NFL Thursday Night Football Preview: Lions vs Packers

The Detroit Lions are in Green Bay to take on the Packers for the Lion’s second Thursday Night Football game of the season. Both teams are 2-1 going into the game. This will be the Lions’ first conference game, whereas this will be the Packers’ second conference game after beating the Bears in Week 1.

Primetime at our place.#DETvsGB | #GoPackGo pic.twitter.com/2ib1sKcJpI

— Green Bay Packers (@packers) September 28, 2023

For starters, both teams have a laundry list of injuries. It mainly impacts the offense. However, it will be interesting to see what each team does to compensate for their injured players.

For #Lions vs #Packers:
— GB ruled out LT David Bakhtiari (knee), G Elgton Jenkins (knee) & LB De'Vondre Campbell (ankle), while RB Aaron Jones (hamstring) & WR Christian Watson (hamstring) are questionable.
— DET RB David Montgomery (thigh) and Taylor Decker are questionable.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 27, 2023

Detroit Lions

Quarterback Jared Goff has a 69.9% completion percentage. He threw 72 completions for 819 yards and ranked No. 5 in the league for passing yards. The team leader in rushing yards is running back David Montgomery, with 37 carries for 141 yards. However, David Montgomery is questionable due to a quad injury. Rookie Jahmyr Gibbs took his spot last week, gaining 80 yards on 17 carries. Gibbs has a total of 31 carries for 139 yards. WR Amon-Ra St. Brown takes the lead in receiving yards, catching 21 of the 28 targets for 275 yards.

https://twitter.com/NFLonPrime/status/1707021042437275659

Green Bay Packers

The main strength for the Packers is their stellar defense. Their defense allows less than 200 yards a game with nine total sacks, two interceptions and one fumble recovery. The Packers offense is strong; however, with several key players out or possibly out due to injury, it might be difficult for the Jordan Love to find the pieces he needs to make plays. Even though Love isn’t putting up the same numbers as Goff, he is still playing very well with the players he has. Love has a completion percentage of 53.1% for 655 yards. What is surprising is how Love is second in rushing yards for the team with 74 yards. The player leading the rushing yards is AJ Dillon, with 104 yards.

Kickoff is at 8:15 p.m. EST.