CINCINNATI — Being a Bengals fan, I saw the Steelers own them my entire childhood and early adulthood. In fact, beginning when I started watching football in mid-November of 2005, the Steelers were 25-8 against the Bengals spanning Week 13 of the 2005 NFL Season until I graduated college in April 2021. Since then, however, the rivalry is a little more even, even though the Steelers lead 4-3 in the seven games they have played in the last three-plus seasons.
I mention this because there’s another rivalry that was largely one-sided from 2005 to 2021, but it too has taken a turn recently. From December 2005 through September 2021, the Packers were 24-8 against the Lions. Since then, though, the Lions are 5-1 against the Packers.
It’s been a complete seismic shift in what’s such an underrated rivalry. The Lions have controlled the physicality of every game over the last six editions of the rivalry, and they now have an opportunity to put the Packers very much in their rearview mirror in the NFC North race on Thursday night.
Green Bay Packers (9-3) @ Detroit Lions (11-1) – 8:15 p.m. on Prime Video (Al Michaels, Kirk Herbstreit, Kaylee Hartung)
Westwood One: Ian Eagle, Ross Tucker
First of all, this is the best Thursday Night Football game that I can remember, since Thursday Night Football began in 2006 and certainly since Prime Video began broadcasting Thursday Night Football in 2022. And the great thing is, both teams have actually had a week’s worth to prepare for the game after both played on Thanksgiving last week. Usually, teams only have three full days to prepare for a Thursday night game.
The NFC North has been the best division in the NFL this season, and it’s not even close. Three teams have nine or more wins, and the quarterback play has been tremendous from all four teams.
Jared Goff and the Lions offense are so good. You want to know why? They can just as easily win scoring 20-29 points as they can scoring 52 points. The Lions have six wins this season scoring between 20-29 points and another win when they scored 31 points. Then you look at their four wins scoring 42, 47 and 52 points. By the way, they’ve scored 52 points twice this season.
Goff’s weapons on offense are ridiculous. It’s amazing how many draft picks the Lions have hit on offense the past few years: Amon-Ra St. Brown, Sam LaPorta, Jahmyr Gibbs, David Montgomery and Jameson Williams. The Lions have so many playmakers on offense- even right tackle Penei Sewell has the potential to be one- that when you combine them with the best offensive coordinator in the NFL in Ben Johnson, it’s almost impossible to defend this offense.
But the Packers defense will pose a challenge Thursday night. They made life difficult for Goff last year on Thanksgiving. They’re even better on defense this year. With a stout and deep defensive line, a strong linebacker duo in Quay Walker and Isaiah McDuffie and safety Xavier McKinney leading the NFL with seven interceptions, the Packers defense can shut down opposing offenses and make critical game-changing turnovers.
The most impressive thing about the Packers to me, though, has been Jordan Love. Enough with the concerns. He is the real deal. Love had the highest passer rating of his career last week at 129.2 in a Thanksgiving night win over the Dolphins, his third straight game with a 100+ passer rating. In addition, Love leads the NFL with 18 games with multiple touchdown passes since the start of the 2023 season.
Love’s weapons are solid, and deep. They’re also explosive. Jayden Reed and Christian Watson are both deep-ball catches waiting to happen on any given play. Watson, in particular, is one of two players in the NFL to be currently averaging 20+ yards per reception. Add in running back Josh Jacobs, who runs hard every time he touches the ball, and this Packers offense is also versatile and hard to defend.
Even though I have no concerns about Love’s ability to play quarterback at a high level in the NFL, I am worried about him facing the Lions defense. As banged up as it is, with 11 players on injured reserve, there are still some dangerous playmakers that will be on the field Thursday night. Love must take care of the football Thursday night, especially with Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch lurking in the secondary.
This is going to be a fantastic game. A Lions win would put them up by three games on the Packers with the season sweep in the divisional matchup. But a Packers win would close the Lions lead to just one game in the NFC North with still four games remaining in the regular season. The road team won both Packers-Lions games last year, and the Lions won at Green Bay in Week 9. I think that trend continues tonight and makes things really compelling in the NFC North.
Game Pick: Packers 31 – Lions 24
Let me be Frank and Cut to the Chase 