Green Bay Packers: Predicting the five toughest games of the 2017 season
By John Dales
Packers @ Lions Week 17
Why It’s Important …
A week 17 match-up in Detroit ended up deciding the NFC North Champion last year, and could very well do the same in 2017.
The Lions made the playoffs two of the last three seasons. The offseason signings of Rick Wagner and former Packer T.J. Lang bolsters the Detroit offensive line.
Jim Caldwell‘s team seems like they will be serious playoff contenders this season, as they were last year.
Mike McCarthy‘s squad will obviously be up to the challenge as well, the aforementioned addition of Bennett and rookie defensive backs should only be a positive for the Packers.
Last time the two teams met …
The Packers won 31-24 in the 2016 regular season finale in front of a national television audience on Sunday Night Football.
Aaron Rodgers made good on his commitment to “run the table.” He passed for 300 yards and four touchdowns. Micah Hyde had an interception, and Mason Crosby connected on a 53-yard field goal en route to the Packers’ sixth straight victory in 2016.
Each offense started out slowly; no points were scored in the first quarter of the game. The Lions finished the first half strong, with two touchdowns in the final five minutes of the second quarter.
They led 14-10 at the half.
Green Bay picked up the pace in the second half. Aaron Rodgers had three straight touchdown strikes to Davante Adams, Geronimo Allison, and Adams again.
Matthew Stafford‘s offense was held to one field goal in the second half, with the exception of a garbage time touchdown pass to Anquan Boldin. The Packers would use the momentum from this victory to propel them to two more playoff victories.
Score prediction
This might be the most difficult of the five games to predict because it’s the final week of the regular season. Injuries, breakout players, etc., are nearly impossible to foresee before the season even starts.
On top of that, if one of these teams ends up running away with the division prior to this game being played, some starters may be rested. So, this prediction is being made under the assumption that this game is meaningful for both sides, and each team needs the win.
Packers: 28 Lions: 24
For the third year in a row at Ford Field, it is Aaron Rodgers’ dominance that is the deciding factor in this rivalry game. His current record against the Lions is 13-3, and he lives for the big games like these.
The Packers’ offense makes one too many big plays for the Detroit defense to handle. Green Bay finishes off the regular season strong, on the way to a ninth straight playoff appearance