When the Packers and Lions meet Sunday afternoon, the matchup will be a rematch of last Thanksgiving’s 31-24 Green Bay win - but the rosters on both sides have been reshaped enough that the game still feels like a fresh test. Micah Parsons is out after a torn ACL and won’t be back for this one, Zach Bako-Bewele is done for the year after knee injuries, and Edgerrin Cooper also tore his ACL earlier this season. Up front, the Packers will have only two starters from that Thanksgiving offensive line back in the lineup, and one of them, Anthony Belton, will be lining up at a different spot.
Detroit is dealing with similar turnover. The Lions also have only two players from last year’s starting offensive line still on the team this week, and of the top 15 Detroit defenders by snaps in that game, only six remain on the roster - seven if Brian Branch is activated off the PUP list by Sunday.
Even with all that movement, this still looks like it could turn into another shootout at Ford Field. That’s why the pass rush feels like the swing factor for both defenses.
If either side is going to slow the other down, it has to get home, not just generate heat. Jared Goff has not thrown an interception this season, while Jordan Love has been firing away despite constant pressure, and both quarterbacks rank among the NFL’s top five in passing yards per game.
The team that wins the battle up front should have the edge, plain and simple. For Green Bay, that means Jonathan Gannon’s blitz looks will have to keep creating confusion and forcing the Lions’ line to sort out who’s coming and who isn’t.
That same pressure equation cuts both ways. Detroit’s best path to disrupting Green Bay is to make Love uncomfortable before the receivers can break free. If he has time, he should be able to work over a shaky secondary, which makes Aidan Hutchinson and the Lions’ pass rush the most important part of their defensive plan.
There was also some separate Packers roster chatter, with Tyler Brooke reporting that the team has been asking around about a quality veteran defensive tackle. Given the injuries Green Bay has already absorbed at the position, that interest makes sense.
In Other News...
Packers Weigh Another Colts Target As Trade Cost Looms
The Packers are still looking for a proven interior presence, and DeForest Buckner remains the name to watch as they consider ways to bolster the defensive front. But if that pursuit gets complicated, Green Bay has another Colts connection in the mix, with veteran defensive tackle Justin Houston Stewart emerging as a possible alternative on the market.
Stewart has spent his entire career in Indianapolis and has built a steady track record over multiple seasons, which is part of why he would appeal to a team trying to add experience without waiting for development. The Colts are expected to clear roster space in the coming weeks, so his availability could sharpen quickly, leaving Green Bay to decide how far it wants to go if the bigger target becomes too costly. [Read more 🡒]
Packers Injury Report Is Suddenly Raising Concern Before Lions Showdown
Jordan Love getting back to full practice was the encouraging part of the Packers latest injury update before their Week 7 meeting with the Lions, but the rest of the report carried a little more weight than Green Bay probably wanted heading into a key divisional matchup. The list of limited participants grew to 10 players, a reminder that the weeks workload is already getting spread thin at a time when the Packers are trying to settle in for one of their biggest tests of the early season.
Among the names that stood out were linebacker Zaire Franklin and EDGE Lukas Van Ness, who were both newly listed as limited. Bo Melton also was held out of practice because of a back injury, adding another wrinkle to an offense that could use as much continuity as possible. For a Packers team trying to keep pace in the NFC North, the injury report suddenly looks like something to watch closely all the way up to kickoff. [Read more 🡒]
Packers Suddenly Face A Linebacker Problem At The Worst Time
The Packers are heading into a key NFC North matchup already having to adjust their defense, and the timing could hardly be worse. Linebacker Zaire Franklin has been ruled out for the upcoming game against the Lions after a shin injury suffered in practice, leaving Green Bay thinner in the middle of the field just as it prepares for one of the divisions more demanding offenses.
Detroit brings a run game that asks a lot of opposing linebackers, especially with Jahmyr Gibbs leading the charge. With Franklin unavailable, the Packers will have to lean more heavily on Isaiah McDuffie and TyRon Hopper to handle the snaps, and how well that group holds up could go a long way toward determining whether Green Bay can keep the Lions from controlling the game on the ground. [Read more 🡒]