Green Bay Packers vs Detroit Lions: NFC North clash

Opportunity for the entire set

We're currently in week 6 of the NFL regular season and the Packers have already defeated two of their divisional rivals and will have an opportunity to complete the set on MNF. They opened the season with a strong defensive showing in Chicago, completely shutting down Mitchell Trubisky and then followed it up with a win over Vikings the next week. From what we've seen so far, NFC North hasn't been this strong in quite a while. Worst win percentage so far have the Bears which are at .500.

Packers suffered their only loss to the Eagles in week 4 but bounced back nicely with a big road win at Dallas. Although the passing offense was kept somewhat in check without Davante Adams, Aaron Jones had a big game on the ground beating the 100-yard mark and adding 75 through the air on top of that. The defense played their part with 3 interceptions.

Extra week

Detroit is coming out of the bye and had an extra week to prepare for this game. It definitely helped him with some minor injuries, because it is expected that Darius Slay and Quandre Diggs will return into the lineup. That will be a major boost for their secondary. This defense is known for having the ability to lineup one on one and disrupt the rhythm of the opposing offenses. Aaron Rodgers will have a very difficult job, especially because Davante Adams is still out.

Defensively, Packers improved a lot since last year. But that is mostly limited to their pass defense, which added some pass rushers in the offseason. That helped them raise the level of the entire unit. When it comes to run defense, they are still struggling. Allowing 5.2 yards per carry ranks them in the 28th place right now. Versus a team that loves to run the ball, that could be a major liability.

Packers vs Lions best bet

All this creates a favorable situation for the Lions. Coming out of the bye, being well prepared for the rival, playing some good defense and controlling the clock with their running game. But I'm not a fan of this number. Packers have a bunch of playmakers that can change the course of the game with a single play.

Aaron Jones is one of those guys. But, his workload will take a hit with Jamal Williams back in the lineup. Probably not as much when it comes to carries, but definitely on passing downs, where the coaching staff clearly prefers Williams. The line for Jones' receptions is inflated on the back of his performance last week when he caught 4 balls for 75 yards. That was also the only game where he managed to beat this line. He averaged 1 per game before that. There is a chance that he becomes a check-down option with receivers covered downfield. But Rodgers usually holds onto the ball really long trying to go through as many progressions as he can. They will not intentionally try to find him in the passing game. It's simply not what they do.