Green Bay Packers v. Detroit Lions: 4 Burning Questions

Before the Green Bay Packers take on the Detroit Lions in the regular season finale on Sunday, these are the four big burning questions about this game.

The Green Bay Packers are sitting pretty at 12-3 on the season and with their most recent win in Minnesota on Monday Night they clinched the NFC North for the first time since 2016. While they celebrated and enjoyed the victory, on a short week with plenty still to play for, refocusing on Detroit is a must.

Despite entering their bye-week at 2-1-1 on the season, starting with the Monday Night game in week six against the Packers, things quickly went south for the Lions. Running back Kerryon Johnson missed significant time and quarterback Matthew Stafford ended up on IR. Now at 3-11-1, Detroit is just hoping to play spoiler on Sunday.

However, before we get to the regular season finale between these division rivals, just as I’ve done for much of the season I sat down and came up with my big questions about the Green Bay Packers upcoming matchup.

Will Davante Adams and Aaron Jones surpass 1,000 yards?

This would be quite the accomplishment for both Davante Adams and Aaron Jones, especially within the same season. Jones has already totaled over 1,400 yards but sits at 984 rushing yards this season. So he should easily join the 1,000 yard rushing club for the first time in his three-year career.

Meanwhile, Adams easily eclipsed 1,000 yards in 2018 but after missing four games this year with a turf-toe injury, doing it once again would be a heck of an accomplishment. But Adams will have to work a bit harder than Jones this final week to get there as he sits at 904 receiving yards. The good news is that Detroit gives up the most passing yards per game by any team this season, which hopefully means a big day awaits Davante.

Can Aaron Rodgers and the passing game light up Detroit?

Twice this season we’ve really seen Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers’ passing attack truly clicking and that was against Philadelphia and Oakland. Other than those two games, while they have had their moments, they’ve largely been inconsistent. But this week against Detroit provides them with the opportunity to have another big game.

As I mentioned in the previous section, the Detroit Lions are giving up the most passing yards per game this season with 282.6. In their previous matchup, Rodgers threw for 283 yards which is his fourth highest total of the season. While Green Bay has everything to play for and Detroit really has nothing, this game could turn into a blowout and a big day from Rodgers.

Can the Packers’ contain Kenny Golladay?

To their credit, the Green Bay Packers’ defense has been much better in recent weeks at not giving up the big play. But for much of the season it has been an issue. Currently, the Packers have given up 55 plays of at least 20 yards, the eighth most in the NFL and 14 plays of 40 yards or more which is tied for the third most.

And this week the secondary will have another difficult challenge in containing Kenny Golladay who continues to put up big numbers despite the Lions having used three different quarterbacks this season. In 15 games, he’s caught 62 passes for 1,118 yards, which averages out to a whopping 18 yards per catch, along with 11 touchdowns.

Last week we saw this defense limit Stefon Diggs’ and Adam Thielen’s production, let’s see if they can do the same on Sunday with Kenny Golladay.

Will the Packers get the No. 1 seed?

As unlikely as this seemed even a week ago, now the Green Bay Packers have a real shot at the NFC’s No. 1 seed. In order to get it, they have to beat Detroit and Seattle has to beat San Francisco, which is something they’ve already done this season.

However, the Seahawks are coming off a tough loss to Arizona, while the 49ers escaped with a win over the Los Angeles Rams. But prior to week 16, it was Seattle who had won six of their last seven games and San Francisco who had lost two of their last three. Yet regardless of what happened in previous weeks, we know this is going to be a hard-fought game between these two division rivals, but it certainly doesn’t hurt the Packers’ chances that Seattle is the home team.

With that said, first things first, and the Green Bay Packers have to take care of the Detroit Lions.