THE Green Bay Packers will get the chance to put an appalling Week 1 showing behind them when they welcome the Detroit Lions to Lambeau Field.
The biggest question mark coming into this one is whether last week’s showing by the Packers is a truer reflection of the team’s potential this season, or if they were simply undone by a host of uncharacteristic mistakes that snowballed into an unstoppable New Orleans hurricane in Florida.
The only thing more concerning than the result for Green Bay was the way it all unfolded. The team seemingly mimicked the efforts of QB Aaron Rodgers, whose well-documented frustrations in the off-season seemed to make their way onto the field.
How much of that is addressed in the lead-up to this one could be crucial in dictating the scripting of this match up.
Welcome to The Aaron Rodgers Show
Everything involving the Packers this season will centre around Rodgers, and for better or worse that will be what dictates not only their season but their game-to-game showings.
The future Hall of Famer was agitated with suggestions earlier in the week that the team is in disarray and if there’s one thing we know from Rodgers throughout his career it’s that his best performances come when there’s a chip on his shoulder.
Last week, the Lions allowed the 49ers to average 11.5 yards per pass through the air and struggled to get pressure on Jimmy Garoppolo in the pocket. What’s more is they also gave up 131 rushing yards as they struggled to get any stops on defence.
Their previous meeting at this venue came exactly a year ago when the Packers put up 42 points and notched 488 yards of total offence. While both teams have undergone changes in that span it’s the home side who are a closer reflection of that team than the rebuilding Lions.
Market watch
The Packers opened as -10.5 point favourites in this one and have enjoyed much of the market support throughout the week.
They head into tomorrow currently laying 11.5-points, with the total still sitting at its opening price of 48.5 points.
Last week’s results have had a huge impact in shaping this market. A late backdoor cover on the closing line for Detroit made their loss respectable at home to San Francisco, but to expect that to repeat itself on the road against a motivated Green Bay team is an entirely different ask.
Meanwhile, the Packers received strong market support in the lead up to their blowout loss against the Saints. This line would’ve been closer to 14.5 points had the Packers been slightly respectable and the Lions not rallied from 28-points down in the final quarter to lose by single digits.
If you like the Lions to cover, wait until closer to kick-off to find a better number on them. This one could get ugly.
Our best bet: Green Bay Packers -11.5
