The Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers get together on Sunday afternoon at Ford Field, rekindling one of the oldest rivalries in the NFL. The Lions are 2.5-point favorites with the over/under sitting at 52, per OddsShark.
NFL picks and predictions, Packers vs. Lions 2014: NFC North battle features two potent offenses
Despite being underdogs on the road, many like the Packers to beat Detroit.
Christian Petersen
Despite being an underdog, a multitude of experts believe the Packers will improve to 2-1 with a victory. Over at ESPN, only five of 13 experts are picking the Lions to take care of business. However, three of the five picking at NFL.com sided with Detroit, while Marc Sessler and Gregg Rosenthal went with the road team. Over at CBS, six of eight picked the Packers, with Will Brinson and Dave Richard favoring the Lions.
Green Bay lost in Week 1 to the Seattle Seahawks and was trailing 21-3 to the New York Jets in its home opener last week before rallying. The Packers are riding the golden arm of Aaron Rodgers, who has thrown for 535 yards and four touchdowns already. The Lions have an excellent quarterback in their own right, with Matthew Stafford at the controls. Stafford has thrown for 637 yards this season, ranking third in the league behind Matt Ryan and Nick Foles.
Over at ACME Packing Company, Josh VanDyke was impressed last week with the wide receivers:
Jordy Nelson (+4.5 overall) was able to create separation against whoever was on him (mostly Dee Milliner) to the tune of 209 yards and one touchdown on nine receptions (16 targets). Randall Cobb (+0.5 overall) also had no problem against the Dawan Landry or whichever outside linebacker was covering him in the slot, as Cobb finished with five receptions (six targets) for 39 yards and two touchdowns.
Through two weeks, the Lions have been surprisingly stout against the pass, ranking ninth in the NFL by allowing 197.5 yards per game through the air.
Christopher Tomke of Pride of Detroit is looking for Joique Bell to break out of his funk against a Packers front line without nose tackle B.J. Raji:
It's hard to pinpoint exactly what's gone wrong for Joique Bell so far this season. Like any running back, he's at the mercy of his blockers, and the Lions have missed their fair share of blocks in front of him. But beyond that, he seems tentative making his cuts upfield at times. One of my favorite things about Bell is how he always seems to hit the hole with power and fall forward, so even if he doesn't break off a huge gain, he never fails to pick up positive yardage.
That hasn't shown up on film so far this season. Strangely, many of his carries (and even some of his biggest gains) have come on plays that seem more suited for Reggie Bush, such as toss sweeps (including that pin-and-pull we looked at in Week 1) and counter plays.
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