Green Bay Packers Big Favorites Over Lions In NFL Thanksgiving Game

NFL News - November 24th, 2009 - Written by John

There used to be a time when watching the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving day was as much a part of the holiday as turkey itself. More recently, they've found ways to make fans lose their appetites.

On the heels of five-straight double-digit losses on Thanksgiving, including a 47-10 blowout by the Tennessee Titans last year, the Lions are 11-point underdogs against the Green Bay Packers, as listed at Bodog Sportsbook, with a total of 47 1/2 as listed in the NFL Betting Lines. Green Bay has won each of the last five meetings and covered the spread in six of the last seven according to the latest NFL Weekly Betting Trends.

The last time the Detroit Lions won on Thanksgiving was in 2003, a 22-14 win over Green Bay.

Perhaps this is a completely different club with Jim Schwartz at the helm, though. There was no bigger shocker than last week's slugfest against the Cleveland Browns, in which the two worst offenses in football put up record numbers in a 38-37 win that passes the total points barrier just minutes into the second quarter. Matthew Stafford set rookie records with 422 yards and five touchdowns, and Calvin Johnson caught a career-high 161 yards and a score. But both of those players were re-injured in the victory and missed practice on Monday, Stafford clutching his non-throwing shoulder as his team celebrated the win, and their status for the game is unknown. ESPN is reporting the pair will likely be out.

Without them, the Lions are clearly a different team, going 0-3, but are 2-5 with him.

And they couldn't have caught up to the Green Bay Packers at a worse time, currently on a manhunt that started three weeks ago after losing to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In a film session a few days after that loss, several prominent players, including Aaron Rodgers, addressed the team about the urgency of playing well. Since then, they won twice against Dallas and San Francisco, sweeping what used to be a daunting playoff lineup in the mid-90s, and are in position to earn a wild card berth.

With the wins, Green Bay already has as many wins as a year ago with three more very winnable games coming in December.

Aaron Rodgers has the fifth-most passing yards in the league (2,788), and has the second-best interception-to-touchdown ratio at nearly 4-to-1 (Brett Favre has the best in case you're wondering).

But it's been the defense that has certainly carried the team thus far. The unit is third-best in the league and fourth against the run. It will be the focus of the day after losing linebacker Aaron Kampman and Al Harris for the year due to injuries.

The Packers beat Detroit on Thanksgiving two years ago, 37-26.