Green Bay Packers host Lions on New Years Day

The Green Bay Packers face the Detroit Lions in the season finale this Sunday.  The deal with this game is that the Packers have nothing to play for while the Lions do have something to play for.

The Packers have home field advantage wrapped up for the playoffs so this game means nothing for them.  The Lions on the other hand are fighting for seeding in the playoffs.  If the Lions win they will get the five seed which matches them up against either the Giants or Cowboys, if they lose however they will have to face either the Saints or 49ers.

So clearly the Lions will be playing to win but Mike McCarthy has yet to say if his starters will play and how long they will play.  So trying to predict this game is very difficult.

If the Packers play their starters the whole game I believe that the Packers will win this one again just like they did on Thanksgiving.  But I don’t see the starters playing the whole game.

For the sole reason the Packers have nothing to play for, I think they will rest their starters after half and because of this the Lions will win the game.  It just comes down to the simple matter that this game means nothing for the Packers and it means something for the Lions.

So I’m just guessing here but I think McCarthy keeps his starters in for the first half and the Packers take a lead into halftime.  Satisfied with their performance, McCarthy puts the second squad in while Detroit keeps their starters in.  Detroit takes the lead in the second half and then gets the win.

What you can expect from this game is a lot of passing yards.  Both teams are heavy passing offenses and have strong quarterbacks to lead the way.   The defense evens out with the Lions giving up more rushing yards per game but the Packers give up more passing yards per game.

So while this game will depend on how long starters are played, what you can expect is some highflying offenses going toe-to-toe as both teams look to stay in form before the playoffs.