NFL Week 5 Picks: Green Bay Packers Vs. Detroit Lions Provides Odds That Have Experts In Agreement


Fans are making their NFL Week 5 picks, and thus far, most of the money is backing the Green Bay Packers in their Sunday game against the Detroit Lions. The vast majority of NFL experts who have given their Week 5 picks for the Lions and Packers game are also predicting Green Bay to beat Detroit. On Sunday, the 2-1-1 Green Bay Packers will hit the road to Ford Field to face the 1-3 Detroit Lions in an AFC North rivalry meeting. The NFL action airs live on Fox at 1 p.m. EST.

If you’re looking to live stream the Packers and Lions game, FuboTV and DirecTV Now will be streaming Sunday’s NFL games, and they both offer a free trial for new users. Sling TV and Hulu Live TV also offer live streaming of NFL games. For those looking for the audio stream, XM Streaming 810 has the Lions feed and XM Streaming 811 has the Packers feed.

The last time these two teams met was in December of 2017, and the Lions convincingly beat the Packers 35-11. Green Bay and Detroit have played each other a whopping 177 times in NFL history, and including just two postseason games, the Packers lead the Lions 100-70-7.

Rodgers & Green Bay Defense On The Rise

Aaron Rodgers might be performing subpar compared to a healthy Rodgers, but the signal caller is still managing to put up some impressive numbers, despite his nagging knee injury. In Week 4, the Packers toppled the Buffalo Bills 22-0 in a blowout victory, and Aaron was a bit more mobile than what we saw of him in the previous weeks. While that blowout victory may be against the 1-3 Bills, the Packers are facing another struggling team on Sunday, and a quarterback that Rodgers is very familiar with.

Aaron Rodgers completed 22 of his 40 pass attempts against Buffalo, securing one touchdown and his first interception of the season. Davante Adams logged eight receptions for 81 yards, and Jimmy Graham had three receptions for 21 yards and one touchdown. Aaron Jones led the ground report with 11 carries for 65 yards and one touchdown. Kicker Mason Crosby was three for three, putting up a total of 10 points on the scoreboard.

While a 22-0 victory is nothing to scoff at, it wasn’t a game that Rodgers was happy with. It appears there may have been a rift between Aaron and head coach Mike McCarthy following that blowout meeting, but that tension has reportedly subsided. Recently, the veteran quarterback spoke about the Bills game and what we can expect from Green Bay moving forward, as Packers website reported.

“The numbers might have looked good – 420 yards, 50 percent-plus on third down – the execution wasn’t where it needs to be. I’m always going to hold myself and this offense to a higher standard. I’ve gotta play better, and we’ve gotta play better. Last week was unacceptable. Put the ball on the ground too many times, threw an interception. We’ve gotta play better.”

The quarterback also said that he plans on moving around more in the Lions game, like he did in the Buffalo meeting, allowing the Packers to be more of threat in their run-pass game. In other words, with each passing week, Rodgers is getting back to his old, phenomenal self. For the season, even playing injured, the Green Bay signal caller is completing 63.5 percent of his pass attempts for 1,130 yards, seven touchdowns, and one interception.

The Packers’ defense clearly did their job in Week 4, but they have allowed their opponents to rush for an average of 108 yards and pass for 242 yards per game this NFL season. Though if last week is a taste of things to come, with some new weapons joining the team this season, then the Green Bay D will be a formidable team to contend with in the upcoming weeks. In Week 4, Blake Martinez led the defense with 10 tackles and one sack. Kyler Fackrell managed an impressive three sacks, and Reggie Gilbert also got a sack. NFL rookie cornerbacks Joshua Jackson and Jaire Alexander made their presence known, each finding an interception.

Lions Defense May Not Contain Green Bay’s Offense

The Detroit Lions beat Green Bay in both of their games last season, though that was with Brett Hundley playing signal caller for the Packers in both games. The Lions are once again a mystery this year, as they stunningly beat the Patriots 26-10 in Week 3, but their other NFL matchups brought them losses. Aside from their 48-17 loss to the Jets in their opening week, Detroit has managed to put points on the scoreboard, but their defense is porous at best.

In Week 4, the Lions lost to the Cowboys 26-24. Matthew Stafford completed 24 of his 30 passes for 307 yards, two touchdowns, and zero interceptions. Golden Tate led the receivers with eight receptions for 132 yards and two touchdowns. Kerryon Johnson led the ground report with nine carries for 55 yards and one touchdown.

On the other side of the ball, the Lions’ defensive line did little to nothing to contain Ezekiel Elliott, who logged 25 carries for 152 yards and four receptions for 88 yards and touchdown. Per his usual this NFL season, Da’Shawn Hand did his part, but that’s simply not enough for the Detroit D to be a threat. Aside from their showing in the Patriots meeting, like their offense, the Lions’ defense has not been able to get the job done. For the NFL season, the Lions have allowed 157.8 rushing yards per game on average and 198 in the air. This could all spell trouble for Detroit on Sunday.

NFL Week 5 Picks & Odds For Detroit Lions vs. Green Bay Packers

As of the time of this writing, Green Bay is favored to beat Detroit by -1.5, and most NFL pundits feel that the Packers will win in convincing fashion on Sunday. While the Lions have enough talent on the field, they have not executed consistently enough for most experts to back them. Though the Packers’ offense may need some improving, which we’ll likely see in Week 5, the rise of their defense may be too much for the Lions’ offense to handle. Aside from a huge upset victory, the Lions haven’t executed on either side of the ball, at least, to get them some much needed wins.

To keep up with who is starting and who is out closer to Sunday’s game, you can follow the link in the tweet below.

By a very large margin, the majority of expert NFL Week 5 picks suggest eating the small chalk and backing the Green Bay Packers to beat the Detroit Lions.

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