DETROIT – The injury-plagued Green Bay Packers (4-6) will battle the NFC North-leading Detroit Lions (8-2) on Thursday at Ford Field. Follow along all day for updates.
The Big Story
The big story this week was that rookie tight end Luke Musgrave suffered an injured kidney, was hospitalized and then placed on injured reserve.
So, rather than Musgrave vs. Detroit’s Sam LaPorta in a matchup of premier rookie tight ends, it will be LaPorta against another rookie tight end, third-round pick Tucker Kraft.
While Musgrave was practically a starter from the moment he set foot in the locker room for the first time, it’s been a slog for Kraft. In his first four games, he played 13, two, 10 and 13 snaps. The last six games, he’s averaged 27.8 snaps with three games of 30-plus.
A small-school stud from South Dakota State, Kraft has blocked well and finally showed off his run-after-catch ability with a 27-yard catch. It was almost a 39-yard touchdown but he stepped out of bounds after hurdling a Chargers defender.
“It was awesome seeing him do that,” offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said. “He looked super-explosive on the sidelines. Made a really good play. Would have been awesome if he could’ve kept his foot in bounds right there. Every week, he’s just been getting better and better and better as he’s gotten more playing time with more opportunities. It’s going to be really cool to see him just take the reins and be the guy.”
Green Bay’s tight end corps might be the youngest in NFL history. With the rookie Musgrave out and fourth-year pro Josiah Deguara likely to be inactive with a hip injury, the Packers will line up with Kraft, undrafted rookie Ben Sims, who was claimed off waivers from the Vikings after final roster cuts, and undrafted rookie Henry Pearson.
Kraft has caught 5-of-7 targets for 43 yards, Sims has caught both targets for 14 yards and Pearson was elevated from the practice squad and will make his NFL debut.
LaPorta, meanwhile, ranks second among rookie tight ends and fifth among all tight ends with 50 catches, which he’s turned into 492 yards and four touchdowns. In Round 1 vs. Green Bay, he caught 4-of-5 targets for 56 yards.
The Big Matchup
Enjoy our Big Matchup story featuring Packers rookie receiver Jayden Reed vs. Lions rookie slot Brian Branch. In a trade with Green Bay, the Lions moved up in the second round to select Branch. A few picks later, the Packers grabbed “war daddy” Reed.
What’s a war daddy? And what is Reed thankful for on this Thanksgiving? Check out our pregame feature.
Related: Big Matchup: ‘War Daddy’ Jayden Reed vs. Brian Branch
The Big Key
The Packers were crushed by the Lions in Week 4. Why? A lot of reasons, but let’s start with Green Bay’s offense, which was 3-of-11 for a season-low 27.3 percent on third down. Why was it so bad? Because the average third down required 10.4 yards to convert.
“Their defense is very physical,” offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said. “They’re an excellent unit. They play extremely hard. Their front is good, big, fast. They’ve got a lot of good tools.
“For us, I think one thing that we didn’t do a good job of on the first game is we got off-schedule a lot. We had a lot of long-yardage situations. We weren’t productive on first and second down, so we couldn’t be in those third-and-manageable situations. We definitely need to stay on track and make sure our offense is efficient. It’s going to be a tough task running the ball. These guys are pretty stout against the run, so we’ve just got to stick with it and just make sure that we stay on schedule and put ourselves in good third-and-manageable positions.”
The last three weeks, Green Bay has the best third-down offense in the NFL.
Vitals: Packers (4-6) at Lions (8-2)
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
Betting line: The line has moved from Lions by 7.5 to Lions by 8.5 at SI Sportsbook.
For over/unders, it’s 253.5 passing yards for Jared Goff and 231.5 for Jordan Love. The favorites to score the first touchdown are David Montgomery, Jahmyr Gibbs, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Sam LaPorta.
Related: Three Reasons Why Packers Will Lose at Lions on Thanksgiving
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