This is “the game” for the Green Bay Packers. That doesn’t mean their season is finished if they don’t beat the Detroit Lions in Week 14. They’re 9-3 and unquestionably one of the best teams in the NFC.
Falling to 9-4 would be disappointing, but with games remaining against the Seattle Seahawks, New Orleans Saints, Minnesota Vikings, and Chicago Bears, a 12- or 13-win season is still possible.
Normally, it would be a sure-fire playoff record, but the Packers play in the NFC North, which is suddenly stacked. Even at 9-3, they are looking up two division slots to the 11-1 Lions and 10-2 Minnesota Vikings.
In the greater playoff picture as a whole, the Washington Commanders are 8-5 and there’s a slew of teams at 6-6 like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Arizona Cardinals and Los Angeles Rams that could get hot and go on a run.
Every game from here on out is a must-win for a team like the Packers, and this game against the Lions is especially important because it will give Matt LaFleur and his squad a benchmark. Are they truly one of the best teams in the NFC? Beating the Lions would prove that. If they come out listless again as they did in the first matchup, though, that could lead doubters to feel like Green Bay winning seven out of its last eight was a bit of fool’s gold.
There’s no doubting the fact that the Packers, winners of three in a row, are hot though. Here’s why they’ll stay on fire and beat the Lions in Week 14.
Packers QB Jordan Love has found his game
Jordan Love seems to have settled in. He hasn’t had a “superstar” performance yet this season, but he’s been injured or banged up for much of it. He seemingly got healthy during Green Bay’s bye week though, and since then, he’s been a much different quarterback from the one who threw 10 interceptions through seven games.
It’s worth noting that he did throw an interception against the Bears and he had a few throws that could have become interceptions against the San Francisco 49ers had they caught onto the ball. That doesn’t change the fact that his touchdown-to-interception ratio in this three-game winning streak is 5-to-1, his average completion percentage has gone up from 61.6% to 69.3% and his average passer rating has gone up from 88.5 to 116.6.
Love is playing much better and Green Bay’s offense has looked great as a result. The Packers have put up 29 points per game over the past three, and against a Detroit defense that’s completely banged up, they should continue to be able to put up points.
Lions are extremely banged up
Sometimes it’s not the best team that wins the Super Bowl, but the most healthy. In fact, health, or lack thereof, always seems to play a factor in the NFL playoffs.
To that point, the Lions have been very unlucky. They are undoubtedly the NFL’s best team at the time of this writing, but they’re also one of the most banged up teams out there.
The Lions have sent defensive tackle Mekhi Wingo, linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez, wideout Kalif Raymond and cornerback Ennis Rakestraw Jr. to the injured reserve. Linebacker Alex Anzalone has a broken forearm, corner Carlton Davis III is questionable against the Packers as is tackle Taylor Decker. That’s not even to mention star defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, who was lost in October with a broken tibia/fibula.
“Some of these have just kind of been one of those, like chalk it up to, ‘That’s a freak deal. That’s kind of an odd thing that happened and how it happened.’ There’s no rhyme or reason and this happens, I mean it just does,” head coach Dan Campbell recently said, discussing Detroit’s injury luck. “As long as I’ve been in this league, as a player and as a coach, some years are great, and some years it’s just like this. And you overcome it.”
That’s a lot to overcome against the Packers, especially when considering that Green Bay is basically totally healthy.
Packers are feeling gritty
Speaking of Campbell, he has built a culture of “grit” in Detroit and that toughness and “never say die” attitude has largely been why the Lions have gone from the bottom of the NFL basement to a likely Super Bowl contender.
Campell has coined grit, but he doesn’t have the patent on that in NFL circles. As such, the Packers have been feeling gritty as well lately, and much of that has to do with the tough running of Josh Jacobs, who has become a hammer for the Packers, especially down near the goal line as of late. He has five touchdowns in this three-game winning streak, all of which have come in the red zone.
The Packers have a toughness about them that they haven’t had in recent years thanks to Jacobs. They also have a player like tight end Tucker Kraft, who is a beast to take down with the ball in his hands at 6-foot-5, 259 pounds.
“Tuck’s an animal, I think we’d all agree with that – both him and Josh. And it’s not just those two guys. I just love the mentality of our football team. I think our guys, they strain for one another, they fight, they block, and they try to inflict pain, which as a coach you love to see,” LaFleur recently said, via Bill Huber of Sports Illustrated.
Kraft is one of the top YAC (yards after contact) players in the NFL at the moment, and he’s another reason why the Packers have become so gritty, especially up front on offense.
Look for them to bring that toughness to Detroit on Thursday Night.
