5 Big Questions Facing Green Bay Packers v. Detroit Lions
By Paul Bretl
Can the Green Bay Packers’ offense find some early success?
Over the last month, the Green Bay Packers offense has been one of the most productive in football; however, they still continue to get off to slow starts. Through Week 17, Green Bay ranks 26th in average first-quarter points scored–the worst out of any current playoff teams.
"“At times the last couple years we’ve been so good in the first 15 to 20 plays that we script, and scoring on opening drives, touchdowns,” said quarterback Aaron Rodgers via Packers.com following the Vikings game. “Hasn’t really been the case this year. We’ve been a lot slower starting, so we gotta look at that.”"
But this week against Detroit will give the Packers the opportunity to find some success heading into the playoffs as they go up against a struggling Lions defense.
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Detroit’s defense ranks 25th in first-quarter defense, and overall, 30th in points per game given up, 30th in DVOA, 31st in the red zone, 28th in pressure rate, and 26th in takeaways.
Just as they did the first time around when Green Bay had only three full possessions in the first half, the Lions will likely want to keep this a low possession game. But hopefully, the Packers can find the end zone on a few occasions.
Now, finding success early on against Detroit doesn’t mean that any issues Green Bay may have with their opening script is solved, but it’s a step in the right direction heading into the playoffs. Falling behind by too much to Dallas, Tampa Bay, or Los Angeles could be costly.