The Green Bay Packers will host the Detroit Lions in an early-season NFC North showdown on Thursday, and first place in the division is on the line.
Both the Packers and Lions have gotten off to 2-1 starts, with Green Bay surprising a lot of people behind the leadership of young quarterback Jordan Love.
The Packers are coming off of a thrilling come-from-behind victory over the New Orleans Saints and are looking for what would be a statement win over the Lions.
Yes, it’s only September, but the results of these types of matchups could end up making the difference between making the playoffs and missing them come January.
Here are three predictions for Green Bay for its upcoming battle with Detroit.
Jordan Love Will Air It Out Early And Often
The Packers have been without running back Aaron Jones for the last two weeks due to a hamstring injury he suffered in the club’s Week 1 win over the Chicago Bears.
Green Bay is optimistic that Jones will take the field on Thursday night, but how effective he actually will be remains to be seen. After all, hamstring injuries are no joke. Couple that with how much No. 2 halfback AJ Dillon has struggled, and there will be considerable pressure on the right arm of Love to deliver.
The good news for the Packers is that Love has shown the ability to win games with his arm talent, which was on full display in the win over the Saints this past weekend.
Of course, Love needs to be more efficient, as he went just 22-for-44 against New Orleans and is completing just 53.1 percent of his throws on the year, but he has shown that he is not afraid of the big moment and that he is confident in his passing ability.
Expect Green Bay to rely heavily on Love against a vulnerable Detroit passing defense that ranks 19th in the NFL and finished just 30th in that category last season.
Christian Watson‘s Debut Will Be Tame
Packers No. 1 receiver Christian Watson has missed the first three games of the campaign due to a hamstring injury, but he says that the plan is for him to finally play in Week 4 against the Lions.
While you might expect Love to target Watson heavily if he is on the field, I’m not so sure that will be the gameplan if Watson does, in fact, make his 2023 debut on Thursday evening.
Keep in mind, Love has won two games without Watson so far, spreading the ball around to Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks, not to mention tight end Luke Musgrave.
Watson will probably be a little gimpy, and his conditioning might not be all the way there yet. Taking those factors into consideration, I would be surprised if we saw a ton of Watson in his first appearance.
He may surely get some looks, but expect Love to continue to distribute the ball evenly across the board.
The Packers Will Come Away With A Win
The Packers are home, they’re riding high and I’m not a big believer in the Lions just yet.
This is a big divisional matchup for Green Bay, and because the second meeting will be in Detroit on Thanksgiving, the Packers are going to want to take this one now.
It’s very difficult to sweep division rivals, and losing your home game right off the bat does not bode well moving forward.
So long as the Packers contain wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, they should be alright. The Lions don’t have a ton of weapons otherwise, and Green Bay’s pass defense is one of the best in the league.
I think Love will be a bit more efficient this week, and I expect the Packers defense to get the job done.
