The Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions rivalry is here and the strongest it has ever been. For so long, it was a one-sided affair, but for the last two seasons, both teams have been in the upper echelon of the NFL.
In fact, for the first time in decades, the rivalry seemingly favors the Lions. Detroit has won five of the six games between the teams, including three straight in Green Bay.
But Thursday’s game will be in Ford Field, where the Lions last lost to the Packers on Thanksgiving. In that game they were handled decisively by the Packers, despite the relatively close 29-22 score. Detroit will undoubtedly be looking to right that wrong, but there’s a bigger storyline at play for the Lions.
Injury have run through the Lions’ defensive roster. It’s so bad that Detroit has four players on their active roster who joined the team less than a week ago: Jamal Adams, Myles Adams, Jonah Williams, and Kwon Alexander. Coach Dan Campbell said he wouldn’t be surprised if all four players contributed on Thursday night, and, indeed, all four are active.
That’s because the Lions are missing a dozen players on defense, most of which are on their front seven. Notably, the Lions will be without Aidan Hutchinson, Marcus Davenport, DJ Reader, Josh Paschal, Levi Onwuzurike, Alex Anzalone, Derrick Barnes, and Malcolm Rodriguez. That’s a tough injury list to overcome, but if the Lions can somehow do it, they will cement themselves as NFC North favorites and hold onto their place atop the entire conference. With only four weeks of regular season football to play, that would be a huge statement win.
Can they do it?
We’ll be providing live updates from Ford Field on Thursday night right here in this post. Simply come back at kickoff (around 8:15 p.m. ET) and refresh the page as the game continues. We’ll add drive-by-drive analysis, scoring summaries, highlights, and more.
See you kickoff!
