The Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers will open a busy Thanksgiving Day NFL schedule as the red-hot NFC North leaders look to extend their division lead
.
Thanksgiving football and the Detroit Lions have become synonymous with the NFL’s Thanksgiving schedule. However, unlike in previous years, the Motor City’s favorite football team enters the day as one of the best in the NFL.
What Detroit started in 2022 has continued this season, and the 8-2 team is a lock to make the playoffs and is beginning to convince some long-time analysts that they should be considered as a serious Super Bowl contender in 2023. The offense is ranked fifth in our current NFL offense rankings, but what distinguishes this team is that their defense has finally caught up and elevated them to the top of the league.
In 2023, things are very different for the Green Bay Packers. The team is transitioning away from Aaron Rodgers as the face of their franchise and attempting to determine whether Jordan Love can fill his massive shoes as the organization’s next franchise quarterback. However, the 25-year-old hasn’t received much help from the rest of the offense, and the team’s defense is ranked near the bottom of the top 20 in our most recent NFL defense rankings.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/68504412/usa_today_14957430.0.jpg)
Nonetheless, the Pack comes into the game off a big win over the Los Angeles Chargers and one of Love’s best performances in his brief career. They will have an extra boost of confidence knowing that they have little to lose in this divisional matchup as big underdogs.
With that in mind, let’s make some bold predictions for the Detroit Lions vs. Green Bay Packers game on Thanksgiving at 12:30 p.m. ET.
Jordan Love will throw for 300 yards for the second week in a row.
Jordan Love has performed admirably over the last three weeks as he adjusts to life as an NFL starting quarterback. He reached a new high with a career-high 322 passing yards and two touchdowns in Week 11. While the Lions’ defense has improved significantly this season, they can still be defeated through the air.
Love is willing to spread the ball around to his receivers, which could pose a problem for Detroit at times. Expect Love to put on a show for the second week in a row, throwing for over 300 yards.
The Lions’ defense will hold the Packers to less than 70 yards rushing.
In terms of the Lions’ passing game weakness, they have actually been far better at stopping the run. Aaron Glenn’s defense only allows 89.5 yards per carry, which ranks fourth in the league heading into Week 12. This, combined with Green Bay’s already poor run defense, spells disaster on Saturday.
With Aaron Jones unlikely to play and AJ Dillon carrying the entire load, the Lions will force Love to rely entirely on his arm as he receives next to nothing from the rushing attack on Thanksgiving.
The Lions will run all over the Packers, gaining 180 yards on the ground.
While the Packers will struggle to gain yards on the ground, the Lions will have an easier time of it. Along with an improved defense, the Detroit run game is dependable, and David Montgomery has had some outstanding performances this season, including a season-high 121 yards against the Packers in September.
Green Bay has the league’s fifth-worst rush defense, and having to respect the Lions’ lethal passing attack will allow Montgomery to have another big game and rookie Jahmyr Gibbs to gain a lot of yards.
Goff will not throw for 300 yards on Thursday, but Love will. However, this does not preclude him from having a good game. The Packers have a strong pass defense that will try to slow down the Lions, but with the running game performing well, Goff will rely less on his arm and more on his legs.
Expect the running backs to get them down the field, and some play-action passes to set up at least three red-zone touchdowns for the talented quarterback.
