Week 14 of NFL Thursday Night Football takes us to Detroit, where the Lions will host the Green Bay Packers. Two dangerous teams in the NFC will clash this Thursday night, with playoffs on their minds.
Green Bay enters this one with an impressive 9-3 record, yet are 3rd in the NFC North. While it will be hard to catch Detroit atop the division, they still seemed destined for the playoffs. They have climbed to 3rd in overall offense this season, averaging over 29 points per game over the last three. Combine that with a solid defense, keeping opponents to an average of 20 points per game this season, Green Bay is not a bad dark-horse pick out of the NFC.
The Detroit Lions are likely the story of the year thus far. At 11-1, they are the only team currently averaging over 30 points per game this season. Combine the best scoring offense with the second best scoring defense in the league, you get an incredible average scoring margin of +15.0 on the season, and +22.3 over the last three. The one weakness continues to be their pass defense, ranking 25th overall this season. This may just be getting picky. When you average more than two TD’s more than your opponent, you’re in the driver’s seat.
Bodog has the Lions as -3.0 points favorites at the time of writing this article. The edge clearly goes to the Lions, but it’s closer than you may think. Detroit is only averaging 12.6 more offensive yards per game, and only giving up 3.6 fewer yards per game on defense. Can Detroit all but eliminate Green Bay’s hopes of winning the NFC North, or will Green Bay show out at home? There is a lot on the line this Thursday night, and points are sure to be scored.
Howe Fresh
Fresh Takes Sports Podcast