The Detroit Lions are out of the bye week and into a division test that could demand their best front-seven performance yet.
On Sunday, Detroit hosts the Green Bay Packers, who are riding a three-game winning streak. And if the early read on this matchup is any indication, the biggest battle may come through the air - with Green Bay’s passing game threatening to stress a Detroit defense that’s been giving up yards at an alarming rate.
Bill Huber, who covers the Packers for Packers OnSI, told Lions OnSI that Josh Jacobs is expected to play after spending six games on the exempt list. Huber said Jacobs should be ready physically and mentally after working with the training staff, even if there’s still a little rust from being out since the end of training camp.
That matters because Green Bay’s ground game has been a problem all season. Huber didn’t sugarcoat it: the Packers don’t need a dominant run game to put points on the board, but they do need enough balance to avoid constant long-yardage situations. As he put it, “A rusty Jacobs should still be a shot in the arm for a running game that’s not just the worst in the league but on pace to be the worst in the NFL.”
The passing game, though, is where Green Bay looks dangerous. Huber pointed to Christian Watson, who has grown from a size-speed weapon into a complete receiver, and Matthew Golden, whose production has exploded after a quiet rookie year.
Watson was on pace for 1,600 receiving yards and 20 touchdowns before being somewhat limited by the Cowboys last week, while Golden has jumped from 25.8 yards per game as a rookie to 83.5 this season. Huber said the two are on pace for close to 3,000 yards together.
For the Packers, the path to making that attack work starts with the run game and play-action. Huber noted that Jordan Love was just 1-of-7 in play-action last week because Dallas wasn’t biting. He also said Love has been dropped by 19 passes, which is the most in the league and more than all the NFC North quarterbacks combined.
The bigger issues run deeper than one game, though. Huber said Green Bay has to get its offensive line and running game sorted out, with Love taking the punishment for a pass protection unit that has been leaky for most of the year.
The Packers are averaging less than 60 rushing yards per game and 3.0 yards per carry, a pace Huber described as unsustainable. “You can’t put your quarterback in harm’s way without him getting knocked out of the game, and you can’t play winning football without the ability to run the football to run out the clock or control the game in one of those classic cold-weather games.”
He also said Green Bay’s defense is simply trying to hold together until Micah Parsons returns. The pass rush has been inconsistent unless Jonathan Gannon has schemed it up, leaving the Packers in a survival mode of sorts on that side of the ball.
The Lions, meanwhile, have their own matchup advantages. Huber said the offensive line is the spot to watch, especially with left tackle Rasheed Walker gone in free agency and right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele out for the season after a knee injury in Week 2.
Jordan Morgan has held up at left tackle, while Anthony Belton has been in “survival mode” at times on the right side. That leaves Aidan Hutchinson in position to make life miserable for two young tackles in front of a home crowd.
Another key one-on-one comes in the slot, where Javon Bullard will see plenty of Amon-Ra St. Brown.
Huber said Bullard is not widely viewed as a premier slot defender, though he has taken a step forward. A second-round pick in 2024, Bullard has no career interceptions or forced fumbles, but his six passes defensed already top what he had across his first two seasons combined.
Huber called the matchup with St. Brown one worth the price of admission.
As for a pick, Huber leaned toward Detroit. He cited the Lions’ overall talent, naming Jared Goff and Jahmyr Gibbs among the offensive stars, while noting that Detroit is scoring 32 points per game and still has room to climb toward 40. He said the Packers should score plenty too, but Green Bay may need near perfection to come away with a win, while Detroit has some margin for error.
In Huber’s view, the deciding factor comes down to whether the Lions’ front can get to Love and force the one or two stops that tilt the game.
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Sam LaPortas frustration over his contract situation had become a talking point around the Lions, but Dan Campbell finally stepped in to put the moment in some perspective. Speaking to the media, Campbell made clear that Detroit is not reading the tight ends recent comments as anything bigger than a player who wants to be paid and has been waiting on the next step in his career.
From the Lions side, the message is that the noise stays outside the building. Campbell said LaPorta remains focused and ready to play, and he framed the remarks as pent-up frustration rather than anything that should change how the team views him. In a sport where contract conversations can quickly snowball, Detroits coach tried to draw a clean line between emotion and distraction. [Read more 🡒]
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The matchup gets even more interesting because Green Bays offensive line has taken on injuries that could leave Love exposed to pressure. If Detroit can turn that into disruption early, it may be the kind of game where the Lions do not have to solve every coverage problem behind them, because the rush up front does some of the heavy lifting for them. [Read more 🡒]