Cover photo by Getty Images

The Detroit Lions host the Green Bay Packers at 1 p.m. Thanksgiving Day. Both teams are borderline desperate for a win. 

The Packers are 7-3-1 on the season and currently hold the sixth seed in the NFC playoff standings. They need to win to keep their spot, especially with games against contenders down the stretch. After the Lions, the Packers must play the NFC North division-leading Bears, travel to the AFC West division-leading Broncos, stay on the road against the Bears, host the AFC North division-leading Ravens and, to close out the season, travel to play the spoiler-seeking Vikings. 

The Lions are currently on the outside of the playoffs looking in. After the Packers, Detroit hosts the suddenly dangerous Dallas Cowboys. Next is a visit to Los Angeles to play the NFC-leading Rams, who looked Super Bowl bound against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Sunday night. Then the Pittsburgh Steelers come to town. The Lions close out the season on the road with two divisional matchups, at Vikings, then Bears. 

Both teams face tough schedules and must win on Thanksgiving. 

You can expect the Lions’ defense to stymie the Packers’ offense. The Packers’ passing game has been unremarkable this season. Even through injuries to its secondary, the Lions rank 15th in the NFL in passing yards given up. That should be good enough to keep Jordan Love from having a career day. The Lions’ rushing defense ranks 11th in the NFL. If Josh Jacobs returns from injury against the Lions, the Packers likely will try to dictate terms by rushing the ball with Jacobs and Emanuel Wilson, who has proven extremely effective in place of Jacobs the past two games. Wilson just rushed 28 times for 107 yards and two touchdowns against the Vikings last week. Jacobs has 11 rushing touchdowns in 10 games. 

The Lions win on Thanksgiving if Jared Goff has a good day. 

The Packers have the NFL’s sixth toughest rushing defense. Featuring Jahmyr Gibbs is still a key to success, but, for this game, it will be best to soften the defense with quick passes to the running back. This is especially the case with the Packers boasting the NFL’s fifth best passing defense, by yards given up. Goff will have to be on his game. At home, safe from the elements, Goff should be fine. 

DraftKings favors Detroit by 2.5 points, not a comforting prospect when it’s understood that home teams usually have a three point advantage. The over/under is 48.5 points. DraftKings seems to believe this game will be about 25-23, going the Lions way. 

Prediction: 

You can expect a low-scoring affair on Turkey Day in Detroit. The Lions’ defense will stand tall and keep the Packers under 20 points. The offense will do enough. 

Lions 24 

Packers 17 

Happy Thanksgiving.