Battle of The Bad Teams: Lions Meet The Packers at Lambeau
Team Page: Detroit :: Green Bay
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Wins have turned scarce for the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field, but winning at home against the Detroit Lions is all Brett Favre has done in his career.
A rejuvenated Favre looks to lead the Packers to their 15th straight home win over the lowly Lions on Sunday.
Favre has never lost to Detroit (2-11) at home since being traded to Green Bay (5-8) before the 1992 season.
The three-time MVP has thrown for 3,409 yards, 24 touchdowns and eight interceptions during the win streak, and also led the Packers to a home playoff win over the Lions in 1994.
Favre has a 97.2 quarterback rating at home against the Lions, and the Packers haven’t lost to Detroit at home since a 21-17 defeat on Dec. 15, 1991.
While he has dominated the Lions at Lambeau, Favre and the Packers are struggling there this season.
The Packers had never been shut out at home since Favre became the starter, but it’s already happened twice this season. He has thrown for six touchdowns and five interceptions at Lambeau this year while completing less than 55 percent of his passes.
Green Bay is 1-5 at home this season and has won just four of its last 15 home games.
The Lions, though, are 0-6 on the road this season, and have lost 12 of 14 road games since the start of last season.
“I wish I could do something about it,” Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. “Like anything, you make too big of a deal out of it – like I am right now, speaking about it at a press conference – it takes on a life of its own. But it’s there. We’re 1-5. And it needs to change.”
The Packers bounced back from a 38-10 home loss to the New York Jets on Dec. 3 with a 30-19 road victory over San Francisco last Sunday.
Favre, who again contemplated his decision to come back and play this season after the loss to the Jets, passed for 293 yards and two TDs against the 49ers and has shown he still loves to play.
“Days like today make me think I could play 10 more (years),” Favre said. “After last week’s game, I would have told you I should get the first bus out. … I’m happy with today. It sure makes it easier to say the right things and do the right things. It makes you go home and say, ‘Man, I could do this for a while.”’
The 37-year-old Favre surpassed 3,000 yards passing for the 15th straight season to extend his own NFL record, and is only seven touchdown passes shy of Dan Marino’s career record of 420.
Favre had one of his best games of the season in a 31-24 win over the Lions on Sept. 24, completing 25 of 36 passes for 340 yards and three touchdowns.
He is 20-9 all-time against Detroit, and a win in this game would give Favre his sixth season sweep over the Lions.
Detroit lost to Minnesota 30-20 on Sunday to lose its fifth straight game.
Jon Kitna had four of the Lions’ season-high six turnovers, and the team rushed for minus-3 yards.
“The quarterback wasn’t the problem. The running back wasn’t the problem,” wide receiver Roy Williams said. “We are the problem as a group.”
Detroit lost top rusher and receptions leader Kevin Jones to a season-ending foot injury, and the team is concerned it may be a Lisfranc fracture-dislocation. That is a serious injury involving the bones and ligaments of the top of the foot, and it can be devastating to a career.
“He’s a tremendous player,” Lions coach Rod Marinelli said. “If he’s going to be out for an extended period, we would obviously have to alter our plans for the future.”
Jones will be replaced by Arlen Harris and Aveion Cason, both of whom have been cut by Detroit and then brought back due to injuries.
While the Lions will have a new primary ball carrier, Marinelli flatly stated he will not consider playing backup quarterback Josh McCown.
Kitna has 26 turnovers in 13 games. He threw for 342 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in the loss to Green Bay in Week 3.
By: David Michaels – theSpread.com – Email Us
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