The Green Bay Packers will head to the Motor City to take on the Detroit Lions in the regular-season finale on Sunday. The game has no value in the standings. The Lions are well off the playoff mark, and the Packers have already wrapped up the No. 1 seed.
Here are four things the Lions do well that the Packers need to watch out for.
Bust their backs for their coach
Don’t let the record fool you; the Lions play their tails off for head coach Dan Campbell. This team has bought into the message he’s preaching. They just need more talent on the roster.
Detroit has played in eight games decided by one possession this year, and they’ve come up on the short end of the stick more times than not. It’s not for lack of effort. The Lions have gotten familiar with playing in close games that come down to the stretch; they’ve just struggled to finish them off.
The Lions will come out on Sunday and try to stick it to Green Bay early, much like they did in the first half of the Week 2 matchup. Don’t be surprised if Detroit starts fast in this one.
Play super aggressive
No team in the NFL has gone for it on fourth down more this year than the Lions. They’ve rolled the dice 38 times on fourth down on the season. Campbell isn’t hesitant to keep the offense on the field regardless of where the ball is spotted.
In a Week 18 game where there is truly nothing to lose for Detroit, don’t be surprised if they go with the riverboat gambling mentality.
The results are split right down the middle on those fourth-down attempts. The Lions have converted 19 of them. It’s worth wondering if it would change the mindset if the percentage were below 50. It likely wouldn’t — it’s who Campbell is.
This game could get weird real fast. The Packers are set to play their starters, but for an unspecified amount of time. The aggressiveness needle will likely be tilted on the heavy side for the Lions in this one.
Protect home field at the end of the year
The two wins for Detroit have come in their last two home games.
In the first, they beat the Minnesota Vikings in a thriller. Rookie wideout Amon-Ra St. Brown caught a touchdown pass from Jared Goff as time expired that sent Ford Field into a frenzy. It got a giant monkey off their backs.
They pulled off a stunner against Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals in their most recent home game.
Detroit never trailed and took a 17-0 lead into halftime. They polished off the Cardinals by a final score of 30-12. Not only did they beat one of the better teams in the NFC, they did so in convincing fashion. The game never felt in doubt in the second half.
As weird as it sounds, the Lions won’t be phased by the Packers as they look to defend their home field for a third consecutive time to end the year.
Green Bay will be mixing things around as they shuffle starters out, while the Lions will have their foot on the accelerator from the get-go. They would love nothing more than to beat their NFC North rival at Ford Field to put a bow on a solid finish to the season after a disastrous beginning.
Trust their young guys
Six rookies played at least 50% of the snaps for their side of the ball last week. Campbell is getting an extended look at what they have in their young talent on the roster.
St. Brown has emerged as an absolute stud, while Penei Sewell started to get comfortable in his role as the season progressed. As a result, the red carpet was rolled out for other rookies on the roster.
While the wins and losses weren’t the complete priority the last few weeks, it still took guts for Campbell to give all the extra looks to the rookies on this team. The results have been mixed, the opportunities endless. There will be a handful of names on Sunday sprinkled in that Packers fans are likely not familiar with at this point.
It’s the young players who often play the most hungry. They have something to prove to their teammates and the coaching staff. While many teams that have been eliminated from postseason contention fizzle out as the season ends, this Detroit team still packs a punch. A big reason why is that the young dudes getting additional reps.
