The final week of the regular season is upon us, with the Detroit Lions traveling to play the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. The NFL’s fifth-leading passer, Rodgers (4,155 yards, 36 TDs), and third-leading receiver, Nelson (1,433 yards, 13 TDs) will be on display in this matchup. Both Green Bay and Detroit come into this game with an opportunity to keep up their positive momentum. The game will air Sunday at 1:00 p.m. ET on FOX.
The Packers and Lions last met in Week 3. Green Bay suffered a defeat against Detroit 19-7. Peppers led the Packers defensive effort in that game, recording two tackles and one sack. Bush had a quality performance, racking up 99 total yards and a score. He gave the defense problems as both a runner (61 yards) and receiver (38 yards).
Green Bay is a huge seven-point favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is sitting at 48 points. Sitting at 11-4 Straight Up (SU) and 8-6-1 Against The Spread (ATS), the Packers will look to improve as they head into Week 17. Over their last five games, the Packers have records of 4-1 SU and 2-3 ATS. Detroit’s defense better be ready for a battle this week. Its facing off against the red-hot Packers offense, which has averaged 421.2 total yards during their last five games. The Green Bay defense shouldn’t be too worried this week as the Lions only average 15 points per road game. Detroit will be matching up against a stout Packers defense which has been playing better, only allowing 291 YPG over their last five matchups. Green Bay usually gets off to a quick start in games, averaging a league-best 9.6 points in the first quarter.
Across the field, the Lions head into Week 17 with records of 7-8 ATS and 11-4 SU. The Lions went 4-1 SU and 2-3 ATS over the last five games. Over the course of the season, Detroit has averaged 87.4 rushing, but over the last five weeks, they’ve been putting up much more than that (102.6 yards). Shifting to the other side of the ball, it might be tough for the Packers to keep up with Detroit’s defense in a few areas. Detroit’s top-ranked run defense has given its competition fits. Opponents have only run for 63.8 yards per game against this terrifying group. The Lions should be aware that the floodgates tend to open on the Packers during the fourth quarter, when they allow 8.5 points per game.
Predictions: SU Winner – GB, ATS Winner – DET, O/U – Under
Notes
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Green Bay’s last 5 games.
The total has gone OVER in 13 of Green Bay’s last 19 games.
Green Bay is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games.
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Green Bay’s last 7 games at home.
Green Bay is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Green Bay’s last 5 games when playing Detroit.
Green Bay is 15-3 SU in its last 18 games when playing Detroit.
Green Bay is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Detroit.
Detroit is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Green Bay.
Detroit is 7-1 SU when leading at the half this season. Green Bay is 10-0 SU when taking a lead into halftime.
This season, Detroit is 7-1 SU in games where it wins the turnover battle, and an even 2-2 SU in games where it loses the turnover battle.
The Detroit defense is averaging 3.0 sacks over its last five games, but Green Bay is 6-3 SU this season when allowing at least 3 sacks in a game.
When it comes to passing this season, Green Bay is rated higher on both sides of the ball. Its seventh-ranked passing attack will face the 12th-ranked pass defense of Detroit, while its 10th-ranked pass defense will look to limit the 11th-ranked passing game of the Lions.
Detroit has only given up 18.1 points per game on the road, which is ranked third in the league. Green Bay, however, has scored 41.1 points per contest at home (ranked first overall).
