Detroit Lions v Green Bay Packers | Patrick McDermott/GettyImages

Michael Jordan once said the sign of a good man is if he can talk trash when the score is even, or when he’s trailing, not just when he’s leading in a game. The Green Bay Packers’ newest star defender, Micah Parsons, proved to be a good man because he started talking trash about the Detroit Lions days before the game.

After a blockbuster trade landed him in Green Bay, Parsons declared on Thursday that he never liked the Lions. With Detroit scheduled as the Packers’ Week 1 opponent, this created some added drama for the divisional opponents. However, Parsons’ comments about the Lions didn’t stop at his dislike for them.

The star defender was asked his thoughts on trick plays, a staple of Detroit’s high-powered offense the last few seasons. Parsons responded with an answer most defenders feel but rarely say, arguing that trick plays are a tactic used by the scared.

“Trick plays are for people who can’t beat you straight-up,” Parsons said before Week 1. “It’s like a guy running around a ring all day trying to jab. Meet me in the middle … It’s a scared tactic.”

Micah Parsons backed up his Lions trash talk in Packers’ Week 1 win

These comments made their way to Detroit fans, and of course, they had a lot to say. The responses were filled with confident Lions fans telling Parsons to wait and see, and that he would regret talking trash once he had to line up against Detroit’s offense.

Well, jokes on them, because Parsons and Green Bay dominated the Lions, winning 27-13. Detroit only had 246 yards of offense, and Jared Goff threw an interception and was sacked four times. One of those sacks came from Parsons, who had his fingerprints on the game even in limited snaps.

Now, he and the Lions have bragging rights over the Lions, but it’s still just one game. The Packers’ journey is just getting started, and they will meet Detroit again this season. One thing is already clear, though: Parsons isn’t afraid to let the Lions know he doesn’t like them, and on the field, there’s nothing they can do about it.