College football's rivalry weekend is still a week away, but if fans were looking for a tasty appetiser then this might just be the one. These two teams have been hating on each other for nearly eight decades, ever since the Lions – then known as the Portsmouth Spartans – relocated from Ohio to Detroit in 1934.
There have been more critical match-ups than this one among the teams' 163 prior meetings – two of those, indeed, were in the postseason – but for the Lions this is nevertheless a must-win game. At 4-5, their playoff hopes for this season are hanging by a thread. Trailing not only the 6-3 Packers but also the 7-2 Chicago Bears and 6-4 Minnesota Vikings in the NFC North, they are running out of time to make a push.
"This is the Lions' Super Bowl," wrote Mike Vandermause this week in the Green Bay Press-Gazette, warning the Packers not to take this game lightly. In reality there was little chance of that. A rivalry that has in the past been noteworthy more for its longevity than the levels of resentment between the two sides was added fresh spice during a brutal Thanksgiving Day game last year.
The lowlight of that match-up came when the Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh stamped on the prone Packers offensive lineman Evan Dietrich-Smith. Suh was subsequently ejected from the game, but both players will be present to renew acquaintances this afternoon.That is more than can be said for many others – each team missing key players through injury.
For Green Bay, the absence of Pro Bowl linebacker Clay Matthews is a huge blow, as are the long-standing ones of Charles Woodson, Greg Jennings and Cedric Benson. But Detroit are missing two of four starters in their defensive secondary and have a third – Louis Delmas – unlikely to start.
It would all appear to leave us well set for a shoot-out between Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and his Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford. What more could you ask for, between two of the league's great rivals – with at least one team's season on the line?
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