NFL Week 14 – Preview: Green Bay Packers at Detroit Lions
It’s a traditional battle in the NFC North as Detroit Lions (2-10) host the Green Bay Packers (8-4) on 12th of December. That six-win difference you see in the teams’ overall records will make it seem that a blowout is in order on Sunday.
But is that really the case for these two long-time NFC North opponents?
To get a grasp on this question, let’s break down how the two teams fared last week. Because according to the old NFL saying, “you’re only as good as your last game.”
Packers played host to San Francisco 49ers, and in spite of beginning slowly, throttled the 49ers 34-16. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers threw 298 yards and 3 touchdowns, while the entrance of James Starks in NFL was believed to be a success after running for
73 yards on 18 carries.
Packers were favoured to win this game and while the performance was not perfect, it is hard to criticize with an 18 point win during December in the NFL.
Packers are 6th in the NFL in pass defence, allowing 205.2 yards per game, and should be ready for a healthy dose of Lions on Sunday.
Packers have won 5 of their last 6 games and Aaron Rodgers is setting together another Pro Bowl season. For the season, Rodgers has completed 65.4% of his passes for 3,243 yards, 23 touchdowns and 9 interceptions but he has been kicked out 25 times. He owns
a career rating of 121.0 versus the Lions.
Greg Jennings and Donald Driver are threats for Detroit Lions. Jennings has 57 catches for 944 yards and 11 touchdowns while Driver has 38 catches for 437 yards and 4 touchdowns.
A.J. Hawk leads Packers in tackles with 81 and Charles Woodson has 72. Clay Mathews is causing havoc with 11 and a half sacks but Cullen Jenkins and his 7 sacks look doubtful for this game.
Packers are averaging 25.2 points and 358.7 yards per game while the defence is allowing 15.2 points and 316.4 yards.
Detroit Lions, on the other hand, could not hold off the division leading Chicago Bears at home. Lions led by as much as 6 in the 2nd half but let Chicago score the final 10 points of the game to lose 24-20. There was a doubtful penalty called
on the Detroit Lions late that helped Bears score the game-winning touchdown, but it was clear that Detroit struggled to close this game down the stretch.
Detroit Lions have lost 7 games this season by only one score, and in many cases, they have let leads slip away in the 4th quarter.
In spite of Lions’ close losses; they still have talent at some of the necessary skill positions to compete with the Packers. Receiver Calvin Johnson leads a talented receiving core, and there is no doubt he is been a Packers’ killer in his entire career
at Detroit.
Detroit's offense is mostly run through wide receiver Calvin Johnson. He looks like he is going to be a power for quite some time as he has 62 catches for 872 yards and 12 touchdowns and he opens things up for everyone else.
Rookie Jahvid Best still could be the answer in the backfield and can prove that with a quarter of the season left. He has rushed for 447 yards and 4 touchdowns and he also has 50 receptions for 407 yards and a touchdown.
The Detroit defence has clearly improved from previous years as Louis Delmas has 71 tackles and Julian Peterson has 66. Ndamukong Suh has 8 sacks and he is one of the best defensive players in the NFL.
Alphonso Smith has 5 interceptions as Detroit have 9 as a team. Detroit are averaging 23.2 points and 339.3 yards while the defence is allowing 25.5 points and 348.9 yards per game.
This should be a decent game and I think Green Bay are able to take advantage of the Lions secondary and raise points that way though Rodgers will be moving around the pocket plenty as the Lions can bring it.
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