It’s a short week for the 4-6 Packers as Green Bay travels to Detroit to take on the 8-2 Lions on Thanksgiving Day. Here are six delicious tidbits going into the 11:30 a.m. CST kickoff. 

1. History of Thanksgiving Games

While the Packers have played on Christmas Day the last two seasons, this is actually the first time Green Bay will play on Thanksgiving since 2015 when the Packers hosted the Bears at Lambeau Field. This is the first game at Detroit for the Packers since 2013. 

When the NFC North rivals square off on Thursday, it’ll be the 22nd meeting between the two teams on Thanksgiving. That’s the most in the NFL, with the Lions vs Bears series coming in second with 19 games. Per the dope sheet, the Packers are 14-20-2 on Thanksgiving all-time with a record of 8-12-1 against the Lions. In the regular season, the Packers are 42-47-3 against the Lions in Detroit with a 12-9 record at Ford Field. 

2. Drumming Up a Tight End

There’s an entire laundry list of injuries for the Packers to deal with on a short week, and that list includes plenty of offensive starters. In the tight end room, both Luke Musgrave (abdomen) and Josiah Deguara (hip) have yet to practice this week. Musgrave has already been ruled out for Thursday’s contest, and Deguara seems doubtful given his status. 

Musgrave is far and away the leader in the clubhouse with 33 receptions for 341 yards and one touchdown (playing 71% of offensive snaps), but Deguara’s absence will be felt, too. While he’s only registered eight receptions for 65 yards on offense, he’s played 62% of special teams snaps so far this season. With Musgrave and Deguara not suiting up Thursday. that leaves only two tight ends on the roster in Tucker Kraft (five receptions, 43 yards) and Ben Sims (two receptions, 14 yards). While Kraft has gotten more involved in the offense in recent weeks, it’ll be hard to replicate Musgrave’s production.

Normally, this would be an opportunity for the Packers to elevate someone from the practice squad to help round out the position group. However, the Packers don’t actually have any tight ends on their practice squad. The closest they might get is fullback Henry Pearson, a rookie out of Appalachian State. While the Packers have him listed as a fullback, he did play tight end in college. On a short week, even if the Packers are able to sign a street free agent to the roster, don’t expect Head Coach Matt LaFleur to use a ton of 12 personnel against the Lions. 

3. It’s All Gravy

While the Week 4 matchup at Lambeau left much to be desired for the Packers, a few players did have some memorable days against the Lions. Receiver Romeo Doubs had a career-high nine receptions for 95 yards against Detroit earlier this season. Inside linebacker Quay Walker also set a career high in tackles (19) and solo tackles (10) in Week 4. 

Both Doubs and Walker will need to have big showings again, this time in Detroit. Doubs is one of the few healthy receivers Green Bay has left, and Walker might be paired up with Isaiah McDuffie this week if De’Vondre Campbell’s neck injury prevents him from playing Thursday.

Doubs leads the team with 65 targets (14 more than the second-highest player) and has a whopping seven touchdowns through 10 games. That’s tied for third in the league behind only Tyreek Hill (nine) and Courtland Sutton (eight). Doubs is also second on the team in yards (396) behind only Jayden Reed (463). Reed was added to the injury report on Tuesday, though he was listed as limited so it’s possible he’s able to suit up on the short week. Also worth noting is the absence of Dontayvion Wicks who had his best game as a pro against the Chargers with three receptions for 91 yards. He’s not expected to clear concussion protocol in time to play Thursday. 

Defensively, Walker leads the team with 73 total tackles and is second on the team with five tackles for loss. He also has one interception and three passes defensed on the season. If Campbell can’t play, his role will likely be filled by McDuffie, who’s third on the team with 56 combined tackles. McDuffie has made five starts for the Packers so far this season and has two quarterback pressures. 

4. Piece of the Pie 

The Lions have an impressive rushing attack with David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs. Both running backs have rushed for over 500 yards on the season, with Montgomery tallying eight touchdowns and Gibbs rushing for five. As a team, Detroit has 16 rushing touchdowns this season, good for third in the NFL. That doesn’t bode well for a Packers team that just gave up 150 yards on the ground to the Chargers in Week 11. 

Gibbs has also added 288 receiving yards to his scrimmage total, making him a threat as a pass catcher, too. Speaking of receivers, nobody commands more attention on the Lions offense than Amon-Ra St. Brown. In nine games this season, St. Brown has 911 receiving yards and five touchdowns. 

If the Packers are going to keep pace with Detroit’s sixth-ranked offense in points for (averaging 27.2 points per game), slowing down the big three playmakers will be the place to start. In addition to scoring a ton of points, the Lions are also putting up a ton of yards. Detroit ranks second in the league in total yards with 3,996 through 10 games. They’re fifth in rushing yards and fourth in passing yards. If left unchecked, this is an offense that can blow up a game quickly. 

5. Eyes on the Thighs

Credit where credit is due. AJ Dillon is playing some of his best ball this season, and it couldn’t have come at a more needed time with Aaron Jones sidelined again with an MCL injury. Despite only having one touchdown through 10 games, Dillon actually leads the team in scrimmage yards with 551. He’s got 405 yards on the ground averaging 3.5 yards per carry with 21 first downs, and he’s added another 146 yards as a receiver. In the passing game, he’s averaging 9.1 yards per catch and has moved the chains for a first down six times. Dillon also has the best catch percentage on the team (76.2%) of any player with over 10 receptions. 

With Jones ruled out for Thursday and Emanuel Wilson also on the injury report as a did not participate with a shoulder injury, the Packers re-signed Patrick Taylor off the Patriots practice squad. Taylor has played in 27 games for the Packers over the course of his NFL career, and he’s got an extensive knowledge of the LaFleur offense despite being a core special teams contributor. 

Instead of spending Thanksgiving in New England, Taylor and his family will head to Detroit where he could see some significant playing time against the Lions. Both Dillon and Taylor will have their work cut out for them against a stingy Lions run defense. Detroit ranks fifth in the league in run defense allowing only 89.5 points per game. 

6. Rolling to the Quarterback

This game features some elite edge rushers in Aidan Hutchinson and Rashan Gary, with both players posting pretty similar stats through 10 games. To start, both players are tied with 5.5 sacks. Hutchinson has 14 quarterback hits and four tackles for loss while Gary has 13 quarterback hits and six tackles for loss. 

Where things differ, though, is the snap counts. Hutchinson has played 572 snaps this season to Gary’s 317. Hutchinson also has a much higher overall grade from Pro Football Focus and is considered PFF’s seventh-best edge rusher (90.2) out of 104 qualifying players. Gary ranks 23rd overall with a grade of 78.0. It’s worth pointing out that Hutchinson is playing a whopping 89% of defensive snaps for the Lions while Gary is only playing 47% of snaps for the Packers. 

All that in mind, both edge rushers are on pace to set career highs. In his rookie season, Hutchinson finished with 9.5 sacks, 52 total tackles, and 15 quarterback hits. He needs only four sacks, 20 tackles, and one quarterback hit to match those numbers in his final seven games. 

Gary’s career-high is also 9.5 sacks, a mark he hit in 2021. That year, Gary registered 47 total tackles and an incredible 28 quarterback hits. He needs four sacks, 24 tackles, and 15 quarterback hits in seven games to tie his career bests. 

Hutchinson is only in his second season and is widely regarded as one of the best edge rushers in the NFL. It’s interesting to take a step back and look at Gary’s numbers coming back from an ACL tear. Playing less than 50% of defensive snaps, Gary can still wreck games when he’s on the field. 

What I’ll be drinking for the game:

This Thanksgiving is going to be extra special because my son just turned one over the weekend. Last Thanksgiving, he was seven days old and we were celebrating our first holiday as a family of three. On tap this week I’ll be trying a Samuel Adams oaked vanilla porter. The flavor profile sounded right up my alley to pair with all of my Thanksgiving favorites. I hope you all have an incredible holiday surrounded by the people that make you happy. Hopefully we get to celebrate a Packers win, but if not, that’s why we have pie.