OK, for the sake of accuracy, the Wayne Fontes-coached Lions beat the Packers 21-17 on December 15, 1991. Wolf was less than three weeks onto the job and only about three weeks away from firing Lindy Infante. Wolf hired Mike Holmgren as coach and acquired Brett Favre for the 1992 season. With Favre throwing two of his three touchdown passes to Sterling Sharpe, Green Bay pummeled Detroit 38-10 at Milwaukee County Stadium on Dec. 6, 1992. Wolf was succeeded as GM by his coach, Mike Sherman, who was succeeded by Wolf disciple Ted Thompson. Through it all, the Packers have won 19 consecutive home games against Detroit.
To make it 20, the Packers will have to handle these three-phase keys to the game.
Offense
The key to this game has to have the big picture in mind. The Lions' secondary is horrible and Aaron Rodgers is 4-for-4 against them in terms of 300-yard games and wins. So, if coach Mike McCarthy wanted to dial up 50 passes, Rodgers likely would have a monster day and the Packers would put up a pile of points.
Of course, the major roadblock standing between the Packers and a legit shot at the Super Bowl is their inept running game. In the two games since Ryan Grant's season-ending ankle injury, the Packers are averaging 77.0 rushing yards and supposed top back Brandon Jackson has 41 yards on 18 rushes.
The Lions' run defense is the worst in the league. If the Packers can't get the running game going this week - with consistency, not runs of 0, 1, 2, 1 and 50 yards - then general manager Ted Thompson is going to have to put more thought into making a trade to land a legit runner.
"Even some to our credit last year, they all count," offensive coordinator Joe Philbin said, "but you hit the right defense and you break a 60-yarder, all of a sudden you think you're a great running team because your average went up exponentially. When if you study the consistency of the run game, it's not that great."
Defense
Rumor has it, the Lions have a big-time quarterback in Matthew Stafford.
That's only a rumor, though. When Detroit visited Green Bay in October last season, the rookie Stafford was sidelined with an injured non-throwing shoulder. Stafford was back in the lineup on Thanksgiving but the shoulder was still sore and he was picked off four times. When the teams meet again on Sunday, Stafford will be out with an injured throwing shoulder.
Combined with the fact that explosive rookie running back Jahvid Best is battling turf toe, and that No. 2 receiver Nate Burleson is out with a sprained ankle, the Packers' defense should be primed for a suffocating performance.
The big challenge for the Packers might not even be matching up on 6-foot-5 receiver Calvin Johnson. Green Bay will be without ace cover linebacker Brandon Chillar (shoulder) and Detroit features two top tight ends in Brandon Pettigrew and Tony Scheffler, who both have 14 receptions.
Special teams
The Packers' special teams, so horrendous the last two seasons, played exceptionally well in the first two games of this season. Then came Monday's debacle at Chicago, where Green Bay was outplayed in every phase.
The Lions' return units don't pack much punch, but kicker Jason Hanson remains a weapon, punter Nick Harris is proficient and the coverage units have been outstanding. Battling to a draw would be good just to get the players' confidence back on track.
"It's the same message that I think I expressed to you guys after Game 1 and after Game 2: Our challenge, and the challenge in the NFL is to play consistently on a week-to-week basis," special teams coordinator Shawn Slocum said. "Particularly on special teams, there are a lot of moving parts, especially with personnel, that affect who's up and down defensively, you have game plans that affect that as well. What we have to do is when we move a new person in, that person needs to step in and play at a high level. I think that's the challenge we'll face from that point on."
Bill Huber is publisher of PackerReport.com and Packer Report Magazine. PackerReport.com is the only all-Packers Web site that publishes stories and features 365 days a year. The 64-page, full-color magazine was founded by Ray Nitschke in 1973 and is published 10 times a year. Click here for subscription information.
