SLR Predictions: Green Bay Packers at Detroit Lions
By Zac Snyder
The SideLion Report writers give you their take on the upcoming game and predict the final score.
Scott: This matchup is not a pretty one for the Lions defense considering that Kyle Vanden Bosch and Alphonso Smith are on injured reserve. Drew Stanton starts again and he will have to play mistake free football for the Lions to stay in this game. Look for more of the same from the Lions with Brandon Pettigrew catching a lot of passes in the check down game. The Lions will try to get the ball to Calvin Johnson down the field in this game.
The Lions defense is much better at home and this is the only shot the Lions have at winning in this game. They will have to prevent the Green Bay passing game from making big plays and to do that they will have to pressure Aaron Rodgers into a few mistakes. The Lions offense will have to score every opportunity that is given to them. Converting turnovers into field goals will not do this week. Stefan Logan will have to set up the Lions offense all day in the return game.
In the end the Lions are simply outgunned in this matchup on both sides of the ball. They will have to be perfect, but that will be too much to ask and Green Bay will run away from them in the second half. Packers 34 Lions 17
Latif: I think this game will be closer than most people expect.
Drew Stanton had a great game against the Bears last week. In fact, he was the first quarterback to have a 100+ QB rating against the second ranked Bears defense. I think the strong play will continue this week. They should be able to put up 20+ points, but they will, again, have troubles running the ball. I see Brandon Pettigrew and Calvin Johnson having great games again.
The bigger issues will be on the defense. Alphonso Smith and Kyle Vanden Bosch are gone, and those two guys are hard to replace. This is really an opportunity for guys like Lawrence Jackson (who has quietly had a good season off the bench) and Nathan Vasher to step up and take over for KVB and Phonz. Still, I see the Packers offense putting up more than three touchdowns, and winning the game. Final Score: Cheeseheads 31, Kittens 24
Ross: The Lions committed 13 penalties for 102 yards and turned the ball over 3 times when they played Green Bay earlier this year. If Drew Stanton and the Lions have any chance to win against the Packers, they can’t beat themselves with penalties and turnovers.
The Packers (8-4) look like they are going to the playoffs again. Aaron Rodgers is one of the best passers in the league, he has the 4th best quarterback rating (100.3) in the NFL. James Starks now looks like to be the answer to Green Bay’s running game. Since Ryan Grant went down with an injury in Week 1, the Packers have struggled to run the ball. James Starks played his first game in the season last week against the 9ers and he ran it 18 times for 73 yards.
Drew Stanton needs to have another solid game and not turn the ball over like he did last week. It’s going to be tough for the Lions to throw the ball with Drew Stanton at quarterback and Green Bay ranks 6th against the pass. However, both Atari Bigby (safety) and Charles Woodson (cornerback) are questionable on Green Bay’s injury report. Bradon Pettigrew had 91 yards recieving when the Lions and Packers played earlier, look for him to have another big game. I still don’t think the Lions have what it take to stop the Packers and I believe they will lose their 20th straight NFC North game. Packers 27, Lions 17
Zac: After years of making average quarterbacks look like Pro Bowlers, the Lions defense made Aaron Rodgers look average in their game earlier in the season. Excuse me for not having confidence they can do it again. Alphonso Smith played a big role last time but he finds himself on injured reserve this time around. Brandon McDonald will be asked to step up in his place whether or not he can is yet to be seen.
Drew Stanton played a nice game last week but I still don’t see him as capable to leading the Lions to a win over a superior opponent. The Lions will need their running game to take another step forward to keep the pressure off of Drew Stanton. The likelihood of that happening is dependent on whether or not Jahvid Best’s turf toes are truly healing. Packers 23, Lions 20
You’ve heard what we are thinking, what do you say?
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