Lions and Packers kick off holiday triple-header with high-stakes game in division and playoff races

DETROIT (AP) — When the NFL regular season wraps up in early January, the result of the Green Bay-Detroit game on Thanksgiving may prove to be pivotal.

The Packers (7-3-1) are the favorites to win the NFC North and the Lions (7-4) are slightly behind them, according to BetMGM Sportsbook, even though both teams trail Chicago (8-3) in the division.

That seems to make the stakes high at Ford Field, where the league kicks off its holiday triple-header.

Green Bay can boost its chances of winning the NFC North for the first time since 2021 by beating the two-time defending division champion Lions and sweeping the season series to win a potential tiebreaker.

“We’re getting toward the end here, so to speak, and I think every game’s a little bit more magnified,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said.

Detroit has an opportunity to improve its chances to win three straight division titles for the first time since 1952-54, when the franchise won two NFL titles and lost in a championship game.

“You couldn’t ask for anything better,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said.

The loser could end up missing the NFC’s seven-team playoff in a conference race that currently has eight teams with a winning record with a little more than a month left in the season.

Star watch

Green Bay’s Micah Parsons had his 10th sack of the season in Sunday’s win over Minnesota, joining Hall of Famer Reggie White as the only players since 1982 to have at least 10 sacks in each of their first five seasons.

Parsons had a sack in his Packers debut in a 27-13 win against Detroit in Week 1.

“He’s a great player,” Campbell said. “I like our tackles.”

Detroit will try to keep Parsons away from Jared Goff with offensive tackles Penei Sewell and Taylor Decker.

Gibbs going

The Packers held Jahymr Gibbs to a career-low 2.1 yards per rushing attempt in the first matchup, Detroit’s first of four losses when the dynamic running back was held to fewer than 4 yards a carry.

Gibbs has been in a groove lately.

He had 264 yards from scrimmage, the most by a Detroit running back, and scored a game-winning, 69-yard touchdown in overtime against the New York Giants on Sunday.

“Home-run hitter in the truest sense,” Packers safety Evan Williams said. “Just a guy that’s really explosive when he gets the ball.

“He makes a couple people miss and he’s got that game-breaking speed to get it out the gate.”

Changing of the guard?

Anthony Belton, a rookie second-round pick out of N.C. State, played the majority of the snaps at right guard ahead of 2024 first-round draft pick Jordan Morgan against the Vikings.

LaFleur wouldn’t say which of them would start Thursday but praised Belton’s performance.

Second chance

Detroit edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson was rusty at Lambeau Field, failing to have a tackle in his first game in nearly 11 months after breaking his leg in two places.

Hutchinson has regained his form. He had a game-ending sack against the Giants, giving him 8 1/2 sacks this season, and finished with a team-record six quarterback hits.

“This journey on this road to recovery this year, my comeback season, it’s just such a blessing,” he said.

Banged up

Packers cornerback Keisean Nixon left the Vikings game with a stinger, putting his status for Thursday in question in a secondary already missing cornerback Nate Hobbs because of a knee injury.

If Nixon is unavailable, the Packers likely would turn to Kamal Hadden, who grew up in the Detroit area and played his first 31 defensive snaps of the season on Sunday.

“As a young kid, we played at Ford Field, peewee and stuff like that,” Hadden said. “It was always a dream. I haven’t played there in a long time.”

Detroit All-Pro safety Kerby Joseph will miss a sixth straight game with a knee injury and cornerback Terrion Arnold has missed two straight with a concussion.

Both teams are unsure about the status of several players on the short week, most notably Packers running back Josh Jacobs, who missed the Vikings game because of a bruised knee, and Detroit receiver and returner Kalif Raymond, who left the Giants game with an ankle injury.

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