NFL flexes Packers-Lions Week 17 matchup to ‘Sunday Night Football’

Before the season, I picked the Packers to beat the Steelers in Super Bowl LI.

The visiting team is 8-2 ATS in its last 10 games in this matchup. But the 49ers are bad and almost double-digit underdogs so it’s likely Green Bay would be the No. 4 with a victory and open the playoffs on wild-card weekend at home against the Giants. And although he claims he never felt slowed by the knee once he was medically cleared, coach Mike McCarthy said it’s only natural that it takes time for a player to get re-acclimated after a serious injury. Both teams are suffering from a number of nagging injuries. Five wins and no losses later, they are in a prime position to do just that. The losing team could miss the playoffs. Momentum and confidence are critical factors when the pressure ramps up.

Already locked into the No. 1 seed on the NFC side of the ledger, all eyes were on how Jason Garrett would handle the final two weeks of the regular season when it came to his star players. Stafford was sacked four times and hit five other times by the Dallas Cowboys in the Lions’ 42-21 loss on Monday night. The Packers raced out to a huge 31-3 lead behind four Aaron Rodgers touchdown passes, before rallying to make it a respectable 34-27 final. Whether it is Detroit or Green Bay in this spot, they will be 9-7.

Lions DT A’Shawn Robinson drew a questionable flag for tackling Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott too hard on Monday night, a small mark against an otherwise strong game for the rookie.

Thus, this is a revenge game of sorts for rookie quarterback Carson Wentz and first-year head coach Doug Pederson, who will use their personnel to beat the Cowboys and cover at sports betting sites. Prescott has had a terrific season, but playoff pressure is different. Green Bay’s rush offense is ranked 20th in the league, but the Packers are ninth in yards-per-rush.

It these two atrocious losses that have Lions facing a tough task the last two weeks of the season. The Patriots might experience a similar problem without Rob Gronkowski this year. Pick up a stop there and there’s a good chance Lions tie up the game. However, only two of those – the NFC North and NFC Wild Card – are being fought over by teams that have yet to clinch a playoff spot. Rodgers knows how to win big games like this, while Stafford doesn’t. The Packer have, however, listed RB James Starks (concussion protocol), WR Randall Cobb (ankle), C J.C Tretter (knee), CB Ladarius Gunter (elbow) and LB Jayrone Elliott (hand) all questionable. In fact, based on their ELO rating, which is not as heavily weighted for recent performance, 538 has the game as a virtual coin flip – Detroit’s chances of winning are 51%, while the Packers sit at 49%.

“It’s one of those things where it might help some, but usually, those veteran guys are pretty well-seasoned anyway and not much flusters them”, Packers wide receiver Jordy Nelson said. The Packers are taking on the Lions and both team’s entire season rest in this one contest.