The Detroit Lions are officially back from their bye week, stepping right into a massive NFC North showdown against the Green Bay Packers at Ford Field. This is their first division game of the season, and with Green Bay riding a three-game winning streak and Josh Jacobs back in the mix, it’s gonna be a battle. These division games are absolutely huge, especially since the NFC North is looking like the toughest division in the entire NFC, maybe even the whole league. We’re looking to keep stacking wins after a positive betting day against the Cardinals, even though Jameson Williams and Amon-Ra St. Brown just missed their targets.
LaPorta’s Touchdown Quest On National Tight Ends Day
All eyes are on Lions tight end Sam LaPorta, especially with all the contract chatter swirling around and it being National Tight Ends Day. Seriously, this guy has been playing lights out to kick off 2026, bouncing back strong after that back injury last year. He’s already racked up 316 yards and three touchdowns, putting him on pace for an insane 1,074 yards and 10 touchdowns this season. That yardage would be a career high for him, and 10 TDs would match his rookie season high from 2023.
Now, finding the end zone against Green Bay won’t be a cakewalk, I’ll admit that. They’ve only given up two touchdowns to tight ends all season. But here’s the kicker: the Packers are hurting. They’re missing their top two linebackers, Edgerrin Cooper and Zaire Franklin, which means Isaiah McDuffie and Ty’Ron Hopper are going to be tasked with slowing LaPorta down. And let’s be real, McDuffie struggled against Detroit back in 2024, letting up nine catches for 68 yards and a touchdown. You know Jared Goff is going to be looking LaPorta’s way a ton, especially once they get into the red zone. He could easily be the top target there.
Plus, the talent around LaPorta is going to open things up. Green Bay’s defensive backs will be swamped trying to cover Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, and Isaac TeSlaa. That leaves their linebackers and safeties scrambling to deal with both LaPorta and running back Jahmyr Gibbs. If I had to guess, the Packers’ best bet to slow down Gibbs is probably a safety, which would leave LaPorta with a favorable linebacker matchup. On this glorious holiday, LaPorta is absolutely going to want to get into the end zone, giving him even more leverage in those contract talks. Talk about high stakes!
Goff Faces His Toughest Aerial Test Yet
Shifting gears to Jared Goff, the alt passing yards at 250+ looks tempting with the best odds among the options. But don’t let those odds fool you, this could be a tough one to hit. Goff is averaging a solid 297 yards per game right now, but the Packers’ pass defense is straight up the best he’s seen all season. Their safeties are doing a lot of the heavy lifting back there.
Detroit loves to push the ball deep with Williams and TeSlaa, which could honestly limit what they can do on those long shots. Green Bay’s defense averages just 209 passing yards allowed per game. So, for Goff to hit 250, he’d be pushing close to their season-high allowed, which was 256 yards against the Atlanta Falcons back in Week 3. Another factor that could keep the passing numbers down? The Packers’ struggling run defense. It’s not great, so the Lions might lean on the ground game more.
This isn’t just another game, it’s the first NFC North clash for the Lions, and with the division looking like the toughest in the NFC, every single play is going to count big time.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Pride of Detroit.
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