Pick-six preview: Lions at Packers
Detroit Lions (2-1-1) at Green Bay Packers (4-1)
The vitals: Monday, 7:15 p.m., Lambeau Field
TV: ESPN (Joe Tessitore, Booger McFarland, Lisa Salters)
Series: The Packers lead 98-72-7 but the Lions have won the last four games for the first time since sweeping the season series in 1982 and 1983.
The last time: The Lions knocked out Aaron Rodgers in the first quarter and routed DeShone Kizer and the Packers 31-0 in the final game of last season.
The quarterback
Matthew Stafford has put up great numbers throughout his career. He enters the game with 39,648 passing yards. He needs 352 yards to reach 40,000 for his career. This will be Stafford’s 146th career game. The fastest to 40,000 was Matt Ryan, who needed 151 games. Stafford has thrown 34 touchdown passes at Lambeau Field, tied with Johnny Unitas for the most by a visitor. During the Lions’ four-game winning streak against the Packers, he’s averaged 283.3 passing yards while tossing nine touchdowns vs. zero interceptions for a 122.0 passer rating.
“Great quarterback. He can make all the throws and he has a big arm,” Packers safety Adrian Amos said. “Playing him over the years, I want to say he’s one of those top guys in the league. We’ve got to make him uncomfortable. Just like all quarterbacks, you can’t make it easier on him. Hopefully, we get some pressure on him and we can lock up on the back end.”
His top weapon
The Lions offer a diversified attack but Kenny Golladay is first on the team with 19 receptions, second with 243 yards and first with four of Stafford’s nine touchdowns. Of his receptions, 16 have resulted in first downs – that 84.2 percent first-down rate ranking third among all players with at least 15 catches. Last year, when he caught 70 passes for 1,063 yards and five touchdowns, his 80.0 percent was second. In two career games against Green Bay, Golladay (6-4, 214) has caught six passes for 178 yards and two touchdowns.
Getting defensive
Few cornerbacks are around the ball as much as Darius Slay.
Slay missed the Week 4 game against Kansas City with a hamstring injury. Following a Week 5, he was back on the practice field on Wednesday.
Since entering the NFL in 2013, he has 94 passes defensed – seven more than any other player. Since becoming a starter in 2014, Slay’s 18 interceptions are the second-most in the league. Nine of those have come in the fourth quarter – tied for the most in the league during that span. He does star coverage – meaning he’ll follow the top receiver. Thus, if Davante Adams is back in the lineup, he’ll be matching wits with Slay.
Noteworthy number
55.7: The winning percentage since 2005 of teams coming off their bye week, a surprisingly low number. Detroit, which is coming off its bye, is 9-5. Next week’s opponent, the Oakland Raiders, also will be coming off their bye.
The big picture
