Arizona Cardinals

Green Bay Packers: Will They Cap Off 2016 Comeback?

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 12:52 p.m. ET

Fansided, Russell S. Baxter/FanSided via NFL Spin Zone

Winners of five-straight games, the Green Bay Packers can complete an epic comeback and win the NFC North by beating the Detroit Lions in Week 17.

Following a fourth-straight loss back in November, the Green Bay Packers fell to 4-6. The team was headed in the wrong direction when it came to making an eighth consecutive playoff appearance. Over that stretch, quarterback Aaron Rodgers was under siege. His team was busy giving up at least 31 points in each of those four setbacks.

Now, five-straight wins later and following back-to-back losses by the Detroit Lions over the past two weeks, Mike McCarthy’s team arrives in the Motor City looking to win the NFC North for the fifth time in six years. And led by the red-hot Rodgers, many feel the Packers are primed to get the job done despite facing a Lions team that has won six-straight games at Ford Field.

Don’t get it twisted. The Green Bay defense doesn’t offer a lot in confidence when it comes to this matchup. Green Bay is giving up its share of points and has allowed 30 touchdown passes in 15 games. It’s easy to see Matthew Stafford exploiting this unit.

More from NFL Spin Zone

But Rodgers was hot even before the team turned around its own fortunes. In his last 10 games alone, he’s thrown for 26 scores and picked off only three times. He takes aim at Jim Caldwell’s club, which has allowed 29 passing scores in 2016.

Given the state of the Detroit secondary and the roll that Rodgers and the Green Bay offense is currently on, Caldwell’s team would appear to be in a bit of trouble. But you could argue that these Lions are the league’s most resilient team in 2016.

They have certainly had their share of fourth-quarter heroics from Stafford, who has gotten help from wide receivers Golden Tate and ageless Anquan Boldin. And against the Packers, it would be an ideal time for the eight-year pro to wield his magic once again. After all, their losses in Weeks 15 and 16 came against two playoff teams, the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys, respectively.

They will more than roar just a bit as they look to wrap up a division title for the first time since 1993. But in the end, the Packers will grab that NFC North gold, completing one of the more impressive comebacks and turnarounds in recent memory.