Pride of Detroit
There’s nothing like the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving. The tradition, which dates back to 1934, has become one of the more fond days of the year for me, and a bunch of Michigan residents. It’s a day for family, fun, football, and food—and probably a lot of other f-words throughout the years.
This year, in particular, could be a spectacular one. With the rise of the Detroit Lions over the past few years, this tradition suddenly has a ton of stakes to it, and this year could be one of the biggest. With the 7-3-1 Green Bay Packers in town, the division—or even a playoff spot—may be on the line Thursday afternoon. The Lions sit a 7-4 as the first team outside the NFC playoff race, and even with an All-Pro center on his way back to help the team, Detroit cannot fumble the next three difficult weeks.
That starts on Thursday, when the Lions host a Packers team that defeated them handily, 27-13, in Week 1. Both teams have changed significantly since that opener in Green Bay, and the Lions should benefit from simply being in the comfy confines of Ford Field—where the offensive line should be able to communicate better. But the offensive line is also dealing with a lineup they haven’t had all season: with Kayode Awosika likely filling in at left guard and Trystan Colon expected to make his first Lions start at center for the injured Graham Glasgow.
We’ll be tracking the entire game—which kicks off at 1 p.m. ET on FOX—right here. After kickoff, this post will populate with drive-by-drive analysis, score updates, game highlights, and any injury news. Just refresh this page periodically after kickoff.
Happy Thanksgiving, and GO LIONS!
The Lions won the toss and deferred to the second half, giving Jordan Love and the Packers the first opportunity to get on the board—and that’s exactly what they did. Green Bay mounted a steady 12-play, 56-yard drive. But when they got inside the Lions’ 30-yard line, Jordan Love threw three straight incompletions and they were forced to settle for a 45-yard kick to make it 3-0 Packers about six minutes into the game.
The Lions promptly went three-and-out, as pass protection had a shaky start. A second-down pass was hurried by Micah Parsons, forcing an incompletion, and on third down, a couple unblocked blitzers got to Jared Goff, nearly forcing a fumble.
But Detroit’s defense responded with a three-and-out of their own. Amik Robertson had a strong pass breakup on second down, and good coverage forced a checkdown on third-and-9 for Love. A strong punt return from Tom Kennedy set the Lions up at their own 37-yard line.
The Lions were able to pick up a single first down after a pair of Jahmyr Gibbs rushes, but then Amon-Ra St. Brown suffered a lower-body injury after getting rolled up on. St. Brown was initially declared questionable to return with an ankle injury.
On the next set of downs, the...
