I’ve been around long enough to remember that infamous drubbing Green Bay took from the Detroit Lions in 1962. It was the game in which guard Jerry Kramer said he invented a new block called the “look-out’ block – “Look out! he yelled to QB Bart Starr who was sacked 10 times. Well here we go again. Green Bay is undefeated and perhaps on its way to a second straight Super Bowl title. And here are the lions, young and nasty, ready to take apart the Packers, limb by limb, crushing hit by crushing hit. Will it be deja vu hell for the Packers on Thanksgiving Day?
Maybe. Maybe not. These are a talented, tested group of Green Bay Packers. They are champions and won’t be cowered by brash statements of terror-to-come coming out of Detroit. The Lions are also talented, so there will be no humiliating beat-down this day. But it may get down to who has the ball last. Both teams have vulnerable defenses. In fact, the Packers will be challenged to repeat their Super Bowl conquest with the Charles Woodson-led sieve of a defense that can’t seem to stop anybody. But for Aaron Rodgers and that explosive Green Bay offense, this Packer team might be stuck somewhere in the middle of the NFC race.
This is a tough one to pick. Green Bay has the momentum and they won’t take Detroit lightly, but the Lions are at home and need this win to keep pace in the Wild Card race. A loss here would be a step back. Still, until Green Bay does lose, it’s hard to pick against them. Packers 38 Lions 27.
That said, a loss won’t hurt the Packers. It will end their quest for 19-0, but I’m not sure this team is all that focused on a perfect season. The prize still is the Super Bowl championship and they are positioned for a second shot at it.