The Packers return to Detroit years after the upset launched them into the playoffs

On By Littum

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GREEN BAY – Cell phones were the only reminder that this was game day in the NFL like that Green Bay Packers opened their locker room on Sunday. Players returned from the showers to suit up and games around the league played on their phones.

They had just stepped off the training ground as Minnesota Vikings did what they have done most of this season and hit Arizona Cardinals with a single point in a game where they did not play well. With no opponent this Sunday, Packers players watched the Vikings become the second NFC North team to reach 10 wins.

The Packers hope to be the third when they travel to Detroit Lionsat the moment at the top of the division standings at 11-1. It’s an opportunity to continue what started almost exactly a year ago when they traveled to Detroit on Thanksgiving and left with an upset win that served as a springboard for everything that followed.

“I think last year, we knew what type of team we had,” quarterback Jordan Love said. “Obviously we hadn’t played our best yet and had lost some close games. But to be able to go in there, obviously a hostile environment, to a team we’d already lost to – a really good team too – gave us all the probably some confidence going forward.”

A year ago, the Packers were the type of team full of potential, but they needed a breakout performance to bolster their expectations. They came into Detroit with a 4-6 record on the fringes of the playoffs. “It feels like we were all fighting for our lives,” center Josh Myers said. “Crazy, the difference a year will make.” At 9-3 this season, the Packers have matched their regular season win total from 2023.

It’s possible the Packers still arrive here among the NFC’s top teams in Love’s second season as a starter, minus their 29-22 win in Detroit last season. But every run needs a starting point. A week after Detroit, the Packers beat the Kansas City Chiefs inside Lambeau Field. They finished the season with 3 points, failing to appear in the NFC Championship.

They are now a surprise to no one.

“I don’t think too many guys on this team are surprised that we’re here,” Myers said. “I think we knew what kind of team we had and it was just a matter of executing it. Going out and doing it. We’re starting to execute better and at a higher level than we previously were.”

In four of the NFL’s other seven divisions, the Packers’ nine wins would place them at the top of the standings. (The exceptions are the AFC West, where the Chiefs lead with an 11-1 record; the AFC East, where the Bills are 10-2; and the NFC East, where the Eagles are 10-2.) They would have two. -game lead in NFC West, three game lead in NFC South. But this is the stacked NFC North, which features three teams with at least nine wins through the first 13 weeks for the first time since the 1970 NFL merger.

The Packers instead enter Ford Field on Thursday ranked third in their division. Securing one of the NFC’s seven playoff spots seems inevitable. The question is whether they can keep up with a potential division title. A win on Thursday will keep them in the hunt.

A loss might as well eliminate their NFC North hopes.

“I guess it’s just a tribute to the toughness of the North,” tight end Tucker Kraft said. “Teams in the Nordics, I guess we just play hard football. We try to win our division, get the first round bye.”

The Vikings held serve on Sunday. The Packers and Lions will look to continue their own momentum in three days.

No one is fighting for their lives – life is good in the NFC penthouse – but for the second year in a row, there will be plenty at stake in Detroit.

“Momentum definitely plays a big factor,” Love said. “We’re on a bit of a streak, so we want to continue that. There’s definitely some good vibes around the locker room right now. Whether we’re on a losing streak or a winning streak, we know what type of game this is. It’s an NFC North game and we’re 1-2 in the NFC North right now, so we’ve got some catching up to do. So we’re ready to go.”