3 players who must step up for Packers to avoid disaster vs. Lions

The Green Bay Packers face their most challenging task of the season to date when they host the Detroit Lions on Thursday Night Football.

Detroit arrives at Lambeau Field after an impressive win over the Atlanta Falcons. A dominant victory improved the Lions' record to 2-1. The winner on Thursday night takes over first place in the NFC North.

The Packers have lost their previous three matchups with the Lions, including a season-ender at Lambeau in Week 18 last January. Detroit is the team to beat in the NFC North, and Green Bay needs these three players to step up to avoid disaster on Thursday evening.

Kenny Clark

Kenny Clark has made an excellent start to the season, and the Packers need a big game from their Pro Bowl defensive lineman in Week 4.

Green Bay has to stop the run to have any hope of defeating Detroit. The Lions' offense is built on the back of their ground game. Only six teams have more rushing attempts than the Lions this season, and Dan Campbell's team runs the ball on 46.46% of their offensive plays, 10th-most in the league, per Team Rankings.

Detroit's rushing attack opens up the play-action passing game. If the Packers are unable to stop the run, the Lions will dominate. They can wear down Green Bay's defense before burning them with big plays off of play-action.

Green Bay needs a strong performance up front, starting with Kenny Clark. He has the ability to change games, create interior pass rush, and shut down the run. He can't do it alone, but a Pro Bowl performance from Clark will go a long way to slowing down the Lions' offense.