...

Ever want to know what an opposing coach thinks of the Green Bay Packers and their scheme? Well, you’re in luck, because Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell went into some detail about why his team struggled against the Packers in Week 1.

Defensively, here’s what he said about Green Bay after the game:

They play deep coverage. They play a lot of Cover 2. They’ll play some 3 buzz. They keep everything in front of them. That’s how that defense is designed. So we knew that, and the plan was to stay patient. Be patient, which I thought...

Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley had the Detroit Lions running backs in a torture chamber on Sunday. Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, who combined for 3,045 yards from scrimmage in the 2024 regular season, were held to just 87 yards on 37 combined touches (2.6 yards per touch) in Week 1.

But that’s not the worst of it. Gibbs had an all-time bad performance as a pass-catcher.

Through the air, Jared Goff checked it down to Gibbs repeatedly all game long. That earned his back the stat line of 10 receptions for 31 yards. No player in the...

Snap counts are cool, quick information to let you know how often a player was on the field for the Green Bay Packers, but they don’t really tell you much about how the Packers are playing these players. So to better understand the roster, and hopefully educate you all on what Green Bay is doing, I’m going to personally chart where players lined up/what roles they played for the Packers this year.

To get the cleanest data I can, I’m going to include plays that were called back for penalties (because they happened) and exclude kneeldowns (because they don’t matter...

I’m not sure if you’ve heard, but the Green Bay Packers have had quite the summer. With their first round draft pick this year, they selected WR Matthew Golden, the first time in several decades that they’ve selected a WR this high. Then, less than two weeks ago, they made one of the most shocking trades in recent memory for a generational talent in Micah Parsons. It’s only natural that the team’s season opener against the Detroit Lions would be one of the most highly anticipated games of the weekend, and what a game it was. Across all areas of...

Let’s do a little unboxing of the Green Bay Packers’ first game of the 2025 season from a personnel perspective. I’m sure everyone wants to know how often Micah Parsons was on the field, but let’s go through position-by-position here.

Quarterback

• Jordan Love: 47 snaps (100%)
• Malik Willis: 0 (0%)

Running Back

• Josh Jacobs: 41 (87%), 1 SPT
• Chris Brooks: 9 (19%), 16 SPT
• Emanuel Wilson: 2 (4%)

Like we saw in the preseason, the Packers were more likely to work in Chris Books than Emanuel Wilson on the offensive side of the ball. Overall,...

On Sunday afternoon, the Green Bay Packers officially put the rest of the NFC North — and frankly, the rest of the NFL — on notice that they are a serious Super Bowl contender. Green Bay dominated the Detroit Lions, who went 15-2 and were the NFC’s #1 seed a year ago, controlling the line of scrimmage on both sides of the football and coasting to a comfortable 27-13 victory.

While their offensive explosiveness was largely responsible for an early 17-3 lead, the defense will be the biggest story throughout the upcoming short week. The Packers contained Detroit’s talented running...

All of the waiting throughout the offseason and training camp has led to this. The Green Bay Packers are about to kick off their 2025 regular season, starting out at home against the Detroit Lions in a massive season opener for both teams.

The Packers’ recent acquisition of pass-rusher Micah Parsons will be one of the primary storylines throughout today’s game, and rightfully so. Parsons, a perennial Pro Bowler and All-Pro, comes to Green Bay in the prime of his career and promises to be a field-tilting presence once he gets fully integrated into the team’s defensive scheme. Just how...

It’s finally here. The first Sunday of the 2025 NFL season has arrived, and with it come 13 games across three time slots. There are a handful of big matchups and divisional clashes taking place today, with the Green Bay Packers co-headlining one of today’s two biggest contests.

The Packers open at home for the first time in seven years, hosting the two-time defending NFC North champion Detroit Lions. Detroit has had the Packers’ number, winning five of the last six games between these two teams, but the Packers are favored this week, in part due to major brain drain...