The Lions may have lost their last 8 Thanksgiving day games, but there is hope. You wanna know why? Besides the fact that Joey Harrington isn’t on the team anymore, there is actually talent.
If it wasn’t for the 82 penalty yards, we might be talking about the Lions possibly winning the NFC North. But sadly, were not, and probably won’t until next year.
Detroit gave GB a run for their money, but in the end lack of maturity decided the game. Matthew Stafford lacked consistency once again, throwing 3 more interceptions. In his last 3 games, Matthew has thrown a 9 picks. Other then a pretty decent 4th quarter, Stafford was useless this afternoon, although he did throw his 10th, 200+ yard game. Whether its the finger or decision making, we may never know what his deal is.
Maurice Morris filled in for the injured Kevin Smith late in the first quarter and did presumably well in doing so. Morris got 7 touches on the ground, good enough for 39 yards. But that wasn’t his biggest threat in the game, Maurice also accumulated 9 passes for 81 yards.
Ndamukong Suh played the role of the “Villain” one more time and may pay the consequences as all Villains do. After recording just one tackle, Suh recorded his first ejection of his NFL career after stomping on Packers lineman Evan Dietrich-Smith. Number 90 was later apologetic after the game stating, “I would like to apologize to my teammates and my fans and my coaches for putting myself in a position to be misinterpreted and taken out of the game”. Ndamukong earlier met with commissioner Roger Goodell about his actions and will likely be talking to him again after his behavior vs. the Pack.
Kevin Smith showed that last week was no fluke, well up until he was injured and replaced by Maurice Morris. Smith rushed for 36 yards on 7 carries and even reeled in 3 catches for 21 yards. Kevin was sidelined in the 1st quarter due to a high ankle sprain. Smith hopes his latest injury will not be a setback, ”We’ll have to evaluate and do tests but in my mind, I’ll be fine,” He told NFL Network’s Albert Breer after the game. Detroit is also down to just two healthy cornerbacks after safety Delmas and cornerbacks Houston and McDonald suffered knee injuries and did not return to the game.
The Discount Double Check guy did it again, throwing for 307 yards as he continues his quest for another belt. Frankly, I don’t think anyone can stop him at this point. Not with him throwing for 300 yards every week and with the refs favoring him on every damn play. It’s just not going to happen with the officiating, it’s like the refs are secretly wearing Rodgers jersey’s underneath their uniforms. They constantly baby him, it never stops. Every time a defensive player makes contact with him they throw a 15-yard penalty flag. I’m just about sick of it.
In addition to bringing home the Gobbler Gobble award, Aaron Rodgers made history. He became the 3rd player, behind Peyton Manning (13) & Johnny Unitas (12), to go 11 straight games with 2+ Pass TD, 3rd-longest streak ever to start a season.
Next week will not be any easier, as the 7-4 Lions will head to New Orleans to face the 7-4 Saints in a critical NFC match-up.
