Getty Quandre Diggs pursues David Johnson in 2019.
The Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers are set to tangle for the first time in 2019 on Monday Night Football, and the teams have finally revealed their inactive list ahead of the game.
Sitting down for both sides, there will be several big names and star players. Here’s a look at who each team is benching this week for the key NFC North contest which could determine what team is a factor during an important second half of the season:
Detroit Inactives
S Quandre Diggs
DT Mike Daniels
DL Da’Shawn Hand
CB Amani Oruwariye
G Oday Aboushi
G Ben Benzschawel
QB David Blough
Green Bay Inactives
WR Davante Adams
RB Dexter Williams
CB Tony Brown
S Darnell Savage
G Cole Madison
G/T Adam Pankey
TE Robert Tonyan
Analysis
The Lions are in fairly decent shape given how their injury report looked coming into the week. They have not played with Hand and Oruwariye has been a spare part for the secondary most of the season. Daniels needs more time to rest up his foot injury, but the hope is he could return in a few weeks. This will leave Detroit a bit thin up front, but they have enough decent pieces to be able to compensate for the losses there. Otherwise, Hockenson’s return figures to be huge for the offense. No doubt, Diggs will be missed in the secondary.
In terms of the Packers, not having Savage and Adams are two huge losses for the defense and offense. The Packers have been better with these two in the lineup and both are major contributors, even if the Green Bay offense played well enough to score 34 points against the Dallas Cowboys. It can’t be seen as anything other than a major loss not to have both in the mix this week.
This week, Rodgers was listed on the report and was limited a few days in practice. While it was never expected that he wouldn’t start, an interesting variable to watch is how hobbled he looks. The Lions have dinged up Rodgers significantly in their last two meetings with the quarterback, so it will be interesting to see if he can hold up in the face of some pressure. Clearly, the Lions know they have to stop Rodgers again to have a chance at victory.
Recently, the Packers have not had a ton of success against Detroit. The Lions are 4-0 against Green Bay in the last two seasons combined and have won by some lopsided margins. That will add a lot of spice to this first contest in 2019.
What To Know
The Lions and Packers will kick off at 8:15 p.m. EST on ESPN. The game will be broadcast by Joe Tessitore and Booger McFarland.
The Packers are narrow 3.5 point favorites for this contest, a line which has shrunk in recent days as folks have waited in anticipation for the game. There are plenty of variables to watch for the contest, not the least of which will be Packers’ running back Aaron Jones. Can he duplicate his 4 touchdown performance from the last game? Also, can Detroit’s offense continue their dominance against the Packers, and can the defense give another good team a fight?
With this reveal of the final inactives, Lions vs. Packers is closing in soon in a renewal of one of the best rivalries in NFL history.
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