When Detroit and Green Bay, old rivals and current contenders, square up in the Motor City on Thursday night, there will be a lot on the line.
With a victory over the Packers, the NFC-leading Lions (11-1) hope to maintain their advantage over Minnesota (10-2) in the NFC North and Philadelphia (10-2) in the conference’s best record competition.
Additionally, Detroit can create a franchise record by winning 11 straight games to secure a postseason berth.
“We’re in playoff football right now,” stated Lions head coach Dan Campbell. “This is the type of stuff that you live for and it’s also the type of stuff that gets you ready for the tournament.”
According to BetMGM, Green Bay (9-3) has a lot to gain because, if it can split the season series with a minor upset as 3 1/2-point underdogs, it can draw within one game of the Lions.
According to Packers safety Xavier McKinney, “this game is going to be important for us moving forward toward the end of this thing and we’re going to treat it as such.”
It could be crucial if Green Bay can halt down Detroit’s running attack.
Together, Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery have averaged over 140 yards on the ground per game, making them the first duo in league history to rush for at least 10 touchdowns in consecutive seasons.
In their last two games, the Packers restricted Miami to 39 yards rushing and kept Christian McCaffrey of San Francisco to 31 yards on 11 carries. They allowed less than 45 yards of rushing in two consecutive weeks for the first time since 1995 and only the second time since 1950.
Last month versus Green Bay, Gibbs had 65 yards rushing and a touchdown on 11 runs, while Montgomery ran 17 times for 73 yards.
“They played Montgomery the whole first half and then the second half they came with Gibbs,” McKinney said. “They got a good 1-2 punch.”
In recent series, home field has not been an advantage.
The road team has won four in a row, including a 20-16 victory at Lambeau Field to end the 2022 regular season and Aaron Rodgers’ Packers tenure.
Including their Thanksgiving victory over Detroit last year, Green Bay has won five consecutive NFC North road games.
With an NFL-high seven interceptions apiece, McKinney and Lions safety Kerby Joseph lead the league by at least two.
Joseph has intercepted four passes in four games versus the Packers, including a pick-6 in the most recent encounter with Green Bay.
“He’s a ballhawk,” said Jordan Love, the quarterback for the Packers. “He’s going to make the plays when the ball’s in the air, so he’s definitely a guy you’ve got to know where he’s at.”
At a recent press conference, Lions coach Dan Campbell was surprised to learn from a reporter that Gibbs had posted something on social media that revealed some of the team’s strategy.
Campbell remarked, “I’d rather our stuff not be out there,”
Although he stated that seeing another team’s terminology on a whiteboard doesn’t give them a competitive advantage, Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur shares this sentiment.
“Guys understand that nobody wants their information out there for the whole world to see, so we try to keep everything in-house here,” LaFleur stated. “But I don’t think it’s like the end of the world, either.”
In twelve days, both teams will play a third game.
Lukas Van Ness, a defensive lineman for the Packers who has taken a sack in each of his last two games, stated, “The way the entire organization has handled this has been really impressive.”
Each team will have a break following the game.
On December 15, the Lions will host the Buffalo Bills, the AFC East champions, and Green Bay will play Seattle later that evening.
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