Packers-Lions: How we're picking it
Here's how our Packers Insiders see Week 13 playing out at Detroit on Thursday.
WESTON HODKIEWICZ (7-4)
Packers reporter
PACKERS 22, LIONS 17
At first glance, it’s tough to tell which team is 7-4 and 4-7. The Packers desperately need a win here. The only problem is Detroit is playing with a lot more confidence than when the teams met at Lambeau Field three weeks ago. The Lions, once left for dead, have parlayed their 18-16 upset victory over the Packers into a three-game winning streak. Green Bay is by far the more talented team, but it also hasn’t won in Detroit in its last two trips over Lake Michigan. The Packers’ offense is a mess and there isn’t much to suggest its luck will change against the Lions. So why pick them? Very little about the Packers has made sense since the bye week, so naturally this seems like a game they’ll win. Plus, they haven’t dropped three or more games in the NFC North since their 4-12 season in 2005.
RYAN WOOD (7-4)
Packers reporter
PACKERS 21, LIONS 18
There’s no such thing as a gimme in the NFL. That was the lesson learned Nov. 15 when the Packers lost to the Lions at Lambeau Field, snapping a 24-game home winning streak that dated back to 1991. If ever there was a gimme, that game was it. Instead, the Packers played sloppy, predictable and uninspired football. It’s happened a few times over the past month, which is why they’re sitting at second place in the NFC North and staring at their first must-win game of the season. That’s right, for the Packers to accomplish their goals this season, they have to win Thursday night in Detroit. A loss would drop them to 7-5, and missing the playoffs would all the sudden seem like a legitimate possibility. The guess here is the Packers — and quarterback Aaron Rodgers — find a way to win a game that has to be won.
PETE DOUGHERTY (8-3)
Packers columnist
PACKERS 24, LIONS 21
The world is topsy-turvy. Detroit’s won three straight, including over the Packers in Wisconsin to end that 24-year losing fiasco. Mike McCarthy’s team has lost four of five, and the Packers' world-class offense is reeling. So why pick the Packers? It’s getting close to that time when their season is on the line. The thinking here is that their urgency wins out.
STU COURTNEY (7-4)
Packers editor
PACKERS 30, LIONS 13
This is a must-win game for the Packers, simply because you can't lose twice to a team as bad as the Lions and still harbor any hope of reaching the Super Bowl. Green Bay also must win to salvage a split of their four consecutive games against NFC North rivals and remain within reach of first-place Minnesota, which hosts surging Seattle on Sunday. The Packers rebounded from their Nov. 15 home loss to the Lions by beating the Vikings on the road, and they need to bounce back again after another stunning Lambeau Field flop against the Bears on Thanksgiving. Look for another 100-yard rushing effort from Eddie Lacy, and another big Packers' road victory.
ROBERT ZIZZO (7-4)
News director
LIONS 17, PACKERS 13
Green Bay has become extremely difficult to gauge: It has lost two straight home games to division opponents, yet beat the division leader on the road. The Packers’ offense scored on only three of 12 possessions last week against the Bears, and Detroit is no place to get healthy. The Packers have lost three of the past five games at Detroit, including the past two. I think it will be three in a row.