Detroit Lions vs. Green Bay Packers Week 6 Pick

Two teams trying to emerge from the ashes of the NFC North this season meet on Monday Night Football, with the Detroit Lions taking on the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. Detroit was last seen in week four, before getting an early bye last week. They almost beat Kansas City, suffering their only loss of the season on a last-minute Chiefs TD. Last week, Green Bay was making another statement, flattening Dallas, 34-24, in a game where the score wasn’t even that close, as Dallas was behind 31-3 late in the third quarter. This looks to be an evenly-matched game with high stakes at Lambeau. After beating the Vikes and Bears, can the Packers complete part one of a divisional sweep against Detroit or will the Lions serve notice that they’re for real?

Trust What You See

Until we see otherwise, these appear to be a pair of squads going in the right direction, as the last few seasons haven’t been so kind. Green Bay is flexing a lot of defensive muscle and looks a lot better than the team Detroit beat twice in ’18, shutting them out in the second game. Green Bay is making a lot of plays on the defensive side of the ball with their stout big-play secondary. Jaire Alexander is starting to become a top corner. The addition of Adrian Amos at safety and Za’Darius Smith up front have paid off already, with both making big plays. But just as the Green Bay defense isn’t the same animal, the same can be said for the Detroit offense. They’re better this season and know what it’s like to succeed on this field.

Matthew Stafford efficiently runs this Detroit offense like the veteran he is. Kerryon Johnson might not be an elite back yet, but he can look like one on the right day. Against a Green Bay run defense that hasn’t been up-to-snuff this season, could this be a big day for him? If not, Stafford enjoys one of his better casts of ball-catchers that he’s enjoyed in years, with Marvin Jones and Kenny Golladay a nice combo-punch, with Danny Amendola (questionable) and rookie tight end stud TJ Hockenson (questionable) chiming in with big plays. This Detroit offense can maybe hang in there a little this week.

Has the Packers Offense Risen?

Early on in the season, the buzz was the Green Bay defense and rightfully so. But they’ve given up a lot the last few weeks, and we’ve seen the offense have to pull the load more. Aaron Rodgers isn’t putting up fat stats yet, but he’s efficient, accurate, and taking care of the ball with only one pick on the season. Aaron Jones’ four scores on Sunday was a good sign that this offense can deliver a potent ground-game. Not having Davante Adams in there or not at full-power hurts, despite then still having some dangerous aerial weapons like Randall Cobb, Geronimo Allison, Marquez Valdez-Scantling, and Jones. But even at full-power, it’s not an offense with a lot of stars around Rodgers. Can Detroit stem the Green Bay tide at Lambeau?

If Detroit “D” Shows Up…

You don’t hear a lot about the Detroit defense. The Packers’ defense has gotten way more attention. The way the Lions’ “D” evaporated late and let Arizona get a tie in week one wasn’t a good thing to see. And even though they covered against KC, giving up a late TD when leading the whole game wasn’t clutch either. But there have been stretches where they’ve been surprisingly good. They had the Chiefs in knots for significant parts of that game, held the Chargers to ten points, and are now rested while the Packers were going at it with Dallas. They can get after the quarterback and that secondary with Darius Slay (questionable), Tracy Walker, Rashaan Melvin, and other hitters has been solid. When a team finally grabs hold of something good after suffering for so long, it’s not easy to separate them from that. Detroit had two weeks to get ready for this and should be shot out of a cannon on MNF.