Lions scouting report: Packers riding an upward trend

After a much-needed bye week, the Detroit Lions are back on the field. They kick off their 2026 campaign to reclaim their NFC North crown against the Green Bay Packers in Ford Field in Week 7. After back-to-back road games and a bye week, Lions fans should be going crazy for them on Sunday afternoon.

The Green Bay Packers have had a wild up-and-down season so far in 2026. Injuries and off-the-field concerns dropped the team to 1-2 after Week 3. Since then, the team is on a three-game winning streak and heads to Detroit with star running back Josh Jacobs back on the field to give the offense a much-needed boost. While this is Detroit’s first divisional game, the Packers are 1-1 in divisional play this season.

Let’s take a deep look at the Packers’ season so far ahead of Week 7.

Green Bay Packers

2026 season thus far (4-2)

Week 1: Lost to Minnesota Vikings, 39-22
Week 2: Defeated New York Jets, 20-17 (OT)
Week 3: Lost to Atlanta Falcons, 35-14
Week 4: Defeated Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 17-14
Week 5: Defeated Chicago Bears, 31-7
Week 6: Defeated Dallas Cowboys, 23-13

Offensive stats:

The offense has had a more chaotic ride than the defense. At quarterback, Jordan Love has been doing well, throwing for 1,684 yards with 11 touchdowns and four interceptions. He’s had to carry the offense while the running game has struggled. Love has the third-most passing yards in the NFL, but the passing game hasn’t been all flowers and roses, as it ranks in the middle of the pack in DVOA and PFF.

With Jacobs returning, expect that part of the offense to take a step forward. MarShawn Lloyd leads the team with 122 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 2.5 yards per carry. The trade for Kaleb Johnson hasn’t worked out as well as fans hoped, with Johnson getting only 104 yards on 3.7 yards per carry. The running game is the offense’s biggest weakness, ranking in the bottom four in multiple categories, from rushing yards to DVOA to PFF grades.

When Love has time to throw, he most often finds wide receivers Christian Watson and Matthew Golden. Watson leads the team in yards (538) and touchdowns (6), while Golden leads in catches with 30. The duo has already combined for over 1,000 yards this season, and they could be the passing game’s future one-two punch if wide receiver Jayden Reed can’t return from his neck injury. Newly paid tight end Tucker Kraft has had a slow start, catching 25 passes for 249 yards and a touchdown. Green Bay’s biggest flaw right now is drops, as they lead the NFL with 20, according to Pro Football Reference.

One major reason for the running game’s struggles is the offensive line. Injuries have plagued the position group, and the team has made multiple moves, including signing former Detroit Lion Kevin Zeitler to provide immediate help, although he has yet to play. According to PFF, they have the second-worst run-blocking grade (47.8), but it gets worse. They also have the worst pass-blocking grade from PFF (46.8), which explains why, despite Love’s high mark in passing yards, the passing grades and DVOA aren’t high, but they’re enough to carry the offense and make them an average team in EPA.

Defensive stats:

The Packers defense has been on the calmer side this year, but not in the front seven. Two defensive tackles and a linebacker are on IR, while their star pass rusher and another defensive tackle are still on PUP. EDGE Lukas Van Ness leads the line with 3.5 sacks, while defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt has 2.0 sacks and a forced fumble as the defense tries to hold down the fort until EDGE Micah Parsons returns.

The linebacker room lost its best player, Edgerrin Cooper, for the year with a torn Achilles, but Zaire Franklin and Ty’Ron Hopper are doing their best to keep the defense tough. Franklin has 41 tackles, a forced fumble, and a pass deflection, while Hopper has 12 tackles, two pass deflections, and an interception.

Green Bay’s secondary has been the strength of the defense, mostly because of the lack of injuries at the position. Safety Xavier McKinney is back to his old tricks, tied for the league lead with three interceptions, and with Evan Williams next to him with two, this safety duo looks like one of the best in the NFL. With a stout secondary, they rank highly in passing defense in DVOA and passing yards allowed, and PFF rates them the NFL’s top coverage unit.

While the passing defense has been stellar, this team is struggling to stop the run, which makes sense with how many bodies are out in that front seven, especially on the interior. With the Packers allowing over 110 rushing yards a game, Detroit may try to use the running game to open up the passing game.

Injury notes

Key players ruled out: RT Zach Bako-Bewele (IR), LB Edgerrin Cooper (IR), WR Jayden Reed (IR), DT Javon Hargrave (IR), DT Jonathan Ford (IR), WR Skyy Moore (IR)
Key players to monitor: TE Luke Musgrave (PUP), EDGE Micah Parsons (PUP), DT Jordon Riley (PUP), G Aaron Banks (knee/toe), T Anthony Belton (knee), C/G Jager Burton (back), C/G Jacob Monk (quad), CB Benjamin St-Juste (hamstring)

We thought the Carolina Panthers were banged up. Oh man, the Packers blew them out of the water. Their offensive line took a big blow when they lost their top player, right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele, to a patellar tendon tear that ended his season.

Several of these injuries are season-ending, but the Packers are dealing with even more issues. Their superstar Parsons is still on PUP, and he won’t be returning to practice this week, but he’ll be on the field soon enough. Another player still on PUP is tight end Luke Musgrave, as the Packers could use all the help they can get on offense. Last week, the Packers added more players to their IR list: defensive tackles Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Ford, and wide receiver Skyy Moore.

Additionally, the offensive line has four linemen (two starters) dealing with issues: left guard Aaron Banks is battling knee and toe issues, and the replacement for Bako-Bewele, Anthony Belton, is dealing with a knee injury. Banks missed Week 6, so his Week 7 status is up in the air. Their depth at guard and center has been rough, too: backup interior lineman Jager Burton missed Week 6 with a back injury, and Jacob Monk is dealing with a quad injury. Cornerback took a little bit of a hit, down Benjamin St-Juste, but it’s nowhere near as depleted as the trenches.

Biggest strength: Secondary

With injuries depleting the front seven, the secondary is taking on the burden of carrying the defense. They’ve allowed the third-fewest yards per passing attempt. Green Bay leads the NFL in interceptions with nine. When you not only limit what offenses can do through the air but also take away the football, you start changing how offenses attack you.

The Packers have allowed the third-lowest passer rating (73.9) and only nine passing plays over 20+ yards, tied for second-fewest in the league. We’ve seen what great safety play is like in Detroit when safeties Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch are on the field together, and the Packers are doing the same with McKinney and Williams. The cornerback room isn’t too impressive, but they’ve done their job well, so with the overtop help being as dominant as it has been, the cornerbacks have more opportunities to make plays and do their part.

Biggest weakness: Running back

Despite Jacobs returning this week for Green Bay, this position has been a huge problem for them this year. It’s uncertain how ready Jacobs will be and how much he’ll play, but with the offensive line struggling to stay healthy, even he could still struggle on Sunday afternoon.

The team needed five weeks, over a month of football, for one of their running backs to get over 100 total rushing yards in a season. When teams know you can’t run the football and have to rely on the passing game to move the chains, it’s easier to defend. Green Bay has attempted 107 runs with their running backs while throwing the ball 226 times.

You can’t even say it’s because they’ve been behind in all their games; they led Minnesota 22-10 in Week 1 and still allowed 29 straight points. Then, in Week 4 against Tampa Bay, they led by 10 in the third quarter and still won by only 3. Green Bay can’t rely on Love to do all the heavy lifting when he’s constantly facing pressure, getting sacked 13 times this season

Key matchup: Lions secondary vs. Packers passing attack

The Packers offense likes to take multiple deep shots and hope for a holding call or defensive pass interference.

“The quarterback gives them a nice pretty ball, man, lays it out there,” coach Dan Campbell said this week. “And really about 50 percent of these are either DPI or catches, which is talk about explosive.”

With the Lions’ secondary playing so poorly, Green Bay has a great opportunity to strike multiple times downfield and get big chunk plays on penalties.

Detroit’s secondary improved when rookie safety Keith Abney II took over a primary role at safety; he even got his first career interception. With him and Branch returning, the deep shots might be tougher than expected. Green Bay will still attack that way, knowing Branch is fresh off his injury and Abney only has one game of experience at the position.

If Detroit can limit the damage from the Packers’ passing attack, Green Bay’s offense could crumble. On the other side, if Green Bay can strike down the field through the air, this game could become another shootout for Detroit, where whoever has the ball last wins.

Vegas line for Sunday: Lions favored by 3