GREEN BAY (4-2) at DETROIT (3-2)
Associated Press
DAY/TIME/TV: Sunday, 3:25 p.m. CDT, Fox.
LAST WEEK: Packers beat Cowboys 23-13; Lions had bye, beat Cardinals 45-21 on Oct. 11.
LAST MEETING: Packers beat the Lions 31-24 on Nov. 27, 2025, in Detroit.
SERIES RECORD: Packers lead 108-78-7.
LIONS OFFENSE: OVERALL (4), RUSH (13), PASS (3), SCORING (4)
PACKERS DEFENSE: (8), RUSH (18), PASS (6), SCORING (11)
LIONS DEFENSE: (32), RUSH (15), PASS (32), SCORING (23)
PACKERS OFFENSE: (18), RUSH (32), PASS (5), SCORING (22)
TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Green Bay +4 ; Detroit +4
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COACHES CAPSULES:
Matt LaFleur: 80-42-1, .654; (3-6 postseason); 8th NFL season
Dan Campbell: 56-45-1, .554; (2-2 postseason); 7th NFL season
Head to Head: LaFleur 4-6 vs. Campbell
vs. Opponent: LaFleur 8-6 vs. Lions; Campbell 6-4 vs. Packers
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RETURN OF JOSH JACOBS SHOULD HELP PACKERS BOOST A RUSHING ATTACK THAT HAS SLUMPED ALL SEASON
Josh Jacobs’ arrival should help the Green Bay Packers address their biggest weakness, but how much the three-time Pro Bowl running back will contribute right away remains uncertain.
Lloyd will return to practice Wednesday now that the NFL is removing him from the commissioner’s exempt list. Coach Matt LaFleur isn’t indicating how or if he plans to use Jacobs when the Packers visit Detroit on Sunday.
“I think that’s going to be determined throughout the course of the week,” LaFleur said Monday, a day after the Packers’ 23-13 victory over the Dallas Cowboys. “See where he’s at, see how he’s feeling and then we’ll make a decision.”
Jacobs was placed on the commissioner’s exempt list Aug. 30, three days after charges were filed against him stemming from a May altercation with his then-girlfriend. Jacobs pleaded no contest last month to misdemeanor charges of battery and criminal damage to property.
His status on the commissioner’s exempt list prevented him from playing or practicing, but he still could prepare himself in other ways.
“He could go to meetings,” LaFleur said. “He could lift with our strength coaches and condition with them. He couldn’t go to any of the team activities – the practices and what not.”
The NFL announced last week it planned to remove Jacobs from the commissioner’s exempt list, though it’s continuing to investigate the case and still could hand him more punishment later.
Green Bay (4-2) has won three straight, but is averaging just 59.8 yards rushing per game – 16.2 fewer than anyone else. The Packers also are last in the league in yards per carry (2.9).
MarShawn Lloyd, Kaleb Johnson and Pierre Strong Jr. all have been given chances to establish themselves. None have been productive.
Lloyd has rushed for a team-high 122 yards and two touchdowns on 48 carries. Johnson has run for 104 yards on 28 attempts. Strong has 16 rushes for 35 yards. Chris Brooks, who has 15 carries for 70 yards, is on injured reserve with an ankle issue.
Jacobs ran for 929 yards and 13 touchdowns while gaining 4 yards per carry last year. That followed a 2024 season in which he rushed for 1,329 yards and 15 touchdowns while making the Pro Bowl.
“I think he can provide a spark,” LaFleur said.
WHAT’S WORKING
The Packers intercepted Dak Prescott twice and have forced multiple turnovers in three straight games. They also have scored at least 10 points off takeaways in three straight games… Green Bay has a touchdown drive of at least 90 yards on its opening possession in each of its last two games… The Packers were 11 of 18 on third-down conversions, including 9 of 10 in the first half.
WHAT NEEDS WORK
Green Bay was penalized 11 times Sunday night, including three roughing the passer calls in the fourth quarter alone. The Packers have averaged 9.5 penalties for 77.5 yards per game. Only the Carolina Panthers have higher averages in penalties and penalty yards.
STOCK UP
The secondary. Safety Evan Williams has two interceptions and a fumble recovery in his last three games. Fellow safety Javon Bullard had three passes defensed Sunday, while cornerback Brandon Cisse got his first career interception. Cisse and cornerback Keisean Nixon helped keep Dallas’ wide receiver duo of CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens out of the end zone.
STOCK DOWN
One week after he got his first two career touchdown runs, Lloyd gained just 10 yards on eight carries.
INJURIES
LaFleur said Micah Parsons won’t be returning to practice this week as the All-Pro edge rusher continues his recovery from a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Parsons hasn’t played since injuring his left knee on Dec. 14.
KEY NUMBER
34 — The total number of points the Packers have allowed during their three-game winning streak. The last time they gave up such a low point total over a three-game stretch was in 2021.
NEXT STEPS
Green Bay’s next four opponents — Detroit, Carolina, New England and Minnesota — have a combined record of 15-6. That stretch begins Sunday at Detroit.
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LIONS HOPE TO KEEP MOMENTUM AFTER BYE WEEK, HOSTING PACKERS AND VIKINGS AND NEXT TWO GAMES
Detroit is coming off its best performance of the season, beating Arizona 45-21 on the road ahead of its bye week.
The Lions (3-2) opened the season with a 31-30 overtime win over New Orleans at home and have alternated losses and wins since.
Detroit was dominated at Buffalo, hung on to beat the New York Jets, played poorly in a loss at Carolina and bounced back with a blowout against the Cardinals with a defense that suddenly didn’t look like the NFL’s worst.
“It is a complementary football game and you could certainly feel it,” Goff said. “They were playing with energy and swagger and then we were feeding off that, getting short fields, scoring and then they would multiply that.”
Detroit will see how it stacks up in the division with its next two games at home against the Packers on Oct. 25 and the Vikings on Nov. 1.
The Lions host the Bears on Thanksgiving Day and in a stretch that may decide the division, they play at Minnesota in Week 15 and close the regular season at Chicago and Green Bay.
DETROIT’S OFFENSE RANKS AS ONE OF NFL’S BEST
The Lions and Bills are leading the league in scoring, averaging 32.8 points per game.
Detroit is the NFL’s first team to have a quarterback (Goff) with at least 1,400 yards passing and 12 passing touchdowns and a running back ( Jahmyr Gibbs ) with 500-plus yards rushing and seven scores on the ground through the first five games of a season.
Gibbs is the fourth player in league history — and the first since Christian McCaffrey in 2019 — to have 500-plus yards rushing and at least 240 yards receiving through the first five games of a season.
The three-time Pro Bowler has scored the most touchdowns (57) by an NFL player before his 25th birthday. He wants to break LaDainian Tomlinson’s single-season record of 31 touchdowns.
“I’m trying to get that,” Gibbs said.
Goff has thrown 12 TD passes without an interception through five games. He joins Russell Wilson, who did it in 2019, as the only NFL quarterbacks to accomplish that feat.
Receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams, along with tight end Sam LaPorta, give Goff plenty of options in the passing game when defenses are stacked to stop Gibbs on the ground.
DETROIT’S DEFENSE IS AMONG THE LEAGUE’S WORST
The Lions are allowing a league-high 404.4 yards per game, and they are third-worst in scoring defense, allowing 29.6 points per game.
Fifth-year defensive back Roger McCreary has heard the talk about how poorly the unit has played.
“That’s the part of business,” said McCreary, who defended six passes at Arizona for the highest total in a game by a Detroit player since Bryant Westbrook in 2000. “If you not playing good, critics going to say something.”
Despite the poor team stats defensively, the Lions are pressuring quarterbacks. They have 20 sacks, the most they’ve had through five games in a season, and have four players with at least three sacks for the first time at this point of the season.
DETROIT’S INJURY LIST GETS SHORTER
Hard-hitting safety Brian Branch and veteran center Cade Mays will play on Sunday afternoon. Branch tore his left Achilles tendon late last season against Dallas. He was voted to the Pro Bowl in 2024.
Mays has been out for two months with a wrist injury. He was a key acquisition in the offseason, signing a three-year contract to fill a void left by Frank Ragnow’s retirement entering the 2025 season.
“We got the opportunity to get a couple of guys back potentially here, so that extra week early right now buys us that,” Campbell said. “So, I think it’s good. Yeah, after you feel like you play your best game, there is part of you that’s like, ‘Boy, it’d be nice to keep going.’ But, I think this is a good thing. I think it’s good that it’s happening now. We can kind of get some guys back, get rested up and be ready to go after that.”
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MATCHUP TO WATCH
Packers’ passing game against Detroit’s defense. Green Bay’s Christian Watson has 538 yards receiving and six touchdowns while teammate Matthew Golden has 501 yards receiving and three touchdowns. They are the only duo to rank among the top 10 in the NFL in yards receiving. The Lions are last in the league in passing defense, allowing nearly 300 yards per game.
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STATS AND STUFF
— Green Bay has won three straight after a 1-2 start.
— The Packers have allowed 24 points during their winning streak, the lowest point total they have given up in a three-game stretch since 2021.
— Packers safety Xavier McKinney has three interceptions to tie for the NFL lead and fellow safety Evan Williams has two.
— Detroit center Cade Mays is expected to make his debut with the team and standout safety Brian Branch is expected to play for the first time since tearing his left Achilles tendon last December.
— Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs has a league-high nine scrimmage touchdowns and is third with 747 yards from scrimmage.
— Detroit tight end Sam LaPorta lamented the team hasn’t signed him to a long-term extension on the “Pardon My Take” podcast, saying he broke his back last year for the Lions who are not showing him love despite his strong play this season.
National broadcasts and CBS single early game TV map
