Jordan Love Has 1 Word for Packers Defense After Week 1 Win
The Packers were set to enter the 2025 season in hopes of making continued progress toward Super Bowl contention, and considering they’d gone from 9-8 two years ago to 11-6 last season, progress seemed like a reasonable goal.
Instead, Green Bay went out and made an extraordinarily rare move for this franchise, landing the highest profile star on the trade market, arguably the best defensive player in the game, Micah Parsons. That was just a bit more than a week ago and now, the Packers’ end game has shifted dramatically.
It’s pretty much Super Bowl or bust from here on. For that to happen, what had been a good Packers defense (fifth in yardage allowed, sixth in points) would have to turn great. On Sunday in a 27-13 win in the opener against a Lions team that won both games against Green Bay in 2024 and had won six of seven meetings between the two, the defense was not just great.
It was, in the one word that quarterback Jordan Love used, “Dominant.”
Packers Defense ‘Dominant’
The Packers limited Detroit to just six points before a late-fourth-quarter touchdown. Quarterback Jared Goff went for 225 yards on 31-for-39 passing, but was intercepted and sacked four times, including once by Parsons.
The defense had allowed 235 yards on the ground to the Lions in two games in 2024, but held Detroit to 46 yards on 22 carries on Sunday.
“Dominant, I would say,” Love answered when asked to describe the defense. “That is a really good offense over there. Any time you can hold them to, going into that last drive there, six points, that’s a dominant performance. That’s something that is a great start for them, but obviously it is something we want to keep being able to build on. That shows you how good of a defense we’ve got because that is a pretty good offense over there.”
Jordan Love Threw for 188 Yards in Week 1
Love was just 16-for-22 himself, with 188 yards passing and two touchdowns, but the Packers’ defense was critical, the rushing game added 78 yards and the special teams were spot on, especially punter Dan Whelan, who landed to kicks inside the 20.
It all came together to give the Packers a win in the NFC North, after going 1-5 against the Lions, Vikings and Bears in 2024.
“Big picture, it all starts with the NFC North. So to have a North team come in here, Week 1, be able to get the job done, go to 1-0 in the North is the start we wanted right there,” Love said. “Big, big picture for us is, yeah the Super Bowl is down the road but it all starts with the NFC North so we gotta go out there and obviously get off to a better start than what we did last year and obviously it starts with what we did today.
“This is a team that got us the last couple of games we played against them. It was a big test, coming in here Week 1, really good team coming in. We know what type of team we have, but it definitely confirms it and gives you more confidence to keep building on. But obviously it still is Week 1.”
NFL Clears Dak Prescott of Any Wrongdoing in Cowboys-Eagles Spitting Incident
NFL rules analyst and former referee Walt Anderson confirmed that Dallas Cowboys’ quarterback Dak Prescott will not receive discipline for his role in “spit-gate.” According to Anderson, Prescott’s actions that may have incited Jalen Carter’s decision to spit on him were non-punishable.
Video showed Prescott jawing at Carter before the first play, even spitting, though the spit was unrelated to the conversation according to Prescott himself.
Via a report from Mike Florio on Pro Football Talk, Anderson said “There really wasn’t anything that happened, really up until the point that Jalen Carter actually spit on Dak Prescott.”
So, Prescott will escape the situation without a punishment, while Carter’s supplemental punishment decision from the NFL will come Monday. Carter was ejected from the game after the incident, which occurred before the first snap from scrimmage occurred.
Carter Likely to Receive Fine, Not Suspension
Florio wrote in his report that Carter’s actions, though reprehensible, likely won’t result in a suspension.
“But a suspension would defy years of fine-only precedent,” Florio wrote. “If the goal is to put an end to it, a significant fine (in the amount of a game check) could be the message the league sends.”
The precedent has been set in other spitting situations that suspensions are typically not handed out, instead the offenders are hit with fines. The most recent spitting incident in the NFL came in 2020 when Baltimore Ravens cornerback Marcus Peters spit on Cleveland Browns wide receiver Jarvis Landry. Peters was fined, but not suspended.
Terrell Owens and Sean Taylor have been offenders in the two other spitting incidents in NFL history, and were fined $35,000 and $17,000, respectively.
The only information about the fine Carter will receive is that it will likely be “substantial,” according to Adam Schefter.
Philadelphia Gets The Last Laugh Despite Carter’s Infraction
The Philadelphia Eagles still managed to pick up the win over the Cowboys in the NFL season opener as they celebrated their Super Bowl victory last season. The loss of Carter seemed to give Prescott and the Cowboys offense a bit of help to start the game as they had an effective first half, but second half and weather delay adjustments from the Eagles defense put a stop to any momentum the Dallas offense had.
The lengthy weather delay impacted both offenses. After a wild 41-point first half, just three points were scored in the second half, by the Eagles. None were scored in the fourth quarter.
The Eagles are looking to defend not only their Super Bowl title this season, but also their NFC East title. They got a great boost from defeating their division rivals in the first game of the season.
