NFC North-leading Lions host Packers on Thanksgiving, aiming to extend best start since 1962
ASSOCIATED PRESS
GREEN BAY (4-6) at DETROIT (8-2)
DAY / TIME / TV: Thursday, 12:30 p.m. EST, FOX
SERIES RECORD: Packers lead 105-76-7.
LAST MEETING: Lions beat Packers 34-20 Sept. 28 in Green Bay.
LAST WEEK: Packers beat Chargers 23-20; Lions beat Bears 31-26.
PACKERS OFFENSE: OVERALL (21), RUSH (21), PASS (19), SCORING (20T).
PACKERS DEFENSE: OVERALL (17), RUSH (28), PASS (7), SCORING (10).
LIONS OFFENSE: OVERALL (2), RUSH (5), PASS (5), SCORING (6).
LIONS DEFENSE: OVERALL (9), RUSH (5), PASS (16), SCORING (22).
TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Packers minus-3; Lions minus-2.
The Detroit Lions for many years were a team people had to watch on Thanksgiving.
Detroit was so bad for so long that some started clamoring for the franchise to lose its traditional place on the holiday.
Suddenly, the Lions are a team NFL fans outside the Motor City want to see.
“We’re getting networks asking for the Lions,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in an interview with Fox 2 Detroit before attending Detroit's last game at Ford Field. “I think a lot of that goes back to the final game last season when they went into Green Bay. They didn’t necessarily have anything to play for, but they went and beat their division opponent and knocked them out of the playoffs.
“In the kickoff game, they made another statement.”
That was the first game of this season, when Detroit won at Super Bowl champion Kansas City. The NFC North-leading Lions (8-2) will have another opportunity to show the masses what they can do against the Packers (4-6) on Thursday.
Detroit has opened a year with eight wins in 10 games for the first time since 1962. The run included a Week 4 win at Green Bay.
The Lions closed last season with eight wins in their last 10 games and capped the run by keeping Aaron Rodgers out of the postseason in what turned out to be his last game with Green Bay.
Packers coach Matt LaFleur is hoping his team can stem the tide.
LaFleur, who is from Mount Pleasant, Michigan, grew up watching the Lions play on the holiday at his grandmother's house.
“Everybody’s glued to the TV set,” he said. “It is a great honor.
“It’s great to be going back to the state I’m from, and hopefully we can spoil their Thanksgiving Day.”
BANGED UP
The Packers will be missing some key players.
Tight end Luke Musgrave and receiver Emanuel Wilson went on injured reserve Wednesday. Running back James Robinson was added to the active roster because Aaron Jones is out with a knee injury. AJ Dillon will likely start in the backfield. “I’m ready for a haul," said Dillon, who is listed as questionable with a groin injury. “I’ve been in every situation these last four years.”
BUCKLE UP
Detroit coach Dan Campbell makes bold moves, often going for it on fourth down instead of punting or kicking field goals. “I tell my family this: ‘ Wear a diaper before some of these games,’” Campbell told WXYT-FM.
SURGING LOVE
Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love threw two interceptions in the last loss to the Lions, who led 27-3 at halftime. That was the first of five straight games in which the Packers failed to score a touchdown in the first half. “We’ve just got to start fast,” Love said. “We got ourselves in a hole the first time we played them, where we were trying to crawl out of that.” Love has been better lately. He threw for a career-high 322 yards in a win over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, surpassing his previous personal best, which he had set the week before in a loss to Pittsburgh.
GOING WITH GOFF
Jared Goff threw three interceptions for his first time in three years with the Lions on Sunday against Chicago, then helped them rally from a 12-point deficit in the last three minutes to win. While the quick turnaround isn't ideal for most players, Goff is glad he doesn't have to wait long to make up for his lackluster performance. “I’d love to come out this week and play well and get a ‘W’ and be able to put that one behind me,” he said.
SEEKING A SURGE
Green Bay was also 4-6 a year ago before bouncing back with four straight wins to move into playoff contention. “We’ve got a lot of the guys here that was on that team last year, and that’s something we talked about,” linebacker De’Vondre Campbell said. “There’s a lot of outside noise, but none of that really matters. The only thing that matters is what we do.”
PACKERS PLAYER TO WATCH
RB AJ Dillon. The Packers may need to lean heavily on Dillon to carry the rushing attack because Aaron Jones has a knee injury. Dillon is listed as questionable with a groin issue. Dillon had just five carries for 11 yards when the Packers fell to the Lions earlier this season. He has started eight games since Green Bay drafted him out of Boston College in the second round in 2020.
LIONS PLAYER TO WATCH
DE Aidan Hutchinson. He had 1½ sacks at Green Bay in Week 4. Hutchinson is the first NFL player with 15-plus sacks and four INTs through his first two seasons. He’s also the first in league history with 15 sacks, four INTs and two fumble recoveries in 27 games, surpassing Brian Urlacher, who did it in 34 games.
KEY MATCHUP
Detroit’s running game against Green Bay’s defense. Dave Montgomery had 121 yards rushing and three TDs in the win at Green Bay. Rookie Jahmyr Gibbs is averaging 130.5 yards from scrimmage with five TDs over the past four games. They’re the first pair of NFL RBs to have more than 665 yards from scrimmage and five TDs through 10 games since 2009 when Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams did it in Miami. The Packers are giving up 134.7 yards rushing, ranking among the league’s worst, and allowed 211 in the previous matchup with Detroit.
KEY INJURIES
Packers RB Aaron Jones (knee), RB Emanuel Wilson (shoulder) and TE Luke Musgrave (abdomen) have been ruled out. Wilson and Musgrave were placed on injured reserve Wednesday… S Darnell Savage (calf) and CB Eric Stokes (hamstring) will miss their fifth straight games. TE Josiah Deguara (hip) is doubtful. CB Jaire Alexander (shoulder), LB De’Vondre Campbell (neck), Dillon (groin), S Rudy Ford (shoulder) and WR Dontayvion Wicks (concussion/knee) are questionable… Lions G Jonah Jackson (wrist) is out for the fifth time in a six-game stretch.
SERIES NOTES
The Lions, with four straight wins in the series, have a chance to win five in a row for the first time since an 11-game winning streak from 1949-54… Green Bay is playing Detroit on Thanksgiving for the 22nd time, making it the most-common opponent on the holiday. The Packers are 8-12-1 against the Lions on Thanksgiving… Detroit and Green Bay are playing multiple times in a season on a Thursday for the first time since 1926.
STATS AND STUFF
Packers QB Jordan Love threw for a career-high 322 yards against the Chargers, giving the team a 300-yard passer for the first time in nearly two years… Keisean Nixon leads the NFL with his average of 26.8 yards per kickoff return… WR Romeo Doubs has a TD catch in four of his past five games… WR Jayden Reed, a second-round rookie from Michigan State, has seven catches of 30-plus yards this season. Miami’s Tyreek Hill is the only player with more receptions of at least 30 yards… Reed had a team-high 46 yards rushing on three carries last week… K Anders Carlson missed an extra-point attempt Sunday and had a PAT blocked the game before that… Detroit is 8-2 for the first time since 1962 when it won 11 of the first 13 games, finished 13-3 with the league’s third-best record as Green Bay went on to beat the New York Giants for the NFL title… The Lions are one of four teams that has not played in a Super Bowl along with Cleveland, Houston and Jacksonville and each is 7-3 or better this season… Against Chicago last week, the Lions became became the first team to rally from a 12-point deficit in the last three minutes of a game to win without overtime since the New York Jets did it in Week 2 last season… WR Amon-Ra St. Brown has at least six catches in 28 games and Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson (32) is the only player in NFL history with more in his first three seasons… Detroit has won its last four games against Green Bay, matching its second-longest winning streak in the history of the matchup. The Lions' longest winning streak against Green Bay is 11 games from 1949 to 1954… Green Bay has scored a touchdown on 91.7 percent of its goal-to-go situations, tied for the highest mark in the NFL with Arizona. The Packers finished last in the league last year in this category, scoring touchdowns on 52.4 percent of goal-to-go drives… Jayden Reed is tied with Jahmyr Gibbs for the fourth-most touchdowns among rookies this season, behind Tank Dell (six), Jordan Addison (seven) and De'Von Achane (seven). The last Packers rookie with at least five offensive touchdowns was Eddie Lacy in 2013 (11)… Detroit has averaged 399.6 yards per game this season, behind only Miami's 434.0 mark. It would be the Lions' second-most yards per game in franchise history (408.8 in 2012) and the first time they finished in the top two of the NFL since 1997… Jared Goff boasts a 75.3 completion percentage in the fourth quarter this season, which would be the highest mark in a single season by a Lions quarterback in the last 30 years by almost 10 percent (Stafford -- 65.9% in 2015; among qualified QBs)… Green Bay has allowed three points on drives starting with two minutes or less in the half this season, tied for the second fewest with the Chiefs, Colts, Texans, and Falcons. The only team to allow fewer is the Lions who have yet to allow a single score.
