Packers vs. Lions Thanksgiving Day Odds, Best Bets and Predictions

Detroit, looking to sweep the season series with Green Bay, is favored by 7.5 points at home.

It’s going to be a weird vibe at Ford Field on Thanksgiving Day. Lions fans usually gather for their team’s traditional holiday game expecting to have fun but not really having high hopes for their team. Detroit has been hosting Thanksgiving games since 1934. For most of the last 50-plus years, however, the Lions are usually home underdogs in this game, which is also typically one of the few times the Lions can be seen on a national broadcast. But Thursday’s matchup with the division-rival Packers will be different.

The times they are a-changing. The Lions come into this Week 12 lid-lifter with an 8-2 record, winners of three straight and very much in the hunt for the NFC’s No. 1 seed. This is the fourth national game for Detroit this season; in addition to taking down the Raiders on Monday night in Week 8, they’ve already won twice on Thursdays this season – beating the Chiefs in Week 1 to open the season and defeating these Packers in Green Bay in Week 4.

The Packers, meanwhile, come into this game with a glimmer of hope. They’ve won two of their last three after a 2-5 start. Catching the Lions atop the NFC North may not be a realistic goal, but a win here could re-ignite Green Bay’s wild-card hopes.

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Packers vs. Lions Odds and Game Info

Moneyline: Packers (+285) | Lions (-376)
Spread: Packers +7.5 (-110) | Lions -7.5 (-110)
Total: 46.5 – Over (-125) | Under (+100)
Game Info: Thursday, Nov. 23, 12:30 p.m. ET | FOX

Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown had his fifth TD of the season in last week’s comeback win over Chicago :: Junfu Han/USA TODAY Sports

Packers vs. Lions Key Stats and Fun Facts

• The Lions are 4-1 at home this season.
• Detroit is 37-44-2 on Thanksgiving, 6-17 since 2000.
• The Packers are 14-20-2 on Thanksgiving.
• The Lions have won four straight vs. Green Bay. If they win Thursday, it will be their longest winning streak vs. the Packers since winning 11 straight from 1949-54.

If the Packers, who are 7.5-point underdogs in this game, are to be competitive, they’ll need a good performance from quarterback Jordan Love – and the offensive line needs to protect him. In the Week 4 loss to Detroit, Love threw two interceptions and was sacked five times. He did have a good connection with second-year wideout Romeo Doubs, who caught nine passes for 95 yards against Detroit, his best yardage total of the season. Doubs leads the team with seven TD receptions – he’s scored a TD in four of the last five games.

The offensive star in Detroit’s Week 4 win at Green Bay was running back David Montgomery, who rushed 32 times for 121 yards and three touchdowns. That was before he missed time with an injury and rookie Jahmyr Gibbs has since emerged as a dynamic home-run threat. Now that Montgomery is healthy, the Lions have a powerful two-headed rushing attack. They rank third in the NFL with 16 rushing touchdowns on the season.

As for the Lions’ passing game, quarterback Jared Goff has been famously much better at home than on the road. His favorite target, Amon-Ra St. Brown, is seventh in the NFL with 73 receptions and fifth with 898 yards. Gibbs and rookie tight end Sam LaPorta have been popular targets, and second-year receiver Jameson Williams is starting to get comfortable after missing the first four games of the season due to suspension. Williams hasn’t had more than two receptions in a game, but his 32-yard touchdown last week was his second of the season.

Packers vs. Lions Best Bet: Lions -7.5

The Lions had to come from behind last week against the Bears to wi nby five, but their previous three home games were easy wins -- beating the Falcons, Panthers and Raiders by an average of nearly 15 points. Green Bay is averaging just 17 points per game over its last six, so it’s unlikely the Packers will score enough to cover this line.

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