clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Lions-Packers Preview: Green Bay looks to rebound, continue home dominance of Lions

After back-to-back losses, Green Bay is looking to get back in the win column against a Detroit team that hasn't won on Wisconsin soil since 1991.

If you buy something from an SB Nation link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.

Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

Editor's Note: Double your money in our week 10 fantasy football league on FanDuel this Sunday. Refunds for all losing teams! Join now.

A home game against the lowly Lions could be just what the doctor ordered for a Packers team who hasn't won in nearly a month. After facing undefeated teams on the road in consecutive weeks, the Packers return to Lambeau Field to face a one-win Lions squad that is in total free-fall. There is no doubt Green Bay needs to find their rhythm as a team, and going against the worst scoring defense in the league (30.6 ppg) should certainly help.

While the Packers have had their share of issues on both sides of the ball, there is little doubt this team will only go as far as the offense can take them. That does not bode well if you look at their last two performances. Aaron Rodgers has said himself the offense has been lacking confidence. Combine the unstable passing attack with an absent running game, and this offense is experiencing struggles they have never seen under Rodgers' command.

In an attempt to jump start the idle offense, head coach Mike McCarthy has made a change in the backfield. Eddie Lacy has found himself on the injury report with a groin injury suffered in Carolina and is listed as questionable for Sunday. James Starks will now see the majority of carries in the offense, and the move may not even be in part to Lacy's injury. He has been struggling for the majority of the season (3.7 yards per carry) and is on pace for just over 600 rushing yards this season, about half of what he has totaled in each of his first two seasons. Starks has excelled in a relief role and is certainly deserving of more action, but the struggles for Lacy are concerning since McCarthy prefers a two-man rushing attack.

Another big reason for the offensive inefficiency is their habit of going three-and-out. In fact, Green Bay has the highest percentage of drives ending without a first down in the league at 40 percent. That one stat is the biggest indicator that this offense simply has no rhythm or confidence. In the last two weeks especially, they routinely found themselves in second or third-and-long situations and were consistently unable to dig themselves out of the hole. Since Rodgers has taken over the offense, they have never been in the bottom half of the league in three-and-out percentage.

As I mentioned before, all of these issues could, and should, start to be resolved against a defense that has struggled to stop anybody this year. The Packers have faced two of the best defenses around in the last two weeks, both on the road, so some of the concerns could be overblown. Real panic will set in if the trend continues against the Lions at home.