Packers v. Lions Week 2 Predictions: Time to Bounce Back
By Paul Bretl
There is no way to sugarcoat it; Week 1 was brutal for the Green Bay Packers. But as Matt LaFleur, Aaron Rodgers, and others have mentioned, they still have 16 games ahead of them.
Like the Packers, the Detroit Lions enter this game 0-1, losing to San Francisco 41 to 33—although for most of the game, it wasn’t as close as the final score would make it appear.
To cap off our preview of this upcoming NFC North matchup, myself and two other Dairyland Express writers will once again make our predictions for this game—and hopefully, this time we are right.
Green Bay Packers vs. Detroit Lions Week 2 predictions
Kenny Jilek (0-1)
This absolutely has to be a bounce-back week for green and gold. A bad first week ultimately doesn’t matter if things get back on track and the team starts to do what they did last year.
On the defensive side, it’s a much less potent offensive unit lining up against them this week. While the Lions did score 33 points, they did it very differently than how the Saints beat the Packers. They really don’t have any big threats at wide receiver, so all of their offense is focused on their two backs, Jamaal Williams and Deandre Swift, and tight end T.J. Hockenson.
The two backs were a focus in the passing game but running they only combined for 93 yards, which is a running attack that is manageable for a Green Bay defensive unit that’s struggled against the run.
On the other side of the ball, the 49ers, an offense that runs a very similar scheme to the Packers, scored 41 points against this defense last week, and they don’t have Aaron Rodgers lining up under center. This is an offense looking for answers after being arguably the best in the NFL last season. I expect them to come out and play well, but I’ll manage my expectations and give them a few weeks to mature on the offensive line with two rookies and no David Bakhtiari.
Prediction: Lions 17 – Packers 24
Matt LeVene (0-1)
After a surprisingly disastrous Week 1 showing, the Green Bay Packers need to come out and set the tone on the offensive side of the ball against the Detroit Lions. Getting the duo of Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon involved will be the key to opening up the rest of the playbook.
The offense lacked rhythm and any sense of consistency against New Orleans, which can be attributed to having only 43 rushing yards as a team. The Packers need to establish the run game from the get-go, which I expect to happen. I predict both Dillon and Jones eclipse 80 rushing yards on Monday.
Defensively, Joe Barry’s tenure in Green Bay is off to a rough start, but it can only go up from here. Without a core piece of the defense, Za’Darius Smith, for the foreseeable future, Preston Smith and Rashan Gary will have to shoulder most of the pass-rushing load for the Green Bay Packers.
Getting to Jared Goff will take pressure off the secondary and exponentially increase the odds that the Packers have another dominant win against Detroit. After zero sacks as a team in week 1, look for a big bounce back in week 2. Gary will lead the team with two sacks against the Lions,
Prediction: Lions 18 – Packers 37
Paul Bretl (0-1)
This week we hopefully see the Green Bay Packers stick to the run game, and against this Lions defensive front, they should find plenty of success. The Packer passing attack should also rebound as well against an inexperienced Detroit cornerback room.
On defense, the name of the game will be slowing running backs D’Andre Swift and Jamaal Williams, both of whom should also be utilized heavily in the passing game, along with TJ Hockenson. The Green Bay defense will be better, but the Detroit offense — with these three players in particular — will cause a few issues.
Last week was incredibly discouraging, but the Green Bay Packers are at home; they bounce back well under LaFleur and are, without a doubt, the more talented team.
Prediction: Lions 20 – Packers 34