It wasn’t supposed to be this way. There was so much hype about the NFC North being one of the best divisions in football that it was hard not to get excited about this race. Teams like the Lions, Packers, and Bears all possess elite talents on both sides of the football (The Vikings aren’t too bad either. I hear that Adrian Peterson guy is okay). In short, double-digit win totals for no less than three divisional rivals was a distinct possibility.
Well, it hasn’t worked out that way.
On Thursday, one of the greatest American traditions of all time takes place. Yes it’s Thanksgiving, but I’m talking about the Detroit Lions annual Turkey Day match up. The game hasn’t had stakes this high in years. When the Lions and the Green Bay Packers face off at Ford Field, the balance of power in the NFC North will shift considerably.
Based on tiebreakers, the 6-5 Lions sit atop the division, followed closely by the 6-5 Chicago Bears and the 5-5-1 Packers. In short, with five games left on the slate the division is truly anyone’s for the taking. All three of these teams have taken different paths to this point, but the Packers and Lions enter this important game in the hopes of snapping out of some truly bad times.
While the Bears have had their own troubles with injuries, most notably to Jay Cutler and Lance Briggs, they have managed to trade wins and losses since Week Six and have put themselves in an excellent position to contend once their starting signal caller returns to action.
The Packers, on the other hand, haven’t been able to get anything going without Aaron Rodgers in the lineup. Ever since Rodgers broke his collarbone in the first quarter of a pivotal Bears-Packers Week Nine match up, the Packers have gone on a 0-3-1 skid. This experience has been particularly demoralizing for the franchise and its fan base since the team was coming off of four consecutive victories. Rodgers doesn’t figure to suit up on Thursday, and the Packers might not be able to afford one more big loss at this stage of the season. Make no mistake about it, they need this win.
The Detroit Lions, however, need this win even more.
This season has been an emotional roller coaster for the Lions and their fans. After big wins over the Dallas Cowboys and the aforementioned Bears, the Lions sat at 6-3 and in firm control over the division. They had just completed a season sweep of the Bears, and the Packers were entering an extended stretch without their superstar quarterback. Additionally, the Lions had an extremely favorable slate of match ups on their docket and as such, there was more optimism about this team than there had been in well over a decade.
Then, as is often the case with roller coasters, it all went downhill.
The Lions have dropped winnable games in successive weeks, first to the Pittsburgh Steelers and then to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. An 8-3 record at this point would have all but clinched the division, but now sitting at 6-5 the Lions grasp on the North is tenuous at best. After Thursday’s clash with the Pack, the Lions face the improving Philadelphia Eagles and the surging Baltimore Ravens, before closing out the season with match ups with the inconsistent but dangerous New York Giants and divisional rival Minnesota Vikings. In short, the Lions must get back on track against the Pack (I love rhyming) or else this roller coaster may not have a chance to trend upward again this season.
There are some good Thanksgiving Day games this year, but this one figures to be the cream of the crop. The last time Matt Flynn started a game against the Lions, fans were treated to one of the most entertaining aerial circuses in recent football history. While I’m inclined to expect a lower-scoring affair this time around, this could easily be one of the better tilts of the season.
It’s all on the line this time. Neither of these teams can afford another defeat right now. The 2013 season hangs in the balance for two of the most talented teams in the NFC. Fans gobble up big-time match ups like this just like they gobble up Thanksgiving turkey. On Thursday, they get the chance to do both on the same day.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. Enjoy this week’s slate of games.
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