The first time the Detroit Lions faced the Green Bay Packers was back in Week 9. Those Lions were 1-6, owners of the worst record in the league. Coming off a collapse against the Miami Dolphins and searching for anything positive, it was a dark time to face the Packers in Ford Field.
The Lions rose up and prevailed, of course. That first Packers game was the catalyst for Detroit’s epic turnaround from the poor start to the season. Detroit won 15-9, kicking off a run to 8-8 and a potential winning season on the line in the Week 18 rematch.
These Lions are a very different team than the one that prevailed in Week 9. Of course, the Packers are too; the first matchup dropped their record to 3-6 and they’ve risen to 8-8 as well. That’s why Sunday night’s matchup figures to be a big challenge for Dan Campbell’s resurgent team.
Here are a few of the significant measuring sticks for the Lions from before and after the first Packers game.
Scoring defense
The season-long scoring defense total isn’t very impressive for the Lions. Detroit ranks 29th in points per game allowed at 25.7. But the Packers game was a definite demarcation point.
In the first seven games, the Lions surrendered an average of 32.1 points per game. Detroit didn’t give up less than 24 in any game.
The nine points they held the Packers to remains the lowest total the Lions have allowed. In the nine games since the 1-6 start, the Lions have allowed just 20.7 points per game. That figure would tie the Lions with the Broncos for 10th over the course of a full season.
Sacks
One big reason the scoring defense got better was the pass rush. Detroit bagged 12 sacks in the first seven games. Adding in dynamic rookie James Houston and the return of healthy linemen John Cominsky and Josh Paschal spiked the sack production.
The Lions have 25 sacks in the last nine games. As with the scoring defense soaring up the charts from the bottom, Detroit’s sack production starting in Week 9 would rank in the top 10 if the average played out over the full season. The 2.8 sacks per game in the last nine would tie the New York Jets average for the season, ranking seventh.
Turnovers
Here’s one where the Lions offense and defense have worked in tandem to get a lot better.
After the Week 8 loss to the Dolphins, Detroit had a turnover ratio of -5. Only the Colts had a worse ratio at that time. The Lions had 11 offensive giveaways and six takeaways on defense in the first seven games.
Both units have improved immensely.
The Lions are +11 in turnover margin in the last nine games. Detroit’s offense has just four giveaways in those nine games, the lowest total in the league. On defense, the 14 takeaways since Week 8, a surge they jumpstarted by creating three takeaways in the first matchup with Green Bay.
