Packers vs. Lions 2013: Detroit fans enjoy Thanksgiving football for 1st time in decade
For Lions fans, Thursday’s win provided much-needed relief after a decade of losing on Thanksgiving. The turkey was a little less juicy for Packers fans.
People often take pride in their Thanksgiving Day traditions, but watching the Detroit Lions lose had long lost its luster for fans in Southeast Michigan. The Lions had not recorded a win on the holiday since 2003. The 2013 iteration of the team is playing much better than its recent counterparts, however. On Thursday, they downed the Green Bay Packers, 40-10, to reaffirm control on their playoff destiny.
In the decade-long stretch between Lions wins on Thanksgiving, Green Bay beat Detroit four times. In the fifth meeting, it was as if the Lions took out their long pent up fury on their wounded nemesis. With Matt Flynn starting in place of the injured Aaron Rodgers, the Packers gained just 126 total yards of offense, compared to 561 for the Lions.
Jason Hirschhorn at Packers blog Acme Packing Company didn’t spare his hyperbole in his recap of the loss. This was a bad, bad showing for the Packers on both sides of the ball:
It will not be a pleasant Thanksgiving for the families of the Packers players, coaches, and front office execs. While optimism was high around Green Bay that Matt Flynn could lead the team to an upset over division rival Detroit, the Packers endured one of the worst all-around performances in franchise history.
Over at Lions blog Pride Of Detroit, the overarching feeling is relief. Thanksgiving Day was fun for the first in much-too-long for diehard fans, says Sean Yuille, and the Lions looked like a contender:
Especially after that rough first half, the Lions really needed a game like this. They showed how dangerous they can be when they aren’t making mistakes, and they now have control of the NFC North going into Week 14, when they will take on the Philadelphia Eagles on the road.
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