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Rob Demovsky, ESPN writer
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Now, the Green Bay Packers can talk about the Detroit Lions again.
Beating them could be another story, considering the 24-14 rout they took at the hands of the NFC North division leaders in Week 9 at Lambeau Field. But at least they head into a rematch next Thursday at Ford Field (8:15 p.m. ET, Prime Video) after three straight wins, including a second in a five-day span with Thursday’s 30-17 victory over the Miami. Dolphins.
And this much is true: The feeling that permeated the Packers locker room on Thanksgiving night was that they are playing a different style of football than when they fell behind 24-3 early in that Week 9 loss to Detroit .
“The one thing that stands out to me is that we’re being physical in every phase of football, and I think that’s going to do us good,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said. “I think that gives you an opportunity every week, and it shows all over the tape, whether it’s our linebackers hitting people, whether it’s up front, our receivers blocking. Really, in every phase of the game, I think our “We’re being extremely physical, guys, and that’s something we can hang our hat on.”
This applies to both sides of the ball.
On offense, the Packers have seemingly solved their red zone problems. They had 1 of 4 touchdowns inside the 20 against the Lions and were 47.1% in the red zone for the season after that game. In the three games since, the Packers have found the end zone on 73.3% of their trips to the red zone and, at one point, had a streak of nine consecutive drives with red zone touchdowns.
Jordan Love had thrown 10 interceptions, including one that Lions safety Kerby Joseph returned for a touchdown. In the three games since, he has thrown just one, and the Thanksgiving game was the second in a row without a pick.
And Josh Jacobs has been the heavy running back the Packers expected when they signed him in free agency. Jacobs has five touchdowns in the last three games and at least 100 yards from scrimmage (43 rushing and 74 receiving against Miami) in each of the last five. That’s tied with Atlanta’s Bijan Robinson for the longest streak of 100-yard games from scrimmage in the NFL this season.
“We know the Lions team we have this week is really good, and obviously they got us the first game,” said Love, who completed 21 of 28 passes for 274 yards and two touchdowns against the Dolphins. “So we’ll analyze everything, watch all the film and put our game plan together. But I think just because of the rhythm we’re finding on offense right now, the way the defense is playing, I think we’re in a good place.” “
0:17
Packers defense smothers Dolphins on fourth down
Tua Tagovailoa makes a meal on a fourth down and is sacked as the Dolphins turn it around against the Packers.
Speaking of that defense, it limited Miami to just 39 rushing yards on 14 attempts, and although Tua Tagovailoa threw for 365 yards and two touchdowns, much of that was late in the game after the Packers had a 27-3 lead. . Perhaps the best sign for the Packers defense was the five times they sacked Tagovailoa.
Not only did the Packers find a pass rush that was largely absent in the first half of the season, but inside linebacker Quay Walker, who struggled early, is coming off his two best games of 2024.
“We’re a different team,” said Packers defensive tackle Kenny Clark, who recorded his first sack of the season against Miami. “We’re playing better together, taking the ball away. Like we’ve been talking about, just coming together as a team and playing complementary football and eliminating mistakes. We still have to slow down with penalties and all that as far as shooting ourselves in the foot and “All those things, I think we’re moving away from that and just coming together as a team.”
The Packers would have liked to get help from the Bears, who had the Lions on the ropes in Thursday’s first game, but it didn’t happen. The Lions’ win puts Detroit atop the division at 11-1, ahead of the 9-2 Vikings (who play the Cardinals on Sunday) and the 9-3 Packers.
The NFC North is the first division to have three nine-win teams through Week 13 since the 1985 AFC East, according to ESPN Research.
“I haven’t gone 9-3 since I’ve been in the league,” said safety Xavier McKinney, who spent his first four seasons with the Giants before signing with the Packers in the offseason. “So it feels amazing, but we still have a lot of work to do. We have a tough division and we have to prepare for a big game next week.
Since Week 4, the Packers are 7-1, the only loss coming to the Lions. The only teams with better records during that span are the Eagles (7-0) and Lions (8-0).
“It’s not a crazy feat to play against these guys,” Packers linebacker Eric Wilson said of the Lions. “They play hard, they play together. We are made of a similar philosophy: play together and play hard.”
