To borrow a phrase from Milwaukee Brewers general manager Doug Melvin, sometimes you need your stars to play like stars.

And in the National Football League’s season opening showcase on national television Thursday night, the Seattle Seahawks’ stars did just that, while the Green Bay Packers big name players didn’t come up with big plays in a 36-16 Packers loss in the Pacific Northwest.

The Seahawks looked every bit the defending Super Bowl champion and the Packers a team that needed a miracle fourth-down touchdown on the regular season’s final play to sneak into the playoffs.

After week one, the gap between the two championship hopefuls in the NFC looks larger than anyone could have thought heading into the game.

Seattle’s "Big Three" superstars on offense of Russell Wilson, Percy Harvin and Marshawn Lynch outplayed Aaron Rodgers, Eddie Lacy and Jordy Nelson.

Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers’ new look defense led by Clay Matthews, Julius Peppers and Sam Shields was largely ineffective – and other highly paid starters like Morgan Burnett, A.J. Hawk and Brad Jones also struggled to make plays.

Conversely, there were Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett sacking Rodgers at key moments in the second half. There was Kam Chancellor making eight tackles and knocking Lacy out of the game.

There was Richard Sherman wiping out half of the field, as Rodgers didn’t challenge the corner once all night – wide receiver Jarrett Boykin didn’t see a single target.

The Seahawks linebacking corps and defensive backs also negated any threat tight ends Richard Rodgers and Andrew Quarless might have presented. Rookie wide receiver Davante Adams was also nowhere to be found (zero targets).

So, Rodgers was limited to throwing to Nelson and Randall Cobb – the duo caught 15 of Rodgers’ 23 completions – on just one half of the field. If not, he could only dump to Lacy and James Starks out of the backfield.

They rarely challenged the Seahawks down the field, instead being forced to string together drives against a defense that didn’t make any mistakes, either in coverage or in tackling.
And, in the few instances when Rodgers absolutely needed to make a throw, he couldn’t convert.

• On the Packers second trip to the red zone early in the game, beginning with a 1st-and-goal at the Seattle 7-yard line, the Packers had to settle for a field goal after a a pass for no gain and an incompletion sandwiched a stalled Lacy run.
• Trailing 17-10 and with the Packers driving near the end of the first half, Rodgers had Nelson wide open on a scramble to his left. He chose not to run for the first down, but instead threw the ball out of play forcing a punt.
• On the Packers first possession of the second half, Rodgers admittedly missed his spot on a slant to Nelson that bounded off the receiver’s hands and into Byron Maxwell’s, leading to a Seahawks field goal and a 20-10 deficit.

Defensively, Matthews and Peppers were consistently running (or over-running) plays, either taking themselves out of it altogether, or allowing cutback holes for Seahawks runners. Neither recorded a sack or tackle for loss.

Shields bit – hard – on a Russell option fake that led to an easy pitch-and-catch touchdown to Ricardo Lockette.

Jones had a real rough night, having a sure interception knocked out of his hands by Seattle tight end Zach Miller, being called for an illegal contact that negated a Peppers and Matthews combined sack that may have led to a final Packers possession in the first half, and then was called for holding on a third down play that led to yet another Seattle play-action touchdown in which Shields bit down on.

While the loss itself was ugly, the Packers now wait for news on Lacy (head) and right tackle Bryan Bulaga (knee), who left the game with injuries and need to be evaluated further in Green Bay.

Lacy missed nearly two full games early last year with a concussion, and Bulaga’s left knee was the one that was surgically reconstructed.

Richard Rodgers also left the game with what the broadcast called a "stinger" in his neck, so his status going forward is also cloudy.

The Packers host the New York Jets at Lambeau Field in 10 days, a decidedly less-skilled opponent. The problem is that when to win a championship, you’re going to have to beat the best there is, and your stars will have to play like it to do so.