It’s been eight years since the Lions last won on what has supposed to have been their day, the annual Thanksgiving Day game. In recent years the Lions have often been embarrassed on national TV, falling hard to the Indianapolis Colts, Tennessee Titans, New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins to name a few.
However despite those embarrassments and talk that the game should be taken away from the Lions, Detroit enters this years game a different team and perhaps some light at the end of a long dark tunnel of failure and disappointment.
It’s not going to be easy though, in fact today’s game against this Green Bay Packers team may be the toughest test for the Lions in recent memory. The Packers enter the game as defending Super Bowl Champions, undefeated and showing very little weakness. In addition to all of this the Pack has what is looking to be the odds on favorite to be the leagues MVP in Aaron Rodgers.
The Detroit Lions may be the last big road block between the Packers and perfection in the regular season. But in order for Detroit to spoil Green Bay’s flawless year, lets take a look at what needs to happen first.
Green Bay Player to Watch: Aaron Rogers, QB
Last weekend the Packers had a close call when they defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 35-26 to preserve their perfect season. Despite the score, Aaron Rogers still threw for 299 yards, three touchdowns and one interception for a 112.3 passer rating. Rodgers has posted a passer rating of at least 100 in 10 consecutive games and becomes the first player in NFL history to post a 100 plus passer rating in 10 consecutive games.
With all of Rodgers’ success this season, it seems pretty cut and dry that if Detroit wants any shot at beating the Packers today, they’re going to have to limit Rodgers.
Detroit Player to Watch: Kevin Smith, RB
In his first game back with the Lions, running back Kevin Smith posted a career day rushing for 140 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also managed to catch four passes for 61 yards and one touchdown.
It certainly was a pleasant surprise for a Lions running game that has suffered this season with the absence of Jahvid Best an Mikel Leshoure.
The big question this week though is whether or not Smith can have success against a team that’s far better than Carolina. If he can, it will take a ton of pressure off Matthew Stafford an enable the passing game to really take off.
Cut out the turnovers
Chicago and Carolina showed what can happen when you turnover the ball in the NFL. Carolina however showed that it isn’t a death sentence given their poor defensive team. However Green Bay is leaps and bounds better than both Carolina and Chicago put together and even a moderate number of turnovers can be devastating. Simply said Detroit cannot afford to turn over the ball like they’ve been doing in recent weeks.
Keep the crowd in the game
Ford Field has become one of the more difficult places to play in the NFL and there’s no doubt that today won’t be any different. Getting out to a fast start and keeping the crowd in the game will greatly benefit the Lions and hopefully draw the Packers into plenty of penalties at the line of scrimmage.
Predictions
The Lions offense can certainly put up points and the Green Bay secondary can certainly give them up. However the Green Bay offense will prove to be just too much for a Lions team that is still in transition. Green Bay wins 38-31.
Ref: NFL.com, Detroit Free Press, Mlive.com, PrideofDetroit.com (image)