The Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions each have a chance to take over sole possession of first place in the NFC North when they square off on Thursday Night Football at Lambeau Field.
Over the weekend, the Cheeseheads scored 18 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to defeat the New Orleans Saints 18-17, while Detroit won an ugly one 20-6 over the Chicago Bears.
Match preview
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Coming off a poor fourth quarter against the Atlanta Falcons in week two, we saw a complete role reversal for Matt LaFleur and his Packers last Sunday as the offence came to life in the final 15 minutes to win their first home contest of the regular season.
Lately, the Packers' offence have struggled out of the gate, failing to score in the opening quarter in their previous two contests, but have come up big when needed, scoring 60 of their 80 points so far in the second half.
The offensive line have been imposing, not allowing more than a single sack in each of their three contests this year, but there is some maturing that needs to happen from their first-year starting quarterback, with the Packers averaging below 300 passing yards per game (297.7).
They may be giving their pivot time to throw, but we have not seen a lot of running lanes for their backs as the Packers are averaging a mere 90.3 yards on the ground per game this season, well below what we saw from Green Bay in that department in 2022 (124.3 per game).
On the opposite side, though, this defensive unit have created plenty of momentum shifts in their three games played, as they sit in the top 10 regarding turnover differential (+2), with the secondary allowing fewer than 200 yards through the air per contest (199.7).
Since the 2019 NFL campaign, Green Bay have only suffered one regular season defeat to a divisional opponent on the frozen tundra that is Lambeau Field, though that loss came at the hands of the Lions in January of last season, costing the Cheeseheads a shot at the playoffs in what ended up being the final game of four-time league MVP Aaron Rodgers as a Packer.
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It was a mistake-filled contest from both sides at Ford Field on Sunday, though in the end, Detroit did enough to improve to 2-1 on the season.
Dan Campbell saw his offence struggle all game long to convert third downs (4/14) mainly due to a lack of discipline, as his team was flagged for 10 penalties in all versus Atlanta for 119 yards.
Winning ugly sometimes at this stage of the season is important, given that the execution level and continuity is still a work in progress, and the Lions have already won two contests in 2023, something which took them until week nine to achieve a year ago.
The most significant improvement from the Lions against Atlanta, which we rarely saw in week one and two of this campaign, was their ability to get to the opposing quarterback, sacking Desmond Ridder seven times after registering just one sack in the first two weeks of the season.
Three weeks into the new campaign, the Lions have put together some mixed performances offensively, currently seventh in the NFL regarding passing yards per game (269.7), though they have sometimes got in their own way, with a -3-turnover differential thus far.
Detroit have only allowed nine second-half points in their two victories this season, including just two field goals in the final 30 minutes against the reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs on the opening night of the new NFL campaign.
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Team News
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Jaire Alexander will be questionable for Green Bay on Thursday because of back spasms, Christian Watson and Aaron Jones may both be unavailable with hamstring strains, Lukas Van Ness has a sore elbow, Daniel Whelan hurt his finger and Rashan Gary is probable despite a knee injury.
Jordan Love completed 22 of his 44 passes for 259 yards and a touchdown, along with an interception against the Saints, while also running for a score, with Romeo Doubs leading the way in receptions for Green Bay with five for 73 yards and a TD.
Rudy Ford led the way for the Packers last weekend regarding tackles with six, while Kenny Clark was the only one on the team to register a sack.
The Lions could be missing Frank Ragnow because of an issue with his toe, Josh Reynolds is questionable due to a sore groin, David Montgomery has a problem in his thigh, Kerby Joseph hurt his hip and Taylor Decker is recovering from an ankle injury.
Jared Goff was hot and cold for the Lions in their encounter versus the Falcons, going 22 of 33 for 243 yards, with a TD through the air and one on the ground, plus a pick as he sits fifth in the NFL regarding passing yards (819), Jahmyr Gibbs averaged 4.7 yards per carry in the victory, Amon-Ra St. Brown led the team with nine catches for 102 yards and Sam LaPorta had his first TD grab of the season.
Aidan Hutchinson was great on the defensive line with a pair of sacks, while Jack Campbell, Charles Harris, Derrick Barnes, Alim McNeill and Benito Jones each registered one themselves and Brian Branch led all players in tackles with 11.
Head To Head
Although Green Bay lead the overall series between these two NFC North rivals (105-75-7), Detroit have won the last three meetings, including the regular season finale for each a season ago when former Lions running back Jamaal Williams ran for a pair of second-half scores and Michael Badgley booted two field goals in a 20-16 victory, knocking the Cheeseheads out of postseason contention.
The Packers' last victory over the Lions occurred in September 2021 when they came away with a 35-17 triumph, as Aaron Rodgers threw three touchdown passes, two to Aaron Jones, who also ran for one, with the other TD catch coming courtesy of Robert Tonyan.
One of the more memorable games between these two clubs, if you support the Packers, occurred in October 1945 when Green Bay won 57-21, setting an NFL record which still stands to this day for the most points scored in a single quarter (41), with Don Hutson recording four receiving touchdowns in the second quarter, while he also made five of his six extra points.
Lions fans, though, will fondly remember when their team came to Lambeau in late December 2018 and crushed the Packers 31-0 as Detroit kicker Matt Prater threw a TD pass to Levine Toilolo and Quandre Diggs picked off DeShone Kizer to seal the victory in a game that saw Matthew Stafford threw a pair of touchdowns to TJ Jones.
We say: Green Bay Packers 23-26 Detroit Lions
Jordan Love has performed fairly well in the early going for Green Bay, but Goff and the Lions can afford the luxury of playing below average at times and still come out convincing winners given their explosive passing game, and that is not something that this edition of the Packers can do.
Joel Lefevre
