NFC North-leading Lions host Packers on Thanksgiving, aiming to extend best start since 1962

2023-11-23 05:22

The NFC North-leading Detroit Lions will host the Green Bay Packers on Thursday, kicking off the first of three NFL games on the holiday

GREEN BAY (4-6) at DETROIT (8-2)

Thursday, 12:30 p.m. EST, Fox

OPENING LINE: Lions by 7 1/2, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

AGAINST THE SPREAD: Green Bay 4-6; Detroit 7-3.

SERIES RECORD: Packers lead 105-76-7.

LAST MEETING: Lions beat Packers 34-20 Sept. 28 in Green Bay.

LAST WEEK: Packers beat Chargers 23-20; Lions beat Bears 31-26.

PACKERS OFFENSE: OVERALL (21), RUSH (21), PASS (19), SCORING (20T).

PACKERS DEFENSE: OVERALL (17), RUSH (28), PASS (7), SCORING (10).

LIONS OFFENSE: OVERALL (2), RUSH (5), PASS (5), SCORING (6).

LIONS DEFENSE: OVERALL (9), RUSH (5), PASS (16), SCORING (22).

TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Packers minus-3; Lions minus-2.

PACKERS PLAYER TO WATCH: RB AJ Dillon. The Packers may need to lean heavily on Dillon to carry the rushing attack because Aaron Jones has a knee injury. Dillon had just five carries for 11 yards when the Packers fell to the Lions earlier this season. He has started eight games since Green Bay drafted him out of Boston College in the second round in 2020.

LIONS PLAYER TO WATCH: DE Aidan Hutchinson. He had 1 1/2 sacks at Green Bay in Week 4. Hutchinson is the first NFL player with 15-plus sacks and four INTs through his first two seasons. He's also the first in league history with 15 sacks, four INTs and two fumble recoveries in 27 games, surpassing Brian Urlacher, who did it in 34 games.

KEY MATCHUP: Detroit's running game against Green Bay's defense. Dave Montgomery had 121 yards rushing and three TDs in the win at Green Bay. Rookie Jahmyr Gibbs is averaging 130.5 yards from scrimmage with five TDs over the past four games. They're the first pair of NFL RBs to have more than 665 yards from scrimmage and five TDs through 10 games since 2009 when Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams did it in Miami. The Packers are giving up 134.7 yards rushing, ranking among the league's worst, and allowed 211 in the previous matchup with Detroit.

KEY INJURIES: Packers RB Aaron Jones (knee), RB Emanuel Wilson (shoulder) and TE Luke Musgrave (abdomen) aren’t expected to play. … S Darnell Savage (calf) returned to practice after missing the past four games. …LB De’Vondre Campbell left Sunday’s game with a stinger and WR Dontayvion Wicks was evaluated for a concussion. ... Lions G Jonah Jackson (wrist) is expected to be out for the fifth time in a six-game stretch.

SERIES NOTES: The Lions, with four straight wins in the series, have a chance to win five in a row for the first time since an 11-game winning streak from 1949-54. ... Green Bay is playing Detroit on Thanksgiving for the 22nd time, making it the most-common opponent on the holiday. The Packers are 8-12-1 against the Lions on Thanksgiving. ... Detroit and Green Bay are playing multiple times in a season on a Thursday for the first time since 1926.

STATS AND STUFF: Packers QB Jordan Love threw for a career-high 322 yards against the Chargers, giving the team a 300-yard passer for the first time in nearly two years. ... Keisean Nixon leads the NFL with his average of 26.8 yards per kickoff return. … WR Romeo Doubs has a TD catch in four of his past five games. … WR Jayden Reed, a second-round rookie from Michigan State, has seven catches of 30-plus yards this season. Miami’s Tyreek Hill is the only player with more receptions of at least 30 yards. … Reed had a team-high 46 yards rushing on three carries last week. ... K Anders Carlson missed an extra-point attempt Sunday and had a PAT blocked the game before that. .. Detroit is 8-2 for the first time since 1962 when it won 11 of the first 13 games, finished 13-3 with the league's third-best record as Green Bay went on to beat the New York Giants for the NFL title. ... The Lions are one of four teams that has not played in a Super Bowl along with Cleveland, Houston and Jacksonville and each is 7-3 or better this season. ... Against Chicago last week, the Lions became became the first team to rally from a 12-point deficit in the last three minutes of a game to win without overtime since the New York Jets did it in Week 2 last season. ... WR Amon-Ra St. Brown has at least six catches in 28 games and Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson (32) is the only player in NFL history with more in his first three seasons.

FANTASY TIP: If Dillon is stashed on your bench or still available on your league’s waiver wire, it might be a good time to pick him up because he is expected to get a lot of carries in place of Jones.

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