The Packers are rolling into Week 7 with momentum, but Matt LaFleur isn’t letting that turn into complacency. Green Bay sits at 4-2 and has strung together three straight wins after a shaky start, yet the head coach made it clear this NFC North trip is no place to get comfortable.
His focus went straight to Jahmyr Gibbs.
LaFleur didn’t hold back when talking about Detroit’s running back on Thursday, calling out the traits that make Gibbs such a headache for defenses. “You cannot relax for one second with this guy. … He has elite change of direction skills,” LaFleur said, per ESPN’s Rob Demovsky.
He went a step further, saying Gibbs could probably line up as a slot receiver if the Lions wanted him there.
That kind of versatility is exactly why Gibbs sits at the center of Detroit’s offense. He has 105 carries for 504 rushing yards and seven touchdowns so far this season, and he has added 27 catches for 243 receiving yards and two more scores through the air. He’s the kind of player who can flip a game in a hurry, and once he gets going, the rest of the Lions’ offense tends to open up around him.
That puts real pressure on Green Bay to keep him under control. If the Packers can’t contain Gibbs, Sunday could turn into a track meet.
There is reason to think Green Bay can hang in it. The defense has been playing well lately even with Micah Parsons still out, and Josh Jacobs is expected back this week.
That could matter plenty, because the Packers’ rushing attack has been rough. If they can run the ball and keep the clock moving, they can also keep Gibbs parked on the sideline and take some of the pace out of the game.
That’s the chess match waiting at Ford Field.
Packers at Lions kicks off at 4:25 p.m. ET on Oct. 25 in Detroit.
In Other News...
Packers Defense Faces A Bigger Test Than Just Beating Detroit
The Packers and Lions are set to run it back after their Thanksgiving meeting, and this version of the matchup looks a lot different on both sides of the ball. Injuries have reshaped the defensive outlook for each team, which puts even more pressure on the pass rush to show up against quarterbacks Jared Goff and Jordan Love, two players who have helped drive this rivalry into one of the NFCs more interesting weekly measuring sticks.
Green Bays challenge goes beyond simply trying to beat Detroit again. The Packers are trying to keep their front intact while dealing with health issues up and down the roster, and the strain at defensive tackle has become impossible to ignore. In the middle of all that, the urgency around fortifying the defensive line has grown, because if the Packers cannot generate disruption up front, the rest of the matchup gets a lot tougher in a hurry. [Read more 🡒]
Jordan Love Is Giving Packers Fans A Wild New Debate
Jordan Love has spent much of this season taking a beating behind a Packers line that has already allowed 13 sacks and left him getting hit 30 times, but he has kept Green Bay afloat anyway. Even with the physical toll, Love has stayed near the top of the league in passing yards and touchdowns, which has helped fuel a 4-2 start and turned him into one of the biggest reasons the Packers have been able to navigate the early part of the schedule.
The bigger question now is how long he can keep balancing production with punishment. Love is doing enough to make people around the league take notice, and the case for him as one of the NFLs more intriguing quarterbacks has only grown louder as the wins pile up. For Packers fans, the debate is no longer whether he can lead this team, but how high his ceiling really is if the protection in front of him does not improve. [Read more 🡒]
Packers May Have A Special WR Duo If One Flaw Gets Fixed
Christian Watson and Matthew Golden have given the Packers something they have not always had at receiver: a true one-two punch that defenses have to account for on every snap. Through six games, they have both topped 500 receiving yards, making them the only Green Bay pair to reach that threshold and giving Jordan Love a reliable tandem that has helped drive the offense forward.
The production is real, and so is the chemistry, but there is still a nagging issue attached to the breakout. Both receivers have been part of the drop problem that has lingered around the offense, and those missed chances have kept the pairing from feeling fully complete even as it has become one of the leagues most dangerous combinations. [Read more 🡒]