Packers-Lions Matchups: Just One Advantage, But It’s Huge

The Green Bay Packers have won three games in a row. As fictional manager Lou Brown from Major League II once said, that’s called a winning streak.

Can the Packers extend their streak to four? They will face a big challenge in Detroit against the Lions at 3:25 p.m. Sunday. It will be the first of five consecutive games against teams that would qualify for the playoffs if the season were to end today.

The Packers swept the Lions last season, including a 31-24 in Detroit on Thanksgiving. The teams are different now. Some key players are back. Others are on the shelf due to injuries. The Lions are coming off their bye week, while the Packers played Dallas on Sunday night.

While the Lions have the rest advantage, who has the advantage on the field? We go through that in our weekly matchups.

Lions Pass Offense vs. Packers Pass Defense

The talking point last week was that the Packers were playing well on defense but that they had not faced a real quarterback.

Now they have, and the Packers beat up Dak Prescott on Sunday night. This week? They’ll face another high-powered offense with a quarterback who has been mostly flawless this season.

Jared Goff does not get the league-wide respect that he deserves, but he’s been nothing short of excellent since coming to Detroit.

This year has been no different. He has completed 67 percent of his passes. His passer rating is 111.3. He’s thrown 12 touchdown passes and has yet to be picked off.

Perhaps Detroit’s offense was summed up best by Green Bay defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon.

“They’ve scored 30 any time they’ve touched the grass,” Gannon said on Tuesday.

Four out of five games but, with a second-ranked 32.8 points per game, close enough. Detroit’s offense is dangerous. They’re loaded with weapons. Receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams and tight end Sam LaPorta can all hurt the defense in different ways.

Last week, the Packers handled their matchup against George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb well. This group is deeper, and more dangerous.

The key to slowing down the Lions is pressuring Goff. The Packers beat him up last year at Lambeau Field and held the Lions to 13 points.

Can the Packers get enough pressure? Will Gannon have another masterclass up his sleeve?

As good as Green Bay’s defense has played early in the season, this matchup is closer than you would think at first glance.

Advantage: Push.

Lions Rush Offense vs. Packers Run Defense

Jonathan Gannon was asked what makes Jahmyr Gibbs, Jahmyr Gibbs. He sighed, before saying, “Woah.”

Gibbs is the fastest player on the field every week that he steps on it. He’s a dominant force in a Detroit ground game that remains its identity even with the loss of some of the personnel that made it such a powerful unit in 2024.

Green Bay’s run defense has truly only struggled once this season. The problem? That came against the Falcons, who employ a back with a similar running style to that of Gibbs. There’s an argument to be made that Gibbs is a better running back than Bijan Robinson, but it’s those two at the top of the league with everyone else fighting for a seat at the table.

Either way, Gibbs makes this group go.

The Packers did a good job against him last year. Gibbs was held to 19 yards on nine carries at Lambeau Field. He added 10 catches for 31 yards. If the Packers can hold him to 50 yards on 19 touches, they’d be thrilled.

In the rematch at Ford Field, Gibbs was more productive, but not up to his usual standard. He touched the ball 20 times for 86 yards. The Packers held him in check, but will be missing both linebackers from those games. Quay Walker is playing in Las Vegas while Edgerrin Cooper is rehabbing a torn Achilles.

Regardless, Gibbs’ excellence and the Packers’ recent history against a back of his caliber gives the nod to Detroit.

Advantage: Lions

Lions Pass Defense vs. Packers Passing Offense

The Lions can make things difficult with their pass rush. Their front boasts two really good players in defensive tackle Alim McNeil and defensive end Aidan Hutchinson. D.J. Wonnum is sixth in the lead with five sacks. Hutchinson has four and McNeill has 3.5.

Added together, the Lions lead the league in sacks – even while playing one less game than most teams.

So, why does their defense stink?

Once the ball goes in the air, the Lions have had significant problems. Their defensive backfield was in flux before the season even began. Their once elite safety tandem of Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph have missed the entirety of the season with injuries. Following last year’s torn ACL,, Branch is likely to return this week, which should give them a boost.

The cornerback spot has been an issue. D.J. Reed has not worked out as a free agent signing, and they’ve been struggling to find someone to give them consistency. Keith Abney is the only cornerback with an interception.

That’s good news for the Packers as they come in rolling. Jordan Love’s stats won’t show how well he played on Sunday against the Cowboys, but he was three drops away from throwing four touchdown passes.

Matthew Golden has back-to-back 100-yard receiving games, the first for the Packers since Davante Adams, and is turning into a star. Will the Packers be able to protect Love long enough to exploit a leaky pass defense? That’s the million-dollar question.

With the advantages Green Bay has, especially at quarterback, where Love has thrived almost regardless of the situation, the nod here goes to the visiting team.

Advantage: Packers.

Lions Rush Defense vs. Green Bay’s Rush Offense

Green Bay’s run game stinks. If there was any doubt about that, Sunday’s results against the Cowboys, who were 32nd in the league against the run, should have answered any remaining questions.

As has been the case all season, the Packers were terrible on the ground. Their leading rusher was Pierre Strong. He had 28 yards on 11 carries. Their starting running back was MarShawn Lloyd. He had negative yards rushing at halftime and finished with 10 yards on eight carries.

Their most efficient runner was Savion Williams, and those runs were on plays in which Jordan Love threw the ball behind the line of scrimmage.

They could be getting a boost this week. Josh Jacobs is off the commissioner’s exempt list, and looks to be on track to play this Sunday. How much can he play? He can help, but how much?  Those are questions we don’t know the answers to yet.

Until we know, it’s impossible to give the Packers the edge, against any opponent, let alone one that has been a decent 13th in rushing yards allowed per game and 12th in yards per carry.

Advantage: Lions.

Special Teams

From a special teams perspective, the Lions have some stability at kicker and punter. Jake Bates has been perfect on field goals this season and Jack Fox is averaging 47.2 yards per punt.

There is a slight transition in their return game with Tom Kennedy taking over for Kalif Raymond, who joined Ben Johnson in Chicago.

Green Bay’s special teams entered the Dallas game struggling. Trey Smack missed three kicks against Chicago and Skyy Moore is missing from their return game due to a high-ankle sprain that landed him on injured reserve.

Coleman Owen was elevated from the practice squad last week to return punts in Moore’s place while J. Michael Sturdivant and Bo Melton returned kickoffs. Neither did much to stand out, but they protected the football. Matt LaFleur noted that he thought Owen did a nice job returning punts other than calling for a fair catch inside the 10. He will likely be elevated again this week.

Smack shook off some struggles against Chicago with a 5-for-5 night against the Cowboys. This game is in a dome, which should remove the degree of difficulty for kickers to some degree. Having said that, two of the worst games of Mason Crosby’s career came at Ford Field.

Detroit’s excellence at kicker and punter and its strong coverage units give them the nod.

Advantage: Lions.

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