Getty Lions fans fire up the crowd against Packers.
The Detroit Lions lost their first game to the Green Bay Packers in devastating fashion in 2019, and after the close defeat in prime time, plenty of Green Bay fans wanted to talk.
With the teams not playing until the season finale, there was time for both sides to settle in and ready themselves for the matchup. Funny enough, a Twitter account run by the Upper Peninsula has been adding some extra spice to the matchup.
This week, the site comically tweeted that the winner of Lions vs. Packers coming up can lay claim to the entire U.P.
No pressure, Lions. No pressure whatsoever.
The good news? It’s a home game, Detroit has a few weeks to prepare and the Lions have measured up decently against Green Bay lately. Prior to this October’s disappointment, Detroit had gone two full seasons without sustaining a loss to the Packers, which is quite an accomplishment when you consider the series history of the teams. Green Bay has a 101-72-7 advantage. That hardly seemed to matter after Detroit had won four straight and had become quite comfortable winning at Lambeau Field.
In fact, the number of days since the Packers beat the Lions had only been growing exponentially prior to the early season loss. It had made it up over 1,000. Arguably, it’s the best Lions fans have been able to feel about this particular rivalry even in a loss.
The last time Green Bay beat Detroit prior to October? January 1, 2017 in a game that denied the Lions the ability to win the NFC North. It was a close 31-24 loss for the Lions, but little did fans know their pain from that night would be washed away completely in the following two seasons.
Lions Statistical Domination vs. Packers
In recent games against the Packers, the Lions have been able to overwhelm the opposition. They had outscored the Packers 127-51 prior to the loss, and have pounded Aaron Rodgers into submission. The Lions knocked Rodgers from the last game the sides played in 2018 and injured him. Detroit has also gotten solid play from Stafford in these games. In his last two against Green Bay, the quarterback has tossed 4 touchdowns.
Beating a team such as the Packers consistently starts with the ability to get good quarterback play and the Lions have seen that from Stafford as they have managed to overwhelm the Packers. They’ve forced turnovers, and have overwhelmed Green Bay to be a +6 in the turnover margin in these four contests.
Simply put, the Packers hadn’t given the Lions so much as a game since 2017 prior to this year. Obviously, the Lions will have to find a way to get back to these basics in the season finale.
Why Lions Lost to Packers
If there is an entire peninsula on the line this time around, the Lions have to bring a better effort. During the October game, Detroit struggled to score despite a lighting quick start against the Packers and couldn’t muster nearly enough offense to get the job done.
Detroit managed to be doomed by a couple close calls, but mostly, they were doomed by their own inability to execute and get over the top in the moment. That has been a big problem most of the way in 2019 for the team.
In order to win this game, and perhaps a peninsula, they will have to play much better.
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