Lions

The Lions lost their season-opener in Green Bay 27-13 after losing both coordinators in the offseason. Detroit HC Dan Campbell praised the Packers for a strong performance and shouldered the blame for the loss. 

“That team played well,” Campbell said, via Colton Pouncy of The Athletic. “Credit to them and coach LaFleur. They came out and they played outstanding and we didn’t play good enough, we didn’t coach good enough — including me.”

Campbell outlined the Packers’ defensive philosophy that led to the Lions taking short gains, and thought eventually it would lead to deep shots before the deficit was too much. 

“They play deep coverage, man. They play a lot of Cover 2, they’ll play some three buzz and they keep everything in front of them. That’s how that defense is designed and so we knew that and the plan was to stay patient. Be patient and I thought Goff was. We took what was there and felt like eventually those shots would show. Just couldn’t quite get to them, you know? By the time you get a chance, or you hope you do, you’re down two scores. But that’s the nature of this defense and we weren’t able to generate seven when we got in the red zone.”

Packers 

Packers RB Josh Jacobs‘ longest run last year was a 38-yard touchdown. Despite finishing with his second-highest rushing yards total of his career with 1,329 yards, Jacobs feels like he “gave up” on certain plays and could’ve done even better. 

“I had some plays where I felt like I kinda gave up on the play because I thought the play was over, and it really wasn’t,” Jacobs said, via Rob Demovsky of ESPN. “Certain things like that push yourself to really think differently.”

Xavier McKinney is entering his second season as the Packers’ safety after recording eight interceptions. McKinney said he’s looking to “elevate everybody” around the team. 

“Something I’m trying to do even more than I did last year [is] just trying to help elevate everybody and set the standard,” McKinney said. “Make sure that everybody is going about this thing the right way.”

Jacobs said their goal is to win the NFC North and go further than the Wildcard Round. 

“Only way we can really follow it up is by going farther than we did last year and being better than we were last year,” Jacobs said. “Winning the [NFC] North first off, that’s where we struggled the most.”

• Micah Parsons said he expects the Packers to continue ramping him up after exceeding his planned snap count in Week 1: “No doubt by the end of this month, we should be full go.” (Ryan Wood)
• Parsons on Lions OT Penei Sewell: “I’m not gonna be able to get rid of him. He’s a hell of a player. I told him, I said, ‘You’re my new rivalry now. I don’t got Lane no more. It’s gonna be you. I’mma see you twice a year, so you might as well buckle up.’” (Matt Schneidman)

Vikings

• The Vikings announced that veteran S Harrison Smith (illness) has been downgraded to out and will not travel with the team for Monday Night Football.

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