Admin December 5, 2024
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For the first time in a few weeks, the main story about the NFL’s “Thursday Night Football” game will have nothing to do with the weather. The Week 14 battle will be all about the race for the NFC’s No. 1 seed.
The Detroit Lions (11-1) are hosting the Green Bay Packers (9-3) in a classic NFC North rivalry at Ford Field in Detroit. The domed stadium will put the two squads on a level playing field after each team hosted games on Thanksgiving.
The Lions have established themselves as one of the best teams in the NFL with an 11-1 record through 13 weeks. They are on a 10-game winning streak and have the NFL’s highest-scoring offense, averaging 31.9 points per game, 2.3 points better than the second-ranked Buffalo Bills.
With a “TNF” win over the Packers, the Lions would further establish themselves as the team to beat in the NFC. However, if Jordan Love can power the Packers to a victory, that would create an intriguing, three-horse race in the NFC North between the Lions, Packers and Minnesota Vikings (10-2) that would likely go down to that wire.
Here’s everything to know about the “Thursday Night Football” matchup for Week 14.
Who plays on Thursday Night Football tonight?
The Packers are traveling to Detroit on Thursday night to face the Lions. This is the second matchup between the two teams during the 2024 NFL season. The Lions won the first one 24-14 in Week 9 at a rain-soaked Lambeau Field.
How to watch Thursday Night Football
- Live stream: Amazon Prime Video
- TV Channel: Detroit market: WJBK (Channel 2) | Green Bay market: WGBA (Channel 26)
“Thursday Night Football” will exclusively stream on Amazon Prime Video.
Watch “Thursday Night Football” with a Prime Video subscription
Thursday Night Football preview
The Lions held the advantage over the Packers when the two teams squared off in Week 9, as Love was nursing a groin injury in that weather-impacted contest. This time, Green Bay is healthier as each squad comes off Thanksgiving wins.
Detroit is dealing with several injuries to its defensive line and may be without three of its four typical starters for the contest. Aidan Hutchinson is out for the year with a broken leg while D.J. Reader and Joshua Paschal are dealing with shoulder and hamstring injuries respectively. Add in Levi Onwuzurike‘s hamstring injury and it may be on Alim McNeill and former Packer Za’Darius Smith to carry Detroit’s defensive line in this contest.
That could allow the Packers a bit more freedom than usual on offense. Josh Jacobs should be able to find more running lanes – especially if Reader, a stellar run-stopper, is out of the lineup – while Love should have more time to navigate the pocket than he did in his last meeting with the Lions. That could allow him to find space against a Detroit secondary against which he has averaged 262.3 passing yards in three career starts.
Of course, scoring on the Lions’ defense won’t be easy. Aaron Glenn’s stop unit has allowed just 10 passing touchdowns this season, second-fewest in the NFL behind only the New York Jets (9), and ranks first in EPA allowed per play (-0.14). That said, Caleb Williams just shredded Detroit’s defense in the second half of their Thanksgiving meeting by targeting slot-man Keenan Allen and outside receiver D.J. Moore frequently, so perhaps Jayden Reed and one of Green Bay’s outside receiving threats can find similar success.
The Packers’ defense has been steadily improving as well. They have allowed 19 or fewer points in their last three games and surrendered just 24 points in their most recent matchup against the Lions. It won’t be easy for them to contain Jahmyr Gibbs (6.0 yards per carry ranks third-best in the NFL) and all of Detroit’s passing weapons, but Green Bay has 23 takeaways on the season. That’s good for fifth-most in the NFL.
As such, if the Packers catch Jared Goff on an off night, they may be able to railroad Detroit’s offense. If so, that would give them the upper hand.
Either way, this figures to be a tightly contested game that could go either way. The potential exists for this game to be both an offensive shootout or a defensive struggle, pending which position groups are able to establish the advantage early in this one.
Expect this NFC North matchup to set the tone for the rest of the NFL playoff push. If the Lions win, many dominoes will fall into place, and the race for the NFC’s No. 1 seed will be the top story to watch the remainder of the season.
But if the Packers pull off the road upset? That will make the finish in the NFC North the most riveting part of the 2024 NFL postseason race.
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