Packers-Lions on Thanksgiving: TV Channel, Streaming, Betting, Stats, Insight

The Green Bay Packers (4-6) on Thursday will play their first Thanksgiving game at the Detroit Lions (8-2) in a decade. Here’s what you need to know.
Packers-Lions on Thanksgiving: TV Channel, Streaming, Betting, Stats, Insight
Packers-Lions on Thanksgiving: TV Channel, Streaming, Betting, Stats, Insight /
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GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers will visit the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving. Will the Packers devour the Lions or will they play like turkeys?

Here’s everything you need to know about the NFC North rivalry game including TV, streaming, betting and more.

How to Watch Packers vs. Lions

Date and time: 11:30 a.m. Thursday.

Location: Ford Field.

TV: Fox (Kevin Burkhardt, Greg Olsen, Erin Andrews and Tim Rinaldi).

Stream: fuboTV offers more than 100 channels and a free trial.

Radio: Packers Radio Network (Wayne Larrivee and Larry McCarren), Westwood One (JP Shadrick and Derek Rackley) and SiriusXM 82, 225 or SiriusXM.us/PackersSXM

What You Need to Know About Packers vs. Lions

Referee: TBA.

Betting line: Lions by 7.5 at FanDuel Sportsbook. The total has moved from 45.5 to 46.5.

History lesson: While the tables have turned a bit, the Packers have dominated the series. They are 103-76-7 in the regular season – their most wins against any team – and 2-0 in the playoffs. Green Bay’s five-game winning streak in the series has turned into a four-game winning streak by Detroit. The Lions won 34-20 at Lambeau Field in Week 4.

On Thanksgiving, Green Bay is 14-20-2, including 8-12-1 vs. the Lions. Detroit is 44-37-2 on Thanksgiving. The last time these teams met on Thanksgiving, Aaron Rodgers was out with a broken collarbone and the Matt Flynn-led Packers were trounced 40-10.

“Obviously we’ve got one of the best teams in the NFL going into their building on Thanksgiving, and that’s a special opportunity to be able to play on Thanksgiving Day,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said.

Coaches: Green Bay’s Matt LaFleur is in his fifth season and has a career record of 51-25. He is 5-4 against the Lions. Detroit’s Dan Campbell is in his third season with the Lions. He is 20-23-1 in Detroit and 25-30-1 overall, which includes a 12-game stint with the Dolphins in 2015. He is 4-1 against Green Bay.

In the rankings: Green Bay on offense ranks 20th in points per game (20.2), 18th in passing per play (6.38) and 19th in rushing per play (4.05). On defense, it ranks 10th in points per game (20.2), 10th in passing per play (6.17) and 24th in rushing per play (4.35). It is 21st in turnovers (minus-3) and 17th in yardage differential (minus-8.3).

Detroit on offense ranks sixth in points per game (27.2), sixth in passing per play (7.29) and fifth in rushing per play (4.60). On defense, it ranks 22nd in points per game (22.9), 17th in passing per play (6.50) and sixth in rushing per play (3.76). It is 17th in turnovers (minus-2) and fourth in yardage differential (plus-86.4).

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In the power rankings: At Sports Illustrated, the Packers are 17th and the Lions are fourth.

Four-Point Stance

One: The Lions are an offensive powerhouse. They enter the game ranked second in yards per game, fourth in yards per play, fifth in passing per game and fifth in rushing per game. The Lions and Dolphins are the only teams in the top five in rushing and passing. Their 272 points are the fifth-most through 10 games in franchise history. The Lions have scored 14 touchdowns of 20-plus yards this season, tied with Miami for No. 1 in the league.

Two: The combination of quarterback Jared Goff and receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown is as strong as it is underrated. Goff leads an explosive attack, ranking third with 42 completions of 20-plus yards and 10 touchdown passes of 20-plus yards. Goff’s thrown at least one touchdown pass in 18 consecutive home games, the second-longest streak in the league. While he threw three interceptions last week, he had a 383-pass streak without an interception spanning the 2022 and 2023 seasons, third-longest in NFL history.

St. Brown is No. 1 in the league this season with six 100-yard games. His 8.1 catches per game trails only the Chargers’ Keenan Allen’s 8.3. St. Brown has played 42 career games; his 269 receptions are third-most in NFL history at that juncture.

Three: Among rookie tight ends, Detroit’s Sam LaPorta is second with 50 receptions and first with 492 yards and four touchdowns. Green Bay’s Luke Musgrave is third with 33 receptions for 341 yards.

In the second round, the Lions traded up in a deal with the Packers to grab defensive back Brian Branch. He leads the team with seven tackles for losses and is third with five passes defensed. Five picks later, the Packers selected Jayden Reed, who among rookie receivers is eighth with 32 catches, sixth with 463 yards and third with four touchdowns.

Four: According to the Lions’ pregame media release, Ford Field vendors will dish up 1,800 turkey legs, 4,100 pounds of turkey, 3,200 pounds of mashed potatoes, 3,200 pounds of stuffing, 110 gallons of gravy and 3,700 slices of pie.

If you don’t like turkey-and-fixings, you can also find Green Bay Loaded Fries and a Packers Dog (Polish sausage with sauerkraut, spicy mustard and crispy potato sticks).

More Green Bay Packers News

Packers-Lions Monday injury report

Packers bring back two running backs

Packers in NFL draft order, NFC playoff standings

Comparing Rodgers and Love through 10 starts


Published
Bill Huber
BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.