You never want to make too much out of one game, especially when it's the first game of the campaign, but there are reasons to be concerned about the way the Detroit Lions started off their season in Week 1.
The Lions were overmatched by the Green Bay Packers on both sides of the ball. The defense did little to thwart Jordan Love and Green Bay's offense, and the Lions' offense had no answer for Micah Parsons and the Packers' defense.
Every fear Lions fans had going into the season came to fruition on Sunday. The two new play-callers didn't have a great game, the new-look offensive line struggled and the pass-rush was non-existent for much of the contest.
As a result, fears over a possible regression for the Lions are now warranted, at least in the minds of some experts who have Detroit falling in their NFL power rankings going into Week 2.
Detroit Lions tumble in NFL power rankings
Vinnie Iyer, Sporting News: 10 (-4)
Iyer: "The Lions fell apart offensively without Ben Johnson, wasting a strong all-around defensive effort in Green Bay before they didn't gat any complementary help. They must pick up those pieces fast vs. Johnson's Bears in Week 2."
Jeremy Cluff, Arizona Republic: 12 (-7)
Cluff: "Are the Lions set to regress this season? It was only one game, but it was a rough one for Detroit. The Lions only managed 46 yards rushing on 22 carries in the game. That has to change, fast."
Matt Johnson, Sportsnaut: 5 (-2)
Johnson: "There were far too many people downplaying the significance of the Detroit Lions losing both their play-callers. Likewise, there will be far too many overreactions to what happened in Week 1. Detroit looked like a team integrating a new interior offensive line and play-calling on both sides of the ball. This is still one of the best NFL teams in 2025, and we should see a much better version of the Lions in Week 2 against the Bears.
Taylor Wirth, NBC Sports: 7 (-1)
Wirth: "It's obviously way too early to make any definitive statements, but my preseason Lions slight-fall-off prediction looks pretty good so far."
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