Packers vs. Lions Predictions: NFL Week 12 Free Pick

Perhaps the greatest holiday on North America calendar is creeping closer we are less than 48 hours from the annual NFL Thanksgiving Day football feast.

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A couple of long time NFC North rivals get our pigskin prognosticating underway as we feature the Detroit Lions hosting the Green Bay Packers from the Motor City. This is “Norris” Division action at it’s best!

Packers @ Lions: NFL Game Day Preview

Kickoff, for the first course of the Thanksgiving Day football betting feast, is slated for 12:30 PM ET on Thursday, November 24, 2011, from Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan.

Green Bay (10-0) is simply the class of the National Football League at this point in the season. The Packers have now won 16 straight non-preseason games. Their last defeat was a 31-27 loss to the New England Patriots in Week 15 action in 2010. Green Bay struggled some on defense in Week 10 but still managed to chalk up a 35-26 road win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Detroit (7-3) is enjoying their finest season in more than a decade as they currently hold the top Wild Card playoff position in the NFC. The Lions broke out of a 1-3 skid with a 45-36 comeback win against the Carolina Panthers in Week 10. The victory was record setting as the Cardiac Cats are the first team to win three games, in a single season, after trailing by 17 points or more.

NFL Week 12 Betting Lines: Lions vs. Packers Free Pick Prediction

Super Bowl XLV MVP Aaron Rodgers continues shine for the Packers but Lions QB Matthew Stafford is putting up pretty impressive numbers as well. Rodgers has passed for 3,168 yards, with 31 TD and 4 INT, while Stafford has aired it our for 2,885 yards, with 25 TD and 10 INT.

One glaring difference between these two gunslingers is in completion percentage. Rodgers leads the NFL at 72.3% compared to 61.3% for Stafford. Look for both of them to be sharp in this contest.

Detroit has found a running game, to compliment their potent passing attack, as RB Kevin Smith busted out for 201 total yards, with three TD, against the Panthers 31st ranked run defense.

Green Bay took a hit to their backfield as RB James Starks has a knee bruise, plus a gimpy ankle, and may sit this one out. Ryan Grant and John Kuhn will pick up the slack if Starks can’t go.

Two of the best receivers in the game today, Greg Jennings (knee) of the Packers, and Calvin Johnson (ankle) of the Lions, are both dealing with minor injuries but are expected to play.

While we fully expect that this will be a shootout, we wonder how the young Lions will hold up under the big game pressure that surrounds this contest. Green Bay has “been there, done that” and will be the more poised of these two teams.

As much as we like Packers in this one, we won’t put it past the Lions to keep the game close, and possibly upset the Champs. If we had to, we would take Green Bay SU and the Lions ATS here.

Instead, we are going to sit back and enjoy watching these two teams light up the scoreboard at Ford Field. Don’t let the 7-3 final score from Week 14 concern you.

Detroit knocked Rodgers out of that contest late in the second quarter, while the Lions were lead by Drew Stanton under center. Neither team was rolling like they have been since that contest.

In their last 13 games, Green Bay has averaged 35 points scored per game. Over that same time frame, Detroit has put up an average of 29 points per game. We expect this contest to reach the 70 plus point range – making the OVER a sports wagering Thanksgiving Day gift!

>>> Take DET vs. GB OVER with the 56 Point Game Total at JustBet <<<