How about that home opener?! My goodness. The Packers are back at Lambeau Field on a short week to host the division rival Detroit Lions. It’s prime time (get it, because the game is on Amazon Prime?) and the lights are bright. This is going to be a good one. Let’s talk about six things to keep in mind before kickoff.

1. Wherefore art thou, Romeo?

Oh, you’re looking for Romeo Doubs? Check the end zone. Through three weeks, Doubs leads the team with three touchdowns and is tied for team-lead in targets (20) and receptions (11). He also leads the team with nine first downs, meaning 82% of his catches have moved the chains on offense. This is impressive considering he didn’t start in Week 1 given his lingering hamstring injury. 

The 23-year-old fourth-round pick in last year’s draft has quickly cemented himself as a favorite target for quarterback Jordan Love, and rightfully so. He’s already tied his touchdown total from last season and is playing 71% of snaps on offense.

Doubs’ three touchdowns are tied for second in the NFL with names like Mike Evans and Davante Adams, and those three scores trail only Tyreek Hill’s four in Miami. While we knew Doubs would need to take a jump in year two with such a young receiving core surrounding him, his emergence through three weeks gives Packers fans plenty to be excited about, especially once second-round pick Christian Watson is able to return and give defenses another weapon to account for (which sounds like it could be as early as tonight).  

2. Thursday Night Lights

Per the dope sheet, this is the first time the Packers will host the Lions on Thursday Night Football, which feels hard to believe given how much history exists between the division rivals. What’s more, this is the first of two Thursday games played by the NFC North foes, as the Packers will travel to Detroit to face the Lions on Thanksgiving later this season. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, this is only the second time two teams have played multiple times on a Thursday in the same season, the first happening all the way back in 1926. 

The Packers lead the series with the Lions 103-75-7 in the regular season and were on a five-game win streak until Detroit snapped that in the final game of the 2021 season. Now, the Lions have started a mini-streak of their own, winning the last three matchups between the division rivals. 

The outcome on Thursday night will determine the way-too-early frontrunner in the division, with the winner sitting alone atop the NFC North (and the Bears and Vikings both in the basement at 0-3). The Lions haven’t won the division since it became the NFC North (shoutout to 1993 and the old NFC Central) so you know they’ll have some extra juice coming into this one. 

3. Turnovers a Mane Focus

Protecting the football is going to be one of the keys to success on Thursday night. The Packers have done a good job holding onto the ball through three games with the lone turnover coming on a Love interception in Week 3. On the opposite sideline, the Lions have given the ball away five times, with Jared Goff throwing two picks and three different skill players losing fumbles. 

Defensively, the Lions have two takeaways, with rookie Brian Branch’s pick-six in Week 1 against Patrick Mahomes and Adian Hutchinson forcing a fumble in Week 3. That gives them a -3 turnover differential, ranked 24th in the league. The Packers have three defensive takeaways through three weeks, giving them a +2 turnover differential (ninth in the NFL). 

Last year, the Lions had an impressive +7 turnover differential to end the season which ranked fourth in the NFL. The Packers were +2 which ranked 14th. Safety Kerby Joseph had three of his four interceptions last season against Green Bay, so if he’s able to play Thursday night (he’s questionable with a hip injury), Love is going to need to know where he is on the field at all times. 

4. Stingy Run D in Detroit

Through three weeks, the Lions have yet to give up 100 yards rushing. On the flip side of that, the Packers have yet to rush for 100 yards in a game, either. This is a stout Detroit front that allowed only 44 yards on the ground in Week 3 against the Falcons, with Bijan Robinson rushing 10 times for 33 yards with a long of 11. 

It’s been a theme of the young season already, but the Packers run game just hasn’t found its footing (no pun intended). In three games this season, AJ Dillon has carried the ball 39 times for 107 yards and five first downs, giving him an average of 2.7 yards per carry. 

For comparison’s sake, Love has 14 rushing attempts for 74 yards, four first downs, and a touchdown, giving him an average of 5.3 yards per carry. In Aaron Jones’ absence, Love has generated the greatest oomph in the run game. 

That said, there’s hope in the locker room that Jones will be available in Week 4, and just having him on the field as a weapon for Love will go a long way Thursday night. He was a mismatch against Chicago’s inside linebackers and that’s a matchup he’d be able to exploit again against Detroit. In Week 1, Jones had nine rushing attempts for 41 yards, three first downs, and a touchdown. He also added two receptions for 86 yards and a score through the air. 

Regardless of who’s in the backfield on Thursday night, the ground game needs a spark. While the young receivers have looked the part (more on that in a second), the last thing this offense needs is to become a one-dimensional air attack. 

5. 2023 Draft Class Contributors 

Early returns sure seem promising for both the Lions and Packers rookie classes. With their two first round picks, the Lions selected running back Jahmyr Gibbs and linebacker Jack Campbell. While Gibbs hasn’t found the end zone yet this season, he’s certainly pushed David Montgomery for playing time and looked the part of a starting running back in Montgomery’s absence last week. He’s averaging 4.5 yards per carry and has 198 yards from scrimmage, including 59 yards receiving. 

In the second round, the Lions selected tight end Sam LaPorta and safety Brian Branch. LaPorta looks like the real deal and currently leads all tight ends in the league through three weeks with 186 receiving yards. Branch, of course, we mentioned earlier as having snagged the team’s only interception so far this year. He has an overall grade of 84.9 from Pro Football Focus, good for second on the team behind only Hutchinson (91.8). His run defense grade of 87.4 and his coverage grade of 89.0 both lead the team, too. 

For Green Bay, first round pick Lukas Van Ness registered his first NFL sack in Week 1 against Justin Fields. Second round picks Jayden Reed and Luke Musgrave are also performing well early, with Reed leading the receiving core with 148 yards and two touchdowns on nine receptions. His 20 targets are tied with Doubs for the most on the team. Musgrave hasn’t scored a touchdown yet this season, but his 11 receptions are tied with Doubs for the team-lead, and his 124 yards receiving certainly aren’t anything to sneeze at. 

Getting even deeper into the draft class, fourth-round pick Colby Wooden has generated two pressures in the defensive rotation, and sixth-rounder Karl Brooks has three pressures and one sack to his name. Fifth-round receiver Dontayvion Wicks has hauled in six receptions for 85 yards and a touchdown, and rookie kicker Anders Carlson remains perfect through three weeks going three-for-three on field goals with a long of 52 and scoring all nine of his extra point attempts. Pretty impressive stuff from the youngins (I can say that now because I’m 30). 

6. Battle of the Banged Up 

This is the best offense the Packers have faced so far this season, with the Lions averaging 24 points per game. (The Packers are averaging 26.7 points per game, but that’s not what we’re here to talk about). Detroit has a talented offense with weapons at every level. Their offensive line, while banged up, is one of the best in the league, and we’ve already mentioned LaPorta and Gibbs as two weapons for Goff. 

In the receiving room, the main threat is Amon-Ra St. Brown. Brown has 275 yards and one touchdown this season, averaging 91.7 yards per game. The Packers have played pretty well in the secondary and allowed only six yards per attempt through the air against the Saints without Jaire Alexander on the field, but defending St. Brown is going to be imperative Thursday night. The good news, though, is that it seems like Alexander is trending towards suiting up. 

Goff is having another impressive start to his season, completing 72 attempts for 819 yards with five touchdowns and two picks for a 101.6 rating through three weeks. It’s early, but his 69.9% completion percentage is the highest of his career. He’s only taken three sacks so far this season, and Rashan Gary had three sacks alone in Week 3 (the first hat trick of his career). Something is going to have to give on Thursday.

The Packers have pressured opposing quarterbacks on 40% of dropbacks this season and have nine sacks through three weeks. The Lions o-line isn’t at full strength, and generating pressure will be a key to success for the Packers in Week 4. 

For Detroit, guard Halapoulivaati Vaitai has already been ruled out against the Packers along with backup tackle Matt Nelson. Starting left tackle Taylor Decker is listed as questionable, and with his backup already ruled out, the Lions may need to turn to rookie fifth-round pick Colby Sorsdal to fill in. Additionally, left guard Jonah Jackson is also listed as questionable with a thigh injury, leaving only center Frank Ragnow and right tackle Penei Sewell as healthy starters on Detroit’s line. 

It doesn’t get much better for the Packers, though, as David Bakhtiari and Elgton Jenkins have already been ruled out for Week 4, and right tackle Zach Tom is listed as questionable. That’s less than ideal against a Lions team that tallied seven sacks in Week 3 alone. This one likely comes down to the trenches.

What I’ll be drinking for the game: 

It’s fall, y’all. Oktoberfest season is my absolute favorite, but I also have to try all of the pumpkin beers I see, and there aren’t many better pumpkin beers than the Imperial Pumpkin Ale from Lakefront Brewery. I’ll also have to pour one out for Ale Asylum. I’m still distraught that they closed their doors. Oktillion was one of my all-time favorite beers and a staple in my beer fridge during autumn. As always, leave me some beer suggestions to find in my area, and enjoy the game!