Just like that, Packers fans, we're halfway through the 2024 NFL regular season. At 3:25 CST, the Green Bay Packers, wearing their classic 50's uniforms, will face the Detroit Lions in a big divisional showdown at Lambeau Field in what could be a rainy match-up. The 6-2 Packers are coming off their 30-27 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars where they had a second-straight game-winning field goal from new kicker, Brandon McManus. The Lions have been powering along at 6-1 and are coming off a decisive victory at home over the Tennessee Titans where they took them down 52-14. This, of course, is the first of the teams' yearly two-game series this season. The Packers hold a record of 104-76-7 against the Lions all-time, with the most recent meeting resulting in a victory for Green Bay.

The last time these two teams met was in Detroit for the Lions' annual Thanksgiving game on November 23rd, 2023. The Packers were starting to rally their season back to life coming off a victory against the LA Chargers at a record of 4-6 and were able to take down the 8-2 Lions with a final score of 29-22. The final score doesn't do the game justice though as the Packers jumped out to a 20-6 lead in the first quarter after two Jordan Love touchdown passes and a Jonathan Owens 27-yard fumble return for a TD. At halftime, the Packers' lead increased to 23-6 and in the second half the Lions were able to rally back a little bit with two touchdowns but the Packers answered with one as well making the first-half results too much to overcome for the Lions. This game was famous for Jordan Love being named player of the game going 22/32 for 268 yards and three touchdowns, but he never got a turkey leg which is traditionally awarded on Thanksgiving to the best players. Of course, this launched "Turkeygate" against commentator Greg Olsen who received a turkey leg in the broadcast booth, and the rest, as they say, is history. 

Last week we watched yet another not-so-pretty win when the Packers defeated the Jaguars, and it's led to some concern for today's game. Before Jordan Love was shelved due to injury he went 14/22 for 196 yards and an interception. It wasn't exactly the carving of Jacksonville's secondary I envisioned, but part of that could have been due to playing hurt. Malik Willis then entered at QB and the running game took off. Of course, we had the big 51-yard dime from Willis to Reed that put the Packers in field goal range to win the game, but the most impressive part to me was how the Packers were able to still move the football on the ground despite it being obvious that running is what they were going to do. The defense though, left a lot to be desired. They held Jacksonville to just 91 yards rushing which was a good surprise, but they allowed Trevor Lawrence to still throw for over 300 yards. It was like a flip-flop of stats from their game against the Texans the previous week.

Today, we're still unsure of who will be in or out for the Packers on both sides of the ball. But the Packers will have to handle this game very methodically if they want to be victorious. 

What to see on Offense

Well, all this week, the big question was whether or not Jordan Love would play today after being unable to finish the game against Jacksonville last week. Well, after being listed as questionable on the injury report, the news came in late Saturday morning from Dianna Russini of The Athletic that Love would be starting against Detroit. Of course, if he is healthy enough to play, this is good news for Packers fans because as good as Malik Willis has been in relief this year, I think Jordan Love gives the Packers the best chance to win. Regardless of who's under center though, the Packers would be wise to lean on the running game a bit. 

When the Packers lean on Josh Jacobs, he delivers. Not only should they lean on Jacobs to take the pressure off Jordan Love, but also to keep the Lions' offense off the field. Detroit currently ranks 5th in the league against the rush when it comes to total yards allowed. However, they're ranked 22nd in the league as far as yards per carry are concerned, allowing 4.66 YPC. Jacobs had a nice week last week against the Jaguar's defense which was ranked ninth in the league against the rush, so there is of course a chance he could still have some success against Detroit. 

Unfortunately, Center Josh Myers may not be playing today as he was listed as Doubtful. If this is the case, I would expect a shuffle on the offensive line with Elgton Jenkins at Center, Jordan Morgan at RG, and Sean Rhyan at LG in Jenkins' place. The chemistry between Love and Jenkins shouldn't be much different as they've practiced with 74 snapping the ball before, it's nothing new. However, I will have eyes on how this affects the rushing attack. There shouldn't be much of a drop-off as a whole with all three interior linemen having shown a positive success rate in run blocking. So the shuffle should still be able to open a few holes for the running backs. 

Moving on to the passing game, as stated, Jordan Love will be the starter when the Packers' offense takes the field. When it comes to a passing offense, this is in the best interest of the Packers to have Love at the helm when healthy. 

The Lions' pass rush was dealt a blow when they lost Aidan Hutchinson for the season, but they can still after the Quarterback. Defensive Tackle Alim McNeill leads those active on the Lions' defense with 2.5 sacks followed close behind by a duo of linebackers Malcolm Rodriguez and Trevor Nowaske, each with 2. Jordan Love's mobility will be a question mark today, so the line will have to keep him as clean as possible, and getting the ball out of his hands quickly will be ideal. I wouldn't call the pass rush a huge concern, but when we look at the unknown nature of Love's injury status, we want to keep him upright and avoid further damage. 

The greater concern for the passing attack is turnovers. We all know Jordan Love hasn't been the best at keeping the ball out of the defense's hands and with the Lions' defense having just as many interceptions as the Packers' defense, it would be wise to take care of the ball. Detroit's takeaways are led by Safety Kerby Joseph who has five interceptions this season and fellow safety Brian Branch is close behind with four. The Packers can't afford to give the Lions' offense extra chances so today would be a great day for a goose egg under the INT's thrown stat for Jordan Love. 

One vulnerability the Lions may have in their secondary is their slot corner, Amik Robertson. Robertson has allowed the fifth-most yards to receivers and Quarterbacks have a 101.1 passer rating against him. Lucky for the Packers, they have an outstanding slot receiver in Jayden Reed. If the Packers can get Reed one-on-one with Robertson, he could have a field day. 

What to See on Defense

It honestly baffles me to say this, but Jared Goff might be an early-season MVP candidate. So far this season, Goff has thrown for 1,695 yards, 13 touchdowns, and four interceptions. He averages about 242 yards per game. The Rams may have gotten a Super Bowl victory out of the Matthew Stafford trade, but the Lions received a boatload of pieces that have brought them to where they're now, and Goff is one of the biggest parts of it. He was considered expendable and possibly was just holding down the QB position until the Lions drafted a successor when the trade happened, but now, he is their QB1 for the foreseeable future. Goff has done a great job of managing the Lions' explosive offense, and stopping that offense will be a tall task for the Packers' defense today. 

Goff's supporting cast surely helps his case with Amon-Ra St. Brown leading the way with 408 yards receiving and five touchdowns. St. Brown is very effective from the slot, and the Packers are going to have to blanket him if they want any shot of slowing down the Lions' passing attack. The Packers' defense has been dealt a gift of not having to face the Lions' second-best receiver, Jameson Williams who is out on suspension, so that will take away a big deep threat from the Lions, but they still have other ways of beating you through the air. One of those other ways outside of Amon-Ra St. Brown, is tight end Sam LaPorta. LaPorta has continued the success he had his rookie season by turning in a good sophomore season so far piling up 272 yards through air and 2 touchdowns. I said last week that the Packers have had their struggles with tight ends over the years and this year is no exception with the team ranking in the bottom 10 against tight ends this season. Keeping the ball out of the hands of St. Brown and LaPorta will be no easy task, but will be crucial if the Packers are to be successful.

Pressuring Jared Goff will be crucial. The Packers haven't been the best at pressuring the QB this season, but some of that could be due to facing mobile quarterbacks where they seemed to prefer spying as opposed to pressuring. Last week though, when I thought they would do well at pressuring Trevor Lawrence, they didn't manage a whole lot of success. Detroit's offensive line is strong and has been able to keep Goff pretty clean, but it has had some hiccups here and there. It will be up to the Packers defensive line to push for those hiccups and get to Jared Goff to force mistakes or turnovers. 

Evan Williams will not be playing today, and there's some uncertainty about Jaire Alexander's status heading into this game, as he did not practice this week. Williams's impact on the Packers' defense has been excellent so far, so his absence will be a big loss against a prolific Lions passing attack. Corey Ballentine is also questionable for this afternoon and CB Kamal Hadden was elevated from the practice squad yesterday so that indicates either Jaire or Ballentine will likely be held out. My hope is that Jaire Alexander plays, otherwise we're going to have a tough time today, but it wouldn't surprise me with the Bye being next week if they would be cautious with his injury and hold him out. 

And now, the running game. Hello darkness my old friend. It was good to see the Packers slow down Tank Bigsby a bit against the Jaguars, but it wasn't a lot, he still amassed 4.3 yards per carry with 78 yards. It's not a huge gashing, but I feel they could've done better. Against the Lions though, good luck. Their two-headed rushing attack is going to be difficult for the Packers to stop. Jahmyr Gibbs leads the way with 591 yards on the ground and six touchdowns, and David Montgomery isn't far behind with 415 yards on the ground and a touchdown. They're like lightning and thunder and the Packers will have to limit them to win this one. 

One key to limiting the running game is going to be wrapping up the ball carrier. Sounds elementary right? Not against these two. Gibbs and Montgomery are two of the best at forcing missed tackles. The Packers have been much better this season than most at wrapping up the ball carrier, you might have to pinch me after I say that cause it seems like a dream compared to past seasons. But today, they're going to have to be on their A-game to stop the run. I'm hoping for big games from linebackers Edgerrin Cooper, Eric Wilson, and Isaiah McDuffie. Cooper has been outstanding at making tackles in the backfield and Wilson isn't far behind, we will need a repeat of their past performances today. Quay Walker will be returning after being in concussion protocol. He hasn't had the best season so far, but here's to hoping today could be a big return for him to show out the second half of the season. 

Extra Notes

Two game-winning field goals for Brandon McManus in two games for the Packers. He's also been perfect with all 10 kick attempts. It doesn't get much better than that right? Hopefully, his success continues today. 

Daniel Whelan has continued to have a good season punting for the Packers. Last week he averaged a net of 44 yards which isn't too shabby with a long of 63 yards. He may want to consider punting out of bounds a lot today though if he wants to avoid big returns. Last week, Lions punt returner Kalif Raymond had two big returns. One went 90 yards for a touchdown, and another went 64 yards setting up another score. Unless he can get the hang time for his defenders to get into position and force a fair catch, Whelan may want to consider landing his kicks on the sidelines. 

In the End

It's going to be a big one today in Green Bay. Another divisional showdown at Lambeau Field and this one will have to be played carefully. But if the Packers emerge victorious, they could sit atop the NFC North heading into their Bye week. 

I know Lambeau is going to be invaded by Lions fans today. It's inevitable. But hopefully, today won't be like last year when the Lions visited and the Packers will be able to keep the home crowd loud on their way to scooping up a big win and moving forward to 7-2. Go Pack Go.