The Lions got a much-needed jolt in Week 5, running past the Cardinals with a strong offensive performance and moving to 3-2 on the season. For a team still trying to answer questions on defense against top-tier opponents, that’s a record Dan Campbell’s group can live with.
Now comes a pause.
Detroit is off in Week 6, so there’s no Lions game this weekend. The timing of the bye is a little awkward after the team appeared to find its rhythm, but the break also sets up what comes next: a pair of huge NFC North matchups.
The Lions will be back on Sunday, Oct. 25, when they host the Packers in Detroit. Green Bay arrives with momentum of its own after a 31-7 win over the Bears, the Packers’ best offensive outing of the season. There’s also the possibility Micah Parsons returns for Green Bay in Week 7, which would only add more intrigue to a game already carrying plenty of weight.
Detroit’s next five games line up like this:
Sun, Oct. 25 vs. Packers, 4:25 p.m.
ET
Sun, Nov. 1 vs.
Vikings, 1 p.m. ET
Sun, Nov. 8 at Dolphins, 1 p.m. ET
Sun, Nov. 15 vs. Patriots (Munich), 9:30 a.m.
ET
Sun, Nov. 22 vs.
Buccaneers, 1 p.m. ET
And the schedule doesn’t ease up after Green Bay. The Lions’ next big division test comes right after, when they host the Vikings at Ford Field. In a division where every team sits above .500, those NFC North games are going to matter a lot.
In Other News...
Packers Fans Suddenly Agree On One Thing After Bears Blowout
The Packers blowout of the Bears did more than pad a rivalry win column. It also gave a restless fan base a reason to settle in a little more comfortably, with sentiment around the team turning sharply upward after a stretch that had left plenty of people questioning where things were headed.
About two-thirds of surveyed fans now believe Green Bay will make the playoffs, a notable shift in mood even if the broader outlook is still measured. Confidence in the teams overall direction has climbed to 59 percent from 24 percent a week earlier, but sportsbooks are still treating the Packers as a long shot to get there, keeping the conversation alive about whether the latest surge is a real turn or just the kind of post-Bears optimism that needs another week to prove itself. [Read more 🡒]
Packers Passing Game Suddenly Has One Big Cowboys Question
Dallas will have to wait a little longer before its cornerback situation becomes clear for Sundays matchup with Green Bay, with Joey Porter Jr. carrying a questionable tag because of an ankle injury. Porter was limited in practice on Wednesday and Friday, though he was a full participant on Thursday, leaving the Cowboys to navigate one more layer of uncertainty in a game where every matchup in the secondary matters.
Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones tried to calm the noise around Porters availability, saying the defender is committed to playing and that contract talks are not part of the equation. For a Packers passing game that has been under the microscope, the bigger question now is whether Green Bay ends up seeing Porter on the field at all, or facing a Cowboys defense that has to adjust on the fly. [Read more 🡒]
Lukas Van Ness Just Reopened A Packers Pass Rush Debate
Lukas Van Ness gave the Packers plenty to feel good about early, flashing the kind of edge presence Green Bay has been chasing opposite Micah Parsons. He had 2.5 sacks in his first two games, and the start looked like the kind of burst that could settle a long-running question about how the pass rush would hold up around Parsons.
The last three games have brought a different conversation. Van Ness has still been around the quarterback and generating pressures, but the sack production has cooled enough to reopen the debate about whether Green Bay has a dependable second threat on the edge, or whether it needs to keep looking for one. How he finishes the final weeks could go a long way toward shaping what the Packers think they have in him going into the offseason. [Read more 🡒]