Now or Never for the Packers

Best Bets

2 Pts Green Bay Packers (-3 Handicap) to Beat Detroit Lions Evs (General Price)

1 Pt James Jones First Touchdown Scorer 11/1 (Sky Bet)

This week we preview the Thursday night NFL matchup which sees the Green Bay Packers travel to Detroit to face the Lions. The Packers have endured a horrible run of late which perhaps nobody could have predicted. On a night where Brett Favre’s jersey was retired last weekend the Packers lost to the Bears on their home field. The final 17-13 score line didn’t even do the Bears justice! On the other hand the Lions rolled out to a crushing victory against the Eagles, reflecting their upward trend as of late.

So given the above you might be surprised to see that we side with the Packers this week! Detroit won this divisional matchup earlier this year, but the score flattered them, and things could have easily gone the other way. A lot of people seem to be forgetting the start to the season that Green Bay put together and many pundits seem to be writing off the Packers chances all together after a rough run of results.

The reality of the situation is simple. The Packers have lost four of their last five games. They have been playing at a much lower level than how they started the season, and a much lower level than what they should be capable of. We think that this week is where the Packers will turn their season around and make a strong final push for the playoffs and the division title. They are still only a win behind the Vikings despite their current form and they will be distinctly aware of this going in to this game.

All the Packers need for a comfortable victory in this game is the receivers to turn up. If that’s the case Rogers should be able to tear apart the Lions defence. It’s been a while since the Packers have been such marginal favourites against the Lions and we aren’t going to miss this opportunity to back the Packers. We are backing the Packers to cover the spread this week. We also think the Packers receivers will have a stronger showing this week. We like James Jones as the first TD scorer this week. Jones stated earlier in the week that now was the time to start ‘clicking’. He rates among the better receivers in the league this year. When interviewed he didn’t seem like a man that was short of confidence, and look for him to bounce back strong this week too.