All four NFC North teams are 1-1 going into week 3 and that only adds spice to the Green Bay Packers v. Detroit Lions matchup today at Ford Field in Detroit at 1 pm. The Packers have won five straight division championships since 2009, but this year the Packers are so far as hard to read as your typical instruction manual. They got hammered in Seattle in the opener, but the Super Bowl champion Seahawks don’t lose at home. Period. Then on the road again in New Jersey the Packers fell behind early to a pitiful Jets outfit. Aaron Rodgers and company had to rally from deep (with help from the referees and the Jets themselves) to emerge a fortunate 1-1. The recently re-signed receiver Jordy Nelson has been a giant for Green Bay, leading the league with 18 catches and 292 receiving yards. But the Packers are away again in Detroit, where it’s always helpful to be able to run the ball. The Packers rank 26th in the league in running so far, with only 80 yards a contest.
The Packers won’t come home to Lambeau Field till week 5. They’ll be glad to be there. If they’re .500 or above when they get there, their prospects will be looking very positive. That’ll depend a lot on how they handle the Lions on Sunday. (At Chicago Bears is next.) The Packers are giving up 24 points a game–again this is skewed because of the Seattle game–and the Lions have a lot of offensive firepower. But Detroit’s fire can fizzle, as the Panthers proved last week. (Panthers 24, Lions 7.). Last year Detroit won its home game against the Packers and the Packers returned the favor, winning against the Lions in Green Bay.
