• RB Josh Jacobs, Inexperienced Bay Packers — over 90 speeding and receiving yards: Jacobs’ profile has solely risen because the Packers returned from their Week 10 bye. Over the previous three weeks, Jacobs lays declare to the place’s highest general grade (90.4), with 29 missed tackles compelled — tied for essentially the most amongst backs over that span.
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Estimated Studying Time: 3 minutes
Sport Overview
The Week 14 slate of NFL video games begins with a heavyweight battle within the NFC North, between the present No. 1 seed within the NFC, the Detroit Lions, and the present holders of the NFC’s second wild-card slot, the Inexperienced Bay Packers.
These bitter rivals final met in Week 9, with the Lions claiming a 10-point victory — and masking as 2.5-point street favorites — in a sport that wasn’t practically as shut because the rating signifies. As soon as the Lions began rolling, that matchup was out of attain for Inexperienced Bay, which didn’t rating a landing for greater than 46 minutes of sport time, slicing into an 18-point lead with lower than 4 minutes to play.
Stout protection, highlighted by Kerby Joseph‘s pick-six and a key red-zone fourth-down cease, led the way in which for Detroit’s rout of the Packers in moist taking part in circumstances in Inexperienced Bay. That shut down the narrative brewing on the time that the Lions would collapse within the climate, having performed all of their matchups in domes (the superior setting for soccer).
Whereas the Lions nonetheless maintain a top-three cowl charge (75%, 9-3 towards the unfold) within the NFL, the previous month has resulted in some nearer matchups than bettors might have anticipated. In November, Detroit notched a 3-2 document towards the unfold, marking its first failed cowl since Week 2.
Nevertheless, the Packers have fared worse in betting markets, and regardless of masking their previous two matchups, they maintain only a 2-4 against-the-spread document since Week 7 — a far cry from the 4-2 mark they posted to begin the 12 months. And to additional complicate issues, the Packers’ present two-game cowl streak comes partially on account of the 49ers being with out their beginning quarterback and the Dolphins’ incapability to acclimate to winter climate.
Inexperienced Bay must take care of the league’s top-scoring offense on its residence turf (35.2 factors per sport at Ford Subject) whereas additionally making an attempt to crack the third-ranked protection in EPA per play allowed. It is an uphill battle, to say the least.
Regardless of some stumbles in betting markets, the NFC North profiles as maybe the NFL’s strongest division, with each of those groups holding excessive marks among the many league’s greatest within the energy rankings.
RB Josh Jacobs, Inexperienced Bay Packers: Over 90 Speeding & Receiving Yards (-120)
Jacobs has been one of many extra constant and environment friendly producers on the place this season, holding top-five PFF grades as a runner (90.3) and a receiver (81.7), a credit score to his marked enchancment as a goal out of the backfield. That enhance within the passing sport has allowed Jacobs to generate 90 or extra mixed speeding and receiving yards in 10 of his 12 matchups. He has surpassed this line in his previous six outings, together with the final time these groups met, when he racked up 108 whole yards.
That profile has solely risen because the Packers returned from their Week 10 bye. Over the previous three weeks, Jacobs lays declare to the place’s highest general grade (90.4) whereas amassing 29 missed tackles compelled — tied for essentially the most amongst backs over that span.
Whereas the Lions keep a top-10 protection in EPA per rush allowed, they might need to contend with out a number of key contributors within the front-seven who have been current for the final matchup, together with edge defender Josh Paschal (knee), inside defender D.J. Reader (shoulder), inside defender Levi Onwuzurike (hamstring) and linebacker Alex Anzalone (out for the 12 months).
