And we’re right back where we started.
Sort of.
The Green Bay Packers won the first game of the season against the Detroit Lions, with an emphatic 27-13 victory at Lambeau Field.
A lot has happened since then. The Packers and Lions have both visited third place in their division since the two teams met on opening day.
Now, they are playing in a game that is massive for NFC playoff implications. The Packers, with a win, would hold a tiebreaker over the Lions in the same way the Lions did over the Packers a season ago.
Here are the keys to doing just that.
1. Packers’ run defense vs. Lions’ backfield
The Detroit Lions still want to get off the bus running the football.
Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery combine for one of the best backfields in the NFL.
That was supposed to be the biggest pressure point for this Green Bay team after trading Kenny Clark in the move that added Micah Parsons to the fold.
In Week One, Green Bay shut down the Lions’ powerful run game.
Between the two backs, they carried the ball 20 times for 44 yards.
Gibbs touched the ball 19 times for 50 yards. It was his least productive game as a pro.
Green Bay may not need to force that type of production, but they need to keep Detroit’s ground game held down.
2. The Supporting Cast
Parsons is a great player. We know that by this point. The issue lately has been that Parsons has been the only player getting to the quarterback.
The return of Lukas Van Ness should help the pass rush, but the biggest need right now is more production from Parsons’ running mate, Rashan Gary.
One of the best games of Gary’s career came at Ford Field where he had three sacks in a Thanksgiving game in 2023.
When these two teams played in September, Parsons sacked Jared Goff late in the game, but the Packers got more production from the rest of the crew as well, bringing Goff down four times on opening day.
3. Protect the football
Matt LaFleur often likes to say that every game in the NFL comes down to just a couple of plays.
That’s especially true in divisional games.
That’s even more true in a game like this where so much is on the line.
The last time these two teams played, the Packers did not turn the ball over.
Evan Williams arguably changed the complexion of the game late in the first half.
He picked off a pass from Goff in the red zone where the Lions were poised to make the score 17-10 going into halftime.
Instead, the Packers held a two-score lead going into the half, and the Lions never got within one score.
Taking care of the ball on the road is paramount this week.
Jordan Love has taken care of the ball since the bye week, with just one interception in the first three games since the bye.
With Green Bay’s lack of ability to make big plays on the ball on defense, taking care of the ball becomes paramount.
