Micah Parsons’ impactful debut, shift in NFC North power, and more takeaways from Packers dominant win over Lions
Green Bay showed what it is capable of this season.
From the first drive, the Detroit Lions actually never had a chance. The Green Bay Packers beat their NFC North rivals 27-13 to open the regular season at Lambeau Field, and it was as dominant a performance as Packers fans could have hoped for.
Micah Parsons had an immediate impact, Jordan Love outplayed Jared Goff, and Green Bay had a solid game on most phases to show it is a true contender in the NFC.
Micah Parsons’ debut
The impact was undeniable, literally from his first play on the field. It was third and seven, on the first drive, and Parsons entered the game to replace defensive tackle Colby Wooden. Jeff Hafley moved Lukas Van Ness inside, and Parsons beat right tackle Penei Sewell from the edge to pressure Jared Goff, forcing him to throw a short incompletion.
Later in the first half, Parsons beat Sewell again. It was another pressure, but this time with better results. Goff threw a slant pass, but it was intercepted by safety Evan Williams.
Everyone knew how impactful Parsons would be, but this is still impressive for two reasons. First, it’s a player who didn’t have a training camp and was acquired ten days ago. Second, it gives Hafley a lot of flexibility.
As expected, Parsons played mostly as an edge rusher, but he also had snaps as an interior rusher and forced double teams. With him on the field, Van Ness could move inside on passing downs, creating pressure-heavy formations. That’s how Van Ness had his own third-down sack in the third quarter.
And you didn’t think Parsons would go his entire debut without a sack, did you? He beat left tackle Taylor Decker late in the fourth quarter and chased Goff to finish the play. Parsons played 29 snaps, which was 45% of the defensive plays — ESPN credited him with three pressures.
Weaponry
The Packers were highly efficient in the passing game, and it showed once again how many weapons the unit has. Ten players had at least one reception: wide receivers Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed, Dontayvion Wicks, Matthew Golden, and Savion Williams; tight ends Tucker Kraft, Luke Musgrave, and John FitzPatrick; and running backs Josh Jacobs and Chris Brooks.
Head coach Matt LaFleur probably tried too hard to stick to the run game because the Packers were ahead, even though the passing game was working better. It somewhat worked in the fourth quarter, when Josh Jacobs started to get some good runs and scored a touchdown.
Domination upfront
After years of not playing aggressively against the Lions, the Packers dominated the line of scrimmage, especially on defense. Beyond Parsons, Van Ness, Rashan Gary, Devonte Wyatt, and Wooden all played at a high level, keeping the Lions unsuccessfully trying to run the ball and generating consistent pressure. Goff was uncomfortable all afternoon, and the dangerous Lions’ run game only had 2.09 yards per rushing attempt.
As projected, the offensive line had Rasheed Walker, Aaron Banks, Elgton Jenkins, Sean Rhyan, and Zach Tom to start the game. However, last year’s first-round pick Jordan Morgan surprisingly rotated with Rhyan at right guard throughout the game.
When Tom went down in the second half with a hip injury, recently-acquired Darian Kinnard played at right tackle over second-round rookie Anthony Belton. However, in the fourth quarter, Morgan played some snaps at left guard, and Belton got in at right tackle.
Overall, the line did a pretty decent job on passing plays, especially in the first half, giving Love plenty of time to throw. But the run blocking was not ideal, and the running efficiency was bad throughout the entire game.
Green Bay Packers News
Micah Parsons wastes no time proving insane potential on first play with Packers as Green Bay gets glimpse of future
It seems promising.
