2025 NFL Week 10: Packers vs. Eagles Preview & Prediction

First things first: Boy, were we off regarding the Packers game vs. Carolina. Way off. Despite the obviously better talent, the Pack sure underperformed — as they did at Cleveland. Losing to teams you should beat is not a way to demonstrate a team's championship bona fides. Especially leading into a Monday night game against the defending Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles...the team that smacked the Packers down not once but twice last season.

So, why is it that the Packers seem to play down to the level of a supposedly lesser team? Perhaps playing not to lose? Failing to make adjustments? Missed opportunities, lack of turnovers, special teams glitches...? Now, losing emerging star TE Tucker Kraft during the game and, as it turns out, for the rest of the season to a torn ACL, had an impact on a game plan that probably ran a good chunk through him certainly had a negative effect. But, really, scoring a grand total of 23 points combined vs. Cleveland and Carolina? C'mon. This offense should be able to score more than that in one game even in their sleep.

Especially when the defense holds the opposing two teams to a total of 29 points ... although, admittedly, not getting critical late stops as the games wound down and allowing long field goals as the clock runs out ... can't ... do ... that. It's a concerning trend. Getting gutted up the middle is a formula for defeat ... especially against one of the game's top running backs.

The Packers have some issues. One of the surest ways to rectify that situation is to get a statement win at Lambeau Field tonight vs. the Eagles. So let's take a quick look at what we might expect.

This is a scene Packers fans hope to not see often this evening. Philly RB

Saquon Barkley was a killer for the Packers defense last season. He's not

off to the same start as last year, but with a run defense that's been gashed by

lesser rushers, the Pack has to focus on containing him tonight.

(Photo by Bill Streicher Imagn Images)

The Preview

Here we are in Week 10 of the 2025 NFL season and do we really know who this Packers team is? Sure, the record of 5-2-1 puts them at the top of the NFC North (who'da thunk that tie vs. Dallas would come in handy after all???). But other than the first two games where they were proclaimed by fans and national pundits alike as odds-on Super Bowl favorites, what have they shown? Inconsistency. Offensive linemen and coaches admitting that guys are still blocking the wrong guys. Special teams breakdowns. Lack of turnovers by the defense. Key players not being able to stay on the field. Personnel moves on both sides of the ball that now seem questionable at best. A head coach making inexplicable in-game decisions. e.g., going for it on 4th and 8 deep inside the opponent's territory instead of taking a field goal, ultimately being the difference in the game?

OK, so that's a bit of a look back instead of a forward preview, isn't it? Here's what we know going into tonight's game.

First, the Pack's supposedly deep wide receiving corps was down to just two healthy players on the practice field at one point this last week. Tonight, it's likely Matthew Golden and Savion Williams will not play. Of course, Jayden Reed is still out. TE Tucker Kraft (although not technically a wide receiver he sure was often schemed as one) is done for the year. Calling Luke Musgrave ... calling Luke Musgrave! WR Dontayvion Wicks is supposedly back tonight and there is some speculation that Bo Melton — who had been moved to cornerback this season from wide receiver because of the overcrowding at the position — could get some action at receiver tonight ... as well as at corner given Nat Hobbs is out, again. Wouldn't that be something to see?

Apart from the potential lack of receivers tonight, the Packers still haven't got their running game going. Tonight would certainly be a good night to get that in gear. If the Pack can run the ball to set up play-action and keep the Eagles offense on the sidelines that would be to the Pack's favor. And given the predicted weather forecast for this evening, a running game will likely be needed: it is expected to be cold and windy, with kickoff temperatures around 28 F and wind chills around 20 F with winds at 5 to 15 mph. Oh, yeah, there is also a slight chance of snow. So, yes, a Packers running game would be timely.

Now, the Eagles have the defensive script on how to keep the Packers in check given both Cleveland's and Carolina's success: stop Josh Jacobs and Emanuel Wilson and force Jordan Love to throw underneath. That's OK if the chains are moving, but without a running threat that is a death-by-papercuts outcome for the Pack.

On the flip side, the Packers must contain Philly RB Saquon Barkley and if they do that, then also contain QB Jalen Hurts. 

How are you feelin'?

The Prediction

After their earlier season humiliation against the Browns, the Packers came back nicely. Until the game last week vs. the Panthers, that is. We'd like to think that would be the case tonight — getting right again. Losing two in a row at home is not what you need at this stage of the season. The Packers are at the time of this writing a 1-point home favorite. Oy.

Still, given the ongoing issues of consistency the Packers have had — including that of Kicker Brandon McManus in the last two games — and Philly come off their bye week, we find it hard to believe the Packers will take this game. Hope we are wrong. Nothing we want more than a Packers victory against their NFC East nemesis. If they play up to their capability, the Packers can pull it off. Probably another down to the wire game. Let us pray.

We're calling it Packers 20 - Eagles 24.

Go Pack Go!!!

2025 Week 9: Packers vs. Panthers Preview & Prediction

Before looking at this Sunday's game at Lambeau Field between the 5-1-1 Green Bay Packers vs. the 4-4 Carolina Panthers we obviously need to give a nod to last Sunday's night's 35-25 win in Pittsburgh against the Aaron Rodgers-led Steelers. C'mon, say it with me: YES!

While the Steelers seemed to be holding sway in the first half, the Packers turned it up in the second, and particularly in the fourth quarter. QB Jordan Love had an epically good evening, throwing for 360 yards, 3 TDs and at one point completing 20 passes in a row, tying the Packers franchise record held by Brett Favre. Love said after the game he had no idea how many passes he had consecutively completed and that he was tied with Favre for the record; he said he may not have chucked that 21st pass into the turf if he had known. Either way, well done, Mr. Love.

One of the big factors for Love's success on the night was the return of WR Christian Watson coming off his torn ACL recovery. It looked like Watson hadn't lost a step and caught all four  passes on which he was targeted for 85 yards on the night. Welcome back, Mr. Watson!

Another big factor for Love and the Packers offense was the big night for TE Tucker Kraft, who had 143 yards receiving on seven catches with more than 131 of those yards coming after the catch ... yes, that amazing YAC stat! Can it be argued that Kraft is one of the top tight ends in the NFL at this point? A-duh! He was targeted 10 times for the second game in a row. That is getting into Receiver #1 territory...in fact, the last time a Packers receiver was targeted 10 time in three straight games was Davante Adams in 2021 (if memory serves). If it seems as if head coach Matt LaFleur is game-planning around Kraft it might just well be because he is. And a third straight 10 target game might well be in the cards today.

DE Michael Parsons (#1) had a big night for the Packers against the

team's former starting QB, Aaron Rodgers (shown here as a stand-in is

the Bengals Joe Flacco), including a sack and multiple pressures.

(Photo by Tork Mason, USA Today NETWORK-Wisconsin)

Oh, and the Packers defense did what they needed to do against former QB Rodgers, including sacking the increasingly immobile A-Aron. DE Micah Parsons was part of that sack success. And when he wasn't directly involved in the sack, he created such havoc that others, such as Rashan Gary, also recorded sacks. May it continue thusly.

All in all, the Pack won in Pittsburgh for the first time since the immortal Bart Starr was QB'ing the Packers ... in 1970. Guess you could say Green Bay was due.

In the process, as this may well be the last time that Rodgers plays against his former team, he has beaten 31 of the NFL's 32 teams; he did not get the win against the Packers. Amen.

We were also fairly close on our final prediction...but the Pack, thankfully, did slightly better than expected, which is always welcome, of course. We had it going 30-27 in favor of the Packers, the final score was 35-25.

The Preview

While it is expected that Carolina will have starting QB Bryce Young back today, they do have some potential concerns with others. Cade Mays (C) and Princely Umanmielen (OLB) are ruled out, a number of others are questionable. While 4-4, the Panthers got smacked by the Bills last week, 40-9. Granted Young did not play, forcing the Cats to go with veteran QB Andy Dalton who did not have a good day, obviously.

The Packers come into this game fairly healthy. Granted, the Pack still has issues to resolve as we go into Week 9 (!) of the season. Chief among them, some might say, is that the running game is still not rolling. Carolina could be the ideal opponent to match up against to help remedy that situation: they gave up 245 yards and 12 first downs rushing to the Bills. Ouch. Still, as reports note, Carolina has allowed 200 or more yards rushing twice in their eight games, but they've allowed only an average of 75 yards per game in the other six. A bit of a Jekyll-Hyde thing. While RB Josh Jacobs has been productive in terms of scoring touchdowns, the big chunks of yardage haven't yet been there. His backfield partner, however — Emanuel Wilson — so far has been the back to reel off some good runs. Between the two, they should have a big day today. Particularly since there now seems to be stability on the offensive line.

Now, some have referred to today's game — only the second home game in the last seven! — as the proverbial trap game with next Monday night's game against the Eagles (who have a bye this week...oy) on the horizon. The Packers can't look past the Panthers. We don't need a repeat of the Cleveland game (the horror...the horror....). But I don't believe the coaches or the leaders on the team will let that happen. They can't let that happen.

We're still looking for a full 60-minute game from this squad. Could they use this game as a tune-up in that regard for the Eagles? That would be good. Very good.

The weather report for today's game has the temps in the low 50s, with any rain holding off until later in the evening, but winds may be gusting up to 25 miles per hour during the game. Challenging.

By the way, Brandon McManus will once again be the active kicker for the Packers. Phenom fill-in and Packers record holder for the longest FG in franchise history (61 yards!) K Lukas Havrisik is still on the roster but again inactive today. But with the trade deadline coming up and other key personnel coming off IR in the weeks ahead, Packers management may face a difficult decision on the kicking front in the coming days. McManus, after missing two field goals last week (including a 57-yarder), needs to reestablish his consistency today when given his opportunities. Havrisik will likely be playing for someone the remainder of the season given his audition with the Pack. But if the team is unable to trade him, they will need to release him and will likely be picked up by another team. He's a kicker you'd love to keep on the practice squad but he would need to be released and not picked up in order for that to happen. Not likely. Anyway, keep an eye on his performance today.

The Packers will be wearing their 1923 throwback uniforms today,

including hand-painted "leather" look helmets. Very cool.

(Photo by Evan Siegle, Green Bay Packers)

The Prediction

The Packers are favored by 13 points at the time of this writing, if one is a betting person and is concerned about such things. We're always uncomfortable with a spread that large. We're happy with a "W" regardless of the final sores. Still, it should be noted that this is a game in which the Pack should dominate in all phases of the game. Whether that is reflected in the final score or not ... ???

We're calling this game Packers 34 - Panthers 20.

Go Pack Go!!!

P.S. The Packers will be wearing their 1923 throwback uniforms today, including hand-painted "leather" look helmets. According to Packers historian Cliff Christl, these 1923 uni's reflect perhaps the most important year in Packers history: it was the year the Packers became a publicly held, nonprofit corporation. As Christl noted in a recent radio interview, if that had not happened the likelihood of the team surviving and remaining in Green Bay would have been slim and none. Keep that in mind as you watch the game today. And thank those community visionaries of more than 100 years ago for putting the future of the team in the hands of the fans. And if you're like more than 500,000 fellow fans, we salute you as a fellow owner of the Packers.

2025 Week 3 Packers vs. Browns Preview & Prediction

After an extended layover from the Packers Week 2 win at Lambeau Field versus the Washington Commanders — oh, a winning effort at that to go 2-0! — the Pack have their first of two consecutive road games: Sunday in Cleveland against the 0-2 Browns, with the following game in Dallas.

A quick word about the win against Washington: for their second win in about five days, the Packers replicated a strong defensive performance and again had a balanced offensive attack. The defense had to scheme differently from the Week 1 win against Detroit. In that game, the defense faced an immobile albeit skilled quarterback in Jared Goff and got sufficient pressure on him in DE Micah Parson's limited debut with the Pack. In the game against the Commanders, the defense had to adjust 180 degrees against a young and extremely mobile QB in the form of Jayden Daniels. While the general idea in the first game was to make Goff move, the scheme in the second game was to contain Daniels and keep him from hurting you with his legs. Mission accomplished in both cases.

The Preview

We mention the above because the Packers defense will once again be facing an older immobile quarterback in the person of 40-year-old Joe Flacco. Admittedly, Flacco is still playing because he is a Super Bowl-winning quarterback. Yes, that was in 2013. But he has at this point in his career seen just about everything a defense can throw at him. So, given time, he could potentially do some damage.

But ... can we expect that the Packers defense will not reprise its level of play from the first two games? We don't think so. We think Parsons and the rest of the defense will wreak havoc on the Browns offensive line. Advantage Packers.

Now, let's not forget that arguably the other great defender in the NFL that can wreak roughly the same amount of damage as Parsons is the Browns' own Myles Garrett. The Packers will have to account for Garrett on every play. Like those attempting to defend against Parsons, Garrett will have to be double-teamed ... a lot.

Expect Packers QB Jordan Love to use play action to keep Garrett off-balance as much as possible and to get the ball out quickly on drop backs. It's still a bit unclear who the Packers will start at right tackle Sunday. But whomever it is, they will have their hands full. Let's pray Zach Tom can go.

Packers WR Christian Watson is still a few weeks away from returning to play.

(Photo by Dan Powers / USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)

Ditto for TE Tucker Kraft who, like Tom, is listed as questionable going into the game. Add him to the still-out Christian Watson and the newly-added-to-the-IR-list Jayden Reed and the possible receivers for Love has taken an early hit. Luckily, the receiving and TE groups are deep. Next man up. Plus add in RB Josh Jacobs and the list of weapons for Love and head coach Matt LaFleur is still better than most teams in the league.

Bottom line: as far as who has the better offense, again, advantage Packers.

The Prediction

The odds at the time of this writing have the Packers winning by 7-1/2 points with the over-under set at 41-1/2 points.

We see this as a game that the Browns could keep close ... for a while ... unless the Packers get up early and keep the pedal to the metal and run away with the game start to finish.

We're calling it Packers 30 - Browns 17.

Go Pack Go!!!

2024 NFL Week 15: Packers vs. Seahawks Preview & Prediction

Before getting into a look at tonight's game in Seattle, a quick reflection on the Week 14 Thursday night game in Detroit: dang it!

Admittedly, it was a great game to watch, for sure, between two of the NFL's heavyweights. It definitely had the feel of a "Whoever has the ball last..." type game, didn't it? And that's how it went. Close. But the "W", regrettably, went to the Lions. They just keep finding ways to win...a mark of a very good team. Kudos to them. We would note, however, that we were nearly spot on on our final score prediction, albeit with the teams reversed. Again, close. But not good enough.

Anyway, the Packers have had an extended mini-bye to prepare for this road game against the Seahawks. Let's have a closer look.

A blast from the past: The "Fail Mary" at the end of the Packers-Seahawks game on Sept. 24, 2012.* Note the contradictory signs from the two officials standing right on top of the play. For more details, please see the notes following the Prediction section of this post.

(Photo by Rick Wood / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

The Preview

Seattle has been the site of some horrible memories for the Packers and their fans over the years (see above photo and related notes below for just one such occasion). The stadium is one of the loudest in football, the fans are rabid, and, for whatever reason, Seattle has at times seemed to be a black hole for Packers' Super Bowl aspirations. Hopefully, not tonight.

But the Seahawks are coming in on a roll having won their last four games and sit atop, barely, the rather so-so NFC West at 8-5. QB Geno Smith has been a successful reclamation project with an excellent running game to support him and some outstanding receivers to which to throw. But, Seattle's top back — Kenneth Walker III — is listed as doubtful for this game, which would certainly be to the Packers advantage. He did not practice all week after sitting out Seattle's win at Arizona with a calf injury. If Walker doesn't play, second-year player Zach Charbonnet, coming off his best game, will get the start. And like every team at this point in the season, the Seahawks have some other players with various injuries, but Walker is the biggest name to keep an eye on at game time.

Seattle's defense? More than capable. What more to say?

For the Packers, the team will yet once again be without CB Jaire Alexander who, after practicing fully on Wednesday and Thursday did not practice on Friday. A theme for the season in regard to Alexander. TE Luke Musgrave will also once again not be on the field. S Javon Bullard is also listed as out. The good news is that WR Romeo Doubs has cleared concussion protocol and will be available, giving QB Jordan Love another one of his favorite receivers.

As has been the case throughout the season, especially as head coach Matt LaFleur has been able to see what he's got offensively, and after Love is now seemingly fully recovered from his early-season lower body injuries, the Packers will need to run first and throw second. They will need to get RB Josh Jacobs going early and often to allow Love to exploit the air game with his plethora of more-than-capable receivers, including TE Tucker Kraft, of course.

We also assume that the Packers are able to get some pressure on Smith tonight. QB pressure has been hit or miss for the Packers defense all season and it's about time that things get more consistent. We think you'll agree. Case in point: Smith completed 80% of his passes in his last game against the Cardinals, if memory serves (and if not, sorry). Given time, Smith, as the season has gone on, can be as good as anyone. The Pack can't let him sit back in the pocket and nickel-and-dime things down the field.

And some way, somehow, the Packers need to do a far better job getting coverage over the middle than they have done in recent weeks. That element of the pass defense has been abysmal, let's be honest. Yes, missing Alexander has been a part of that. But someone — anyone! — needs to step up...either on the defensive line to generate pressure or over the middle to upset routes and not let receivers run wide open. Aaargghhh! 

Combine what we expect to be another solid offensive game plan from LaFleur with a hopefully amped up Packers pass rush and this all works toward bringing a "W" back to Green Bay on the red eye flight tonight.

The Prediction

It seem as if we may have tipped our hand in the preceding sentence. Ah, well. The Packers are favored by 2-1/2 points at the time of this writing. The over-under is currently set at 46-1/2 points.

This is one of those games which could go either way...but not in the same sense as we felt about the last game vs. Detroit. This is a game where the Seahawks are playing for their playoff lives at home and to stay atop their division. The Packers are playing for playoff seeding position, currently sitting at the sixth seed. Picking up a win here, with the Saints coming to Green Bay next weekend, followed by a trip to take on the ViQueens, and finally closing out the regular season at home against Da Bearz, would put the Pack in very good stead for the playoff scenario and, dare we say, perhaps with a 12-5 record. (We should note that in our preseason preview and prediction, we had the Packers at 8-5 at this stage of this season, so the actual current record of 9-4 allows a bit of a margin of error...although we hope it's not needed!)

We're calling this game Packers 34 - Seahawks 24.

Go Pack Go!!!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

* Notes on the "Fail Mary" game referenced in the earlier photo, courtesy of Wikipedia...

"The Fail Mary, also known as the Inaccurate Reception or the Intertouchdownception, was a play in the National Football League (NFL) game played between the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks on September 24, 2012, at CenturyLink Field in Seattle, Washington. In a nationally televised game on ESPN's Monday Night Football, the Seahawks defeated the Packers, 14–12, in controversial fashion.

On the final play of the tightly contested game, Seattle rookie quarterback Russell Wilson threw a Hail Mary pass into the end zone intended for wide receiver Golden Tate. Both Tate and Packers defender M.D. Jennings got their hands on the ball while both players were still in the air and attempting to gain possession. The two officials near the play initially gave separate signals of touchdown and touchback, before ruling the players had simultaneous possession, resulting in a Seahawks game-winning touchdown. Prior to the catch, Tate shoved Packers cornerback Sam Shields with both hands, which the NFL later acknowledged should have drawn an offensive pass interference penalty that would have negated the touchdown and resulted in a Packers victory. The lack of a pass interference penalty and the ruling of a touchdown via simultaneous catch were widely questioned in the aftermath of the game, drawing comments from the game's announcers, NFL players, and the media. The NFL subsequently released a statement defending the touchdown ruling, while conceding that offensive pass interference did occur, which would have resulted in a Packers win.

The controversial ending followed weeks of criticism regarding the quality of officiating by replacement officials employed by the NFL during the 2012 NFL referee lockout. Two days after the game, the NFL and the NFL Referees Association (NFLRA) announced that they had reached an agreement to end the lockout. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell acknowledged that the negative attention the game drew to the referee situation was an impetus for ending the labor dispute."

2024 NFL Week 12: Packers vs 49ers Preview & Prediction

Happy Football Sunday, Packer fans! Today, we have the Pack playing their West Coast kryptonite team, the San Francisco (more accurately, Santa Clarita) 49ers. At least this game is in Lambeau Field. Finally. More about this game in a second.

But we do have to first briefly take a look back at the win vs. Da Bearz in Chicago last weekend. Yowzers. That certainly was not the game we, most others, or apparently the Packers coaching staff saw coming. Shouldn't have been as close as a 20-19 last-second blocked field goal. In fact, in our preview for that game we boldly proclaimed that it would not come down to a field goal to decide the game. It did. Eeesh. But at least the Packers were on the right side of that block.

The Pack once again left points on the field in the red zone, a real nemesis for the offense in many games so far this season. That has to change. And the defense certainly was not prepared for Bearz rookie QB Caleb Williams to do as much running as he did. Not really a great game for the D, or for the adjustments during the game by the defensive coordinator for that matter.

But a win is a win no matter how ugly it may seem. A 7-3 record at this point ... not all bad. And today we take on the NFC West's last place 5-5 49ers. Let's take a look at that, shall we?

The Packers need to see an uptick in production from WR Dontayvion Wicks who so far hasn't lived up to expectations for this season. Today would be a good day for him to start clicking.

(Photo by Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

Preview

Several pluses for the Packers going into this game: Jordan Love is looking healthy, the run game spearheaded by Josh Jacobs is game-changing, the "no-number-one" wide receiving corps is arguably the deepest in the NFL where any wideout or tight end (kudos to Tucker Kraft) can make a play at any time, the defense may bend but hasn't really broken all that often ... AND ... the Niners starting QB Brock Purdy and DE Nick Bosa have been ruled out for this game due to injuries. That's huge.

A downside for the Packers is that, yet again, CB Jaire Alexander is out for the game, as is LB Edgerrin Cooper. Both put a dent in the defense but the absence of Alexander is certainly the bigger hit and continues to be a long-term concern.

Of course, San Fran still has plenty of weapons to rely upon. They are the defending NFC champion, of course. But they have been off their game throughout the season. Still, they have to this point, despite their record, put up the same exact number of points as have the Packers: 250. But they have given up 9 points more overall to opposing teams than have the Packers. 

Will any of that matter today? Well, if the Packers past history with backup quarterbacks plays out once again today, the Niners could stick around. Or even win when everything says they shouldn't. And if the Packers defense lets RB Christian McCaffrey get rolling in and out of the backfield, it could be a long day. Even without Bosa causing havoc for the Pack's offense, head coach Matt LaFleur's game plan must also account for LB Fred Warner who can become a one-man wrecking crew if left unchecked.

And let's not forget: SF head coach Kyle Shanahan's record vs. Matt LaFleur is 4-2 (including going 3-0 in the playoffs) if memory serves. Trivia for you: since 2001, long before either coach was at the helm of their respective teams, the Packers haven’t defeated San Francisco in the postseason, going 0-5 over that time. Crikey.

Time to start writing a new story. Yes, it's not the playoffs. But it is a regular season home game against the team that has ended several promising seasons for the Packers before the Super Bowl.

It would be a great time for Love to have his first interception-free game of the season, for receivers to not have untimely drops, for Jacobs to continue tearing up defenses, for the defense to resume its takeaways propensity, and Packers field goals to be made without exception. Let us pray ... 

Prediction

The Packers are set as 5-point favorites as of the time of this writing. And seemingly most pundits are predicting the Pack to win. Both of those things make me nervous. Toss in facing a backup QB ... what lines up on paper isn't always what takes place on the field.

Still, this is a game the Packers should win given everything, setting up an at-home Thanksgiving eve game vs. the Dolphins. Imagine being 9-3 after that game! But that record starts today by going 8-3.

We're calling it Packers 27 - 49ers 23.

Go Pack Go!!!

2023 NFL Week 12: Packers vs. Lions Preview & Prediction

We're happy to note, Packers fans, that our prediction for last Sunday's game vs. the Chargers in Green Bay was incorrect. Or "wrong" as some have gently put it. Whatever.

The youngsters on offense came through in the clutch, taking the lead 23-20 with less than 3 minutes to go on a great pass from QB Jordan Love to Romeo Doubs in the end zone. In the remaining time, they could have held onto the ball once more and not given the Chargers a chance to tie or win outright if only head coach Matt LaFleur had not been so conservative in his play calling (run 3 times and give the ball back to a team with timeouts remaining and Justin Herbert at QB?). Thank goodness, the defense rose up and saved the day.

For a team that had lost 4 of their 5 games going into Sunday by a combined total of 11 points, this was a huge win. A record of 4-6 is a lot better than 3-7, let's be honest.

However, this win over the Bolts came at a cost. Both RB Aaron Jones and his backup Emanuel Wilson were lost to injury. Jones wound up with a sprained MCL, although it looked much worse at the time. Wilson wound up with a shoulder injury and has been placed on the IR list. After the game, TE Luke Musgrave reported a stomach injury. Turned out, he spent the night in the hospital where it was determined he had a lacerated kidney (likely from falling on the ball after a catch). He was also placed on the IR list and will be out at least 4 weeks. A sad turn for the rookie as he was just starting to come on and be not only a good blocker but a receiver Love could look for.

So the Packers have made some roster moves to replenish the squad, including re-signing RB Patrick Taylor; A.J. Dillion can't do it all. In fact, he's listed as questionable for the game, as well, with a groin injury. The Pack also signed veteran RB James Robinson.

This is not the way you want to go into Detroit on a short week. Not at all.

Running backs are in short supply for the Packers

going into the Turkey Day game at Detroit.

(Photo via the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

The Preview

With the running backs in short supply, and Detroit ranked 5th in the league against the rush, expect the offense to run mostly through Love. Good thing he had the best game of his young starter's career against LAC, throwing for 2 TDs and more than 300 yards.

Love will need a career game against the Lions in order to allow his team to have a chance at pulling out an upset win. But In addition to Musgrave, TE Josiah Deguara is listed as doubtful with a hip injury, so rookie Tucker Kraft will no doubt get a lot of snaps. It will also mean that the troop of rookie and 2nd year receivers that have begun to step up their games must take another step Thursday. Putting the bulk of the effort into the passing game (likely), the offensive line will also have to give Love time against a tough Detroit defense. Let's not forget: the Lions are 8-2...8-2! Who'da thunk it?

The Packers defense has been sieve-like for the most part against the run. Which doesn't set up well against Detroit...or any team, for that matter. Oh, and the Lions have a not-so-horrible QB in Jared Goff, despite one of his worst games on Sunday. With Packers defenders CB Jaire Alexander, LB De’Vondre Campbell and S Rudy Ford listed as questionable, and S Darnell Savage out for his fifth straight game, Green Bay's defense will also be put to the test.

It's not shaping up favorably for the Packers.

The Prediction

Detroit is favored by 7-1/2 points at the time of this writing. We hate to say it, but we think all of the injuries, on a short week, on the road, is just too much for the Pack to overcome.

We're calling it Lions 31 - Packers 17.

We were wrong last Sunday and we hope we are again.

Go Pack Go!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!