Packers Need to Get Back to Home Dominance Against Lions
Packers running back Josh Jacobs scores one of his three touchdowns in last December's game against the Lions.
On Sunday, the Green Bay Packers will look to break a three-game home losing streak to the Detroit Lions. Sunday’s late afternoon kickoff will be the first Week 1 game between the Lions and Packers since 2005, and first at Lambeau Field since 2001.
The last time the Packers defeated the Lions at Lambeau Field was almost four full years ago, a Week 2 win in 2021.
Packers dominate the Lions, 35-17
The Aarons were COOKING 🔥
Rodgers - 22/27, 255 YDS, 4 TD
Jones - 67 RUSH, 48 REC, 4 TD pic.twitter.com/oQ9AFh9Q68— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 21, 2021
The matchup between the two NFC North opponents has completely flipped from what it was like at the turn of the century, when the Packers were winning divisions (four division titles from 2002 to 2007), and the Lions were reaching new levels of futility. The Lions were among the NFL’s worst teams all but one season from 2001 to 2009, including an 0-16 season in 2008. The Lions had 4 or less wins five times in this stretch. Meanwhile, the Packers made the playoffs six times, with one NFC Championship appearance in 2007.
The rivalry was also dominated by the Packers in games in Wisconsin, with Green Bay winning a staggering 24 straight home games against the Lions, which included a 16-12 win in the 1994 Wild Card playoff game.
The last time the two teams made the playoffs the previous year and met in Week 1 was in 1998, when the Packers won 38-19 at Lambeau Field.
Today in 1998: LeRoy Butler's 32-yard fumble return TD and two Favre-to-Freeman scoring connections lift Packers to 38-19 opening-day win over Lions.
In the second half, Detroit's Terry Fair ends 3Q with a 101-yard KR TD, while Roell Preston begins 4Q with a 100-yard KR TD. pic.twitter.com/9NqgppM3Lg
— Packers History (@HistoricPackers) September 6, 2023
However, in recent years, the Lions have had the Packers’ number. Since becoming the Lions head coach in 2021, Dan Campbell is 6-2 in the head-to-head with Green Bay and head coach Matt LaFleur. His teams are 3-1 at both Ford Field and Lambeau Field. The Lions have now become the team that is at the top of the division.
If the Packers are a team with realistic expectations to make Super Bowl LX, then Sunday’s game is a litmus test for those aspirations.
Sunday’s game is arguably the most important game on the 2025 schedule. It would be very hard to overtake Detroit in the division if the Packers were to lose another home game to the Lions.
The Packers are also trying to get their first home win against the Lions since Jordan Love became the team's starting quarterback. He is 0-4 combined in home games against the Lions and Minnesota Vikings. It will also be the first game in a Packers uniform for defensive end Micah Parsons.
👎Don’t listen to the COPE from 31 other teams and their fans…
🧀 There is NO WAY the Packers didn’t know everything there is to know about Micah Parsons’ health before making the trade 😊 pic.twitter.com/ajPzrDc45b
— CheeseheadTV 🧀 (@cheeseheadtv) September 2, 2025
Detroit enters this year’s matchup as the team who has controlled the NFC North the last two years. They made the NFC Championship game more recently, losing to the 49ers in 2023 and they also are the team entering the new season coming off having the conference’s best regular season record in 2024.
It is definitely not ideal starting 0-1 on the season, as the Packers have not had much success this century after losing the first game of the season. The Packers have lost in Week 1 nine times since 2000, and in the six times they did make the playoffs, they won a playoff game only just three times (2003, 2012 and 2014). Two of those years ended in a lost road divisional playoff games and the third was the 2014 NFC Championship game loss.
Sunday’s opener will also be the first Week 1 game played at Lambeau Field since 2018, when the Packers came back against the Bears. It is the 13th opener at Lambeau Field since 2000. The Packers are 8-4 in Week 1 games at Lambeau since the turn of the century.
Week 1 Home Games since 2000
| Year | Opponent | Result | Score |
| 2000 | NY Jets | Loss | 16-20 |
| 2001 | Detroit | Win | 28-6 |
| 2002 | Atlanta | Win | 37-34(ot) |
| 2003 | Minnesota | Loss | 25-30 |
| 2006 | Chicago | Loss | 0-26 |
| 2007 | Philadelphia | Win | 16-13 |
| 2008 | Minnesota | Win | 24-19 |
| 2009 | Chicago | Win | 21-15 |
| 2011 | New Orleans | Win | 42-34 |
| 2012 | San Francisco | Loss | 22-30 |
| 2017 | Seattle | Win | 17-9 |
| 2018 | Chicago | Win | 24-23 |
| 2025 | Detroit | 3:25 PM | TV - CBS |
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Mitch McLaughlin is a Packers fan and shareholder residing in Sacramento, California. He will be writing Packers stories each week on Cheesehead TV. He can be found on Twitter: @McLaughlinMitch
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Comments (21)
BuckyBadger
September 02, 2025 at 06:31 pm
From an analytical and handicapping point of view homefield just doesn't mean much anymore. Used to be 3 pts to the home team for so long people still recite it without ever checking if its still true, its not. Point, maybe point and half is all most books bake into the line while handicapping it. The only real home field advantage I have seen from a numbers standpoint is in the South on a hot and humid day, especially if the team is like Denver coming from a dry climate (their record in FL has been awful for decades) but outside of that home field isn't the advantage it once was. Teams have their travel schedules down pat along with a much better training staff makes sure the players are hydrating, eating and sleeping correctly to minimize the travel advantage.
Advantages teams once had are have been reduced by technology. Sure it is cold in Green Bay but they have heated fields, sidelines and benches that keep them warm. Seattle's 12th man isn't the challenge it once was because of the travel improvements mentioned before. You sleep in 5 star hotels and its pretty rare to get a fire alarm pull these days.
Just win baby, home or away. Hopefully you win enough so you can win at home later.
dblbogey
September 03, 2025 at 12:45 am
It would be interesting to compare the winning percentage of visiting teams in the 70's to today's teams. It seems like a road game was very difficult to win back then, and now not so much.
BuckyBadger
September 03, 2025 at 07:43 am
In the day where players where smoking and drinking on the plane? Home field was much greater even in the 90s when they first just started to look at different ways to do travel and the science behind jet lag.
LLCHESTY
September 02, 2025 at 06:31 pm
A good start would be LaFleur and Hafley being ready for anything and adapting quickly. Anyone that saw Campbell telling his team they were going to go for it on every 4th down vs the Packers last year could see how pumped he had his team for that game, Packers have to be ready to withstand that early onslaught and dish some out as well.
splitpea1
September 02, 2025 at 06:54 pm
It would be helpful for the Packers to start strong on offense and defense. In the last two home games, Detroit has set the tone early and built big leads, leaving us to play a futile game of catch-up. MLF has to have this team ready to rock right away--give the home fans a reason to crank the volume up and get the season off to the right start. It's a statement game, so hopefully MLF and the Packers will treat it like one.
Tundraboy
September 02, 2025 at 10:27 pm
Exactly. Enough of the slow starts. This is as much of a statement game as one could possibly be . We are the Green Bay Packers afterall and we are at HOME. So no passive, indecisive coaching. GPG.
SicSemperTyrannis
September 03, 2025 at 04:18 am
There's something to be said for players showing up to PLAY from the first snap, too. Hopefully all the intensity throughout the off-season and preseason gets focused into that ...
Tundraboy
September 04, 2025 at 10:07 pm
For sure!
SicSemperTyrannis
September 03, 2025 at 04:23 am
"It would be helpful for the Packers to start strong on offense and defense"
While we're at it I might as well point out that if GB scores more points than Detroit, they're more likely to win ;)
Starrbrite
September 02, 2025 at 10:31 pm
It seems openers are often sloppy; with turnovers and penalties. The defenses are nearly always ahead of the offense, but that’s where I believe we have an advantage…even if Parsons plays sparingly, we have a better defense.
I see McKinney being a big factor and Gary with a couple sack celebrations.
Go Packers!!!
Since'75
September 02, 2025 at 10:43 pm
Since the door is opened......
It's not just this home game against Detroit (which would be a statement game win to start the season IMO).
No, it's also the abysmal showing last season going 1-5 against the NFC North. I mean, when is the last time that happened.
It pains me to bring that up.
Thank God for the blocked field goal against the Bears
The other is winning against .500 or better teams, we had 3 wins against those teams last season, Houston, Seattle and L.A.
Winning at home against Detroit does not a season make, but, it would be a great first step to reverse last seasons pattern.
*********
NOTE: It seems.......that i now have more thumbs up than thumbs down. I guess i haven't been paying attention. The train went off the track somewhere down the line.
Maybe i've been too kind and gentle, idk what happened.
But i vow to concentrate this season to make a solid effort in turning that back around.
Snap the ball
September 02, 2025 at 11:05 pm
I wish I had a flat stomach like Since 75
Since'75
September 03, 2025 at 05:25 pm
Lol....so do i!!
TarynsEyes
September 02, 2025 at 10:43 pm
There is still a home field advantage, but it's more about the HC/QB that can make the adjustments conducive to their environment, which in turn creates a better fan participation. Holmgren and Favre had it, MM and Rodgers had it, but MLF and Love haven't, yet. We play at home the same as on the road. They've relinquished home field dominance. Luckily, many teams are in the same boat, and why GB wins more road games than home games. Let's see if they changed since last season come Sunday vs Det.
Snap the ball
September 02, 2025 at 11:04 pm
Like I said before we need to be 10-0 home this year. No excuse to lose at home.
We need to get back to 2011. No home loses. The last time it was done I believe,
14 years ago. It’s time. 10-0. With playoffs
BuckyBadger
September 03, 2025 at 07:44 am
Doesn't matter where the wins and loses come, as long as the wins come.
Snap the ball
September 02, 2025 at 11:08 pm
I wonder home many lions fan show up like last year…made me sick
Bearmeat
September 03, 2025 at 02:41 am
If we can keep them from running all over us and we don’t turn the ball over we will win. I do believe their interior offensive line is awful. I do believe everyone on their defensive line other than Hutchinson is just a guy or worse. I believe we have the better roster top to bottom. We need to execute.
PatrickGB
September 03, 2025 at 04:52 am
I got an idea, stop doing the wave when we are on offense!
egbertsouse
September 03, 2025 at 10:06 am
LaFleur, I didn’t know you were on this forum. That wave thing is one of your lamest excuses ever. You sound like Jerrah complaining about the windows at Jerry World.
WestCoastPackerBacker
September 03, 2025 at 12:17 pm
Let’s rattle Goff right off the bat and that’s when he starts to throw to the opponent. Can’t give him time.