Six Points: Packers vs. Lions
A few short weeks ago, the Detroit Lions visited the Green Bay Packers and came away with an improbable, 18-16 win at Lambeau Field. Green Bay's offense was thwarted in that game, as Detroit's defense played inspired football during the clash of NFC North adversaries.
Will the Lions pull off a rare season sweep with a win at Ford Field on Thursday night, or will the Packers avenge their loss from Week 11?
Here are three keys to the game for both the Packers and the Bears.
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PACKERS
1. Trust Lacy to get the job done
The Packers have lacked consistency on offense for most of the season, but that's bound to change if Eddie Lacy keeps rolling. The third-year running back has come alive the last two weeks with consecutive 100-yard outings. Green Bay may be reluctant to give him another heavy workload after last week's critical fumble that swung momentum to the Chicago Bears, but the Packers don't have many other options. Lacy's impact has been the only encouraging aspect of the Packers' offense as of late.
2. Protect Aaron Rodgers from Ansah
The Packers will face a fearsome pass rusher this week in Ezekiel Ansah, who ranks second in the NFL with 11.5 sacks on the season. Aaron Rodgers likes to extend plays in the pocket, but can't hang onto the ball too long with this 278-pound defensive end bearing down on him. Rodgers has been sacked 26 times this season (tied for eighth most in NFL), so the Packers must bolster their pass protection and help left tackle David Bakhtiari with Ansah as much as possible.
3. Be physical with Megatron
Last week against the Philadelphia Eagles, Calvin Johnson took rookie cornerback Eric Rowe for a ride and finished the game with three touchdowns. The Packers can't let Detroit's All-Pro wide receiver bully them in a similar fashion. This will be a tough task for starting cornerbacks Sam Shields (5-foot-11, 184 pounds) and Damarious Randall (5-11, 196), both of whom would be painfully undersized in one-on-one coverage with Megatron (6-5, 237). They'll need double coverage to help disrupt his routes on Thursday.
LIONS
1. Exploit matchups with Theo Riddick
If Detroit's top two receivers -- Calvin Johnson and Golden Tate -- are effectively covered, quarterback Matthew Stafford must be quick to find running back Theo Riddick, who has emerged as the Lions' third-leading pass catcher this season with 507 yards and three touchdowns on 55 receptions. The Lions should move him around the formation in an attempt to create favorable, man-to-man matchups with one of Green Bay's linebackers. Detroit did this extraordinarily well against the Eagles last week.
2. Stay committed to a budding ground game
The Lions cannot allow themselves to engage in a shootout with Rodgers, for that's a contest they'd surely lose. Detroit must try to control the pace of the game with their rushing attack, even though it has been feeble this year. After back-to-back games with at least 100 yards rushing as a team, the Lions are finally displaying some semblance of balance on offense. Detroit's leading rusher, Ameer Abdullah, could top his season high of 63 yards (set last week) against a Packers defense that allows an average of 112.8 rushing yards per game (23rd in NFL).
3. Shut down James Jones with Darius Slay
The Packers are only successful when wide receiver James Jones makes game-breaking plays on the outsides and deep downfield. Luckily for the Lions, they have one of the NFL's hottest young cornerbacks in Darius Slay to cover him up. If Slay can turn Jones into a nonfactor -- or, better yet, create a takeaway -- Rodgers will be forced to lean on his other receivers, who have been largely ineffective this season.