What to watch in Packers vs Lions: Give Love a chance
What to watch during Green Bay's week 18 (still weird) matchup with the Detroit Lions.
By markoldacres
How long will the starters play?
Matt LaFleur decided against sitting his starters this week, meaning Aaron Rodgers, Davante Adams and other Packers stars will take the field on Sunday.
Entering the Divisional round of the playoffs on the back of a three-week break since their last in-game action may not have been the best idea, and ultimately, LaFleur knows his team and what they need.
If the Packers make it out of their matchup against the Lions without any bitten off kneecaps or other, more traditional injuries, the move will be a success, as ‘rust’ will be no excuse when Green Bay hosts their first playoff opponent.
With the starters suiting up, this week’s game does become a touch more meaningful, because now that Rodgers and company are playing, they need to play well.
They may be fighting for little more than professional pride with the NFC's number one seed locked up, but Green Bay will not want to sleepwalk into their bye week on the back of a lacklustre performance versus the lowly Lions.
LaFleur indicated how long his starters play will be based on “feel” during the game, which may mean the better his team plays, the quicker they will be relieved of their duties.
That should be enough motivation for the Packers to match the Lions’ always stellar effort, get out to a lead and get out of harm’s way.
Give Love a chance
With Rodgers starting the game, Jordan Love will have to bide his time before getting his opportunity in Green Bay’s final game of the regular season.
Love was unceremoniously chucked into the deep end in his first start for the Packers, on the road against a blitz-crazy Kansas City defense, and has barely seen the field since that tough day at the office.
He did receive some playing time near the end of the Vikings game, but Green Bay were in ‘run the clock’ mode by that point.
There is a real chance Love gets a full half of football at Ford Field this week, which should present him an opportunity to get into a rhythm and hopefully put up some points against Detroit’s defense.
The Packers front office faces a massive decision at the quarterback decision this offseason, and Love should get a chance to put some good tape together this Sunday for Gutekunst and his crew to ponder.
Packers returning from injury
Things are starting to look up on the injury front for Green Bay, just in time for the playoffs.
Rookie center, Josh Myers will play this week for the first time since undergoing knee surgery earlier this season.
This news came somewhat out of nowhere, with Myers almost a forgotten man amid all the Packers’ other injured stars.
Myers had been solid, if unspectacular before his injury, and represents a clear upgrade on Lucas Patrick if he can get up to speed.
David Bakhtiari practiced in full on Friday, and appears to have a shot to see some action against the Lions.
That would be a massively positive development for Green Bay’s offensive line, which has held up impressively well despite being regularly depleted by one injury after another.
If Bakhtiari can get some snaps under his belt and get his feet wet before being thrown back into the fire in the high-pressure environment of a playoff game, the Packers’ postseason chances could receive a huge shot in the arm.
Battle of the St. Brown’s
Amon-Ra St. Brown has been a revelation for the Lions in his rookie season, emerging as a bright spot in another losing campaign for the NFC North’s resident basement-dwellers.
The receiver has racked up more than 850 total yards and five touchdowns to date, and looks to be a piece worth building around for the Lions going forward.
Green Bay has its own St. Brown of course, and the career of Equanimious has been filled with ups and downs so far.
In his fourth and possibly final year in green and gold, EQ has embraced his role and earned praise from Aaron Rodgers, as well as his trust.
Opportunities as a pass catcher have not been plentiful for EQ, but with some other Packers receivers likely to be pulled from the game at some point, he should get more of a chance to show his ability from scrimmage and give his younger brother a run for his money.
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Mark Oldacres is a sports writer from Birmingham, England and a Green Bay Packers fan. You can follow him on twitter at @MarkOldacres
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Comments (14)
Coldworld
January 08, 2022 at 05:21 pm
EQ has done less in 4 years than Amon has in 4 games. If it’s a battle we should all celebrate as it will be a breakout performance from EQ. Personally I will not be betting on it.
I’m baffled by all the Myers hyperbole. As you say, he was promising but up and down in the handful of games before injury. He is a rookie with upside but at the moment, Patrick has probably out played him. After this week, the future is irrelevant: what matters is ability now.
Other than a big boost to depth, how can you therefore justify claiming that Myers will be a big upgrade on Patrick in the playoffs? Nothing on field this year suggests that.
GregC
January 08, 2022 at 05:51 pm
I was going to say the same thing about Myers. I don't think he's a clear upgrade over Patrick. In fact, I would feel better with Patrick starting at center for the rest of the season. I'm not even sure if David Bahktiari will be an upgrade over Yosh Nijman. He hasn't played in over a year and hasn't practiced a whole lot either. Getting some game action against the Lions will be important for him.
Unfortunately, the injured player who could have the most impact is the one who hasn't even started practicing yet: Zadarius Smith. He would also be the easiest one to work into the lineup as a rotational player, taking snaps from Jonathan Garvin and Tipa Galeai. Now THAT would be a clear upgrade.
Cubbygold
January 08, 2022 at 10:34 pm
I have to believe that there's some extremely valuable experience that 69 brings to the table, despite the great year from yosh. But like you point out, I think Myers is a risk from that standpoint. Fingers crossed.
Hoping 23 gets out there as well
CWolf
January 09, 2022 at 02:11 am
23 is officially out of the game.
Thegreatreynoldo
January 09, 2022 at 06:55 am
I agree that for pass blocking, Patrick > Myers.
For run blocking, probably is Myers > Patrick.
Hadn't thought about this, but...
Patrick > Newman in pass pro?
Newman > Patrick is run blocking (by a fair amount)?
So, is it a matchup issue? Depends on the opponent, the offensive game plan, etc.?
jurp
January 09, 2022 at 09:14 am
That's intriguing... and anything that gives our coaches an advantage is always a good thing. :)
GregC
January 09, 2022 at 04:41 am
Another player to watch is TE Tyler Davis. He looks better than Josiah Deguara, but he's still pretty new and needs to learn the offense. Maybe a strong performance by him in the Detroit game could lead to a significant role in the postseason.
Houndog
January 09, 2022 at 06:26 am
I gained 5 pounds just reading this article, there's a ton of sugar in all that Cool-aide!
Are you familiar with the phrases "Football Shape" and "Timing", or maybe "That first step"?
It's unlikely Bahktiari or Myers could enter the game with all that down and ready to go.
As for EQ, I really like this kid and I'd love to see him succeed, but the best 'tape' we're likely to see from him and Jordan Love will probably be the tape on their ankles.
Detroit will NOT be a pushover!
Thegreatreynoldo
January 09, 2022 at 06:50 am
What did other teams do with their starters? Most have something to play for, so the comparison is not apples to apples.
Dallas:
Dallas could not be less than the number four seed even if they had lost to Philly on Saturday. If the Rams beat SF today (Sunday), Dallas would also be locked in as the #4 seed regardless of any other outcomes in other games. However, Dallas could move up to the #2 Seed with losses by LAR (to SF), AND a loss by ARI to SEA, AND a loss by by TB to Carolina. Seems unlikely, but perhaps it is worth the chance? They would play the #7 seed (Philly right now) if they secured the #2 seed. They pulverized Philly on Saturday despite having multiple starters out with injuries, though it was a tie game until 3:40 left in the first half when Dallas scored two touchdowns in the final 3:40 to take a 13 point lead.
Dallas could secure the #3 seed with a win by TB > Carolina, AND a loss by LAR to SF AND a loss by ARI to Seattle. That seems more plausible, but a good deal of help is still necessary still. The #3 plays the #6, currently SF but SF hasn't clinched a playoff berth yet. NO could still earn a playoff spot if NO wins and SF loses. Dallas beat Philly and NO during the regular season.
The most likely scenario is that Dallas remains the #4 seed and plays either the Cardinals (to whom they lost 22-25) or LAR if the Rams lose and fall to the fifth seed. Dallas did not play LAR this year. IDK: getting the #3 or #2 seed means probably playing Philly or the #6 seed, currently SF but it could be NO. Those look like easier matchups to me.
Dallas played Prescott until the end of the third quarter (51 snaps), not removing him until they had gone up 37-17. Prescott attempted 27 passes, and Ezekial got 18 carries. The cowboys sat RB Tony Pollard, who was questionable with a foot injury on Friday's injury list. The cowboys pulled some of their starting offensive linemen with several playing 51 snaps, same as Prescott. Ceedee Lamb and Amari Cooper played 49 and 46 snaps, respectively. The Cowboys' starting CBs, Diggs and Anthony Brown were both out with illnesses, with Brown, LB Micah Parsons and OT Tyrone Smith on the Covid List, and starting safety Kearse out with a hammy.
[There was some grumbling by Cowboy fans suggesting that MM left Prescott in too long. IDK: with both starting CBs out, a starting safety, the all-world LB Parsons, I might run up the score by 20 with a quarter left before yanking my QB.]
KC:
The number #2 seed going into this week's slate of games, KC could secure the #1 seed and a bye with a victory (check) and a loss by TN to the lowly Houston Texans. I suppose I would force Tennessee to beat Houston: the bye is worth it even if it is unlikely Houston can beat the Titans. As it happens, the Texans beat the Chiefs in week 11 of this season. A loss could have dropped KC to the #3 or #4 seed.
The AFC is weird. Indy, LAC, the Steelers, the Raiders and even the 8-8 Ravens are fighting for the last two playoff spots. Cincy, Buffalo and NE are the #3, #4, and #5 seeds at present and have clinched a playoff spot, but all of them have just 10-6 records and could tumble down the seed rankings with a loss. KC lost to Baltimore, BUF, TN, Cincy and split with the Raiders. KC beat Philly, GB (W/O AR), Dallas, and the Raiders twice, plus they beat the Steelers who might still be a playoff team if a few things fall their way. I don't think it matters whether they were the #3 or #4 seed since no one knows who they would play until the games are played tomorrow. Still, KC probably should have tried to win on the off chance of gaining a bye. They don't sound all that good, but I think they do need Tyreek Hill.
Tyreek Hill injured his heel in pre-game warm-ups. He has had problems with his heel over the years. Hill played 14 snaps mostly on the first drive and then was removed from the game, but he returned briefly in the 3rd quarter. Fans blasted Andy Reid for playing Hill at all, who apparently was limping on the sidelines and looked injured even while he was playing. Otherwise, KC staged a 4th quarter comeback to beat Denver 28-24. Mahomes played 100% of the snaps and chucked the ball downfield 44 times. RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire and RT Lucas Niang were both out due to injury. The Chiefs played all of their defensive starters, as far as I can tell.
Johnblood27
January 09, 2022 at 08:28 am
you have KC splitting with the Raiders AND sweeping the Raiders.
KC swept LV Raiders by a 89-23 total score.
The playoff shuffling is soooo bizarre this year, Im not gonna even try to figger it out, that would take too much cipherin! I will just let the results roll in and then react.
Thegreatreynoldo
January 09, 2022 at 12:28 pm
So I do. You are correct. Would you buy that it was done before I had my coffee, though?
It started out as an idea for a quick article: what did the other teams that played on Saturday without much to play for do with their starters. It turned out that they both kinda had something to play for.
So, the research for a potential article ended up not being worth an article. So, I dumped it into a comment, and damn the proofreading!
Johnblood27
January 10, 2022 at 09:28 am
Thanks for all of your work here at CHTV James.
I really enjoy all of your contributions, even the bean-counting cap articles. It is critically important to get that info to really understand all of the decision factors in roster building.
All the best to you going forward!
stockholder
January 09, 2022 at 11:56 am
I feel this game no longer is important. The only thing that keeps coming up is Love. Give him a chance. Give him a chance. It's like a bomb went off. Yep- it's so easy to fall in Love. Ok- Jordan lets see what you got.. Tease me, Thrill me, and I will never let you go. Maybe cheesehead TV can start a Fantasy section. Old school doesn't matter anymore. I need a chip in my body, because robots don't make mistakes. Unlike my type-os. The positive thinking has made me a believer. If he can't throw the ball. HE must be Tom Brady. I Got it! Now lets get that win.
PatrickGB
January 09, 2022 at 10:24 am
The team preferred Myers as starter to begin the season. He is the superior player. However, Lucas has been starting at center for most of the season and has gelled with the line and knows Rodgers snap count intricacies. For me it’s a wash and I trust Stenos decision for whom ever is chosen. And Patrick can be a serviceable backup on the interior if needed. David Bahk needs to play and get in rhythm with the offense. Rest does him no good if he is ready to play. On the other hand, Love needs reps. I don’t know the future of the QB situation but playing Love will help clarify it. I don’t care if we lose today I just don’t want injuries.