Monday Night Football Betting Preview: Detroit Lions vs. Green Bay Packers

The final game of the NFL Week 2 schedule will take place in Green Bay, as the Packers take on the Detroit Lions at Lambeau Field. Green Bay enters this game as a double-digit favorite despite suffering a blowout loss in the team’s season opener last week. And if the Lions play the way they did for the majority of their Week 1 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, that perceived gap in on-field talent will be justified.

Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions dropped their opening game of the 2021 season in a 41-33 game against the San Francisco 49ers. Detroit scored multiple times in the final minutes and even recovered an onside kick to have a chance to tie the game late. But the game was not as close as the final score indicated, as the 49ers led 38-10 in the second half and were far superior for all but the final 10 minutes of action.

If the Lions are going to improve defensively from last week, they will have to do so without former Ohio State cornerback Jeff Okudah. Okudah was a top-three pick out of Ohio State in the 2019 NFL Draft and hasn’t lived up to expectations quite yet. But without him, the Lions’ secondary gets even worse as it has to rely on backups and rotate its secondary around to make up for Okudah’s absence.

Green Bay Packers

The Green Bay Packers were also clearly inferior to their opponent last week when they lost 38-3 to the New Orleans Saints in Jacksonville. Green Bay never got going offensively, turning the ball over multiple times and failing to move the ball when they did keep possession. Their defense held Jameis Winston under 200 yards passing, but the offense put them in such bad positions throughout the game that the yardage numbers didn’t matter.

For Green Bay, the question heading into this game is going to be whether or not they will continue to be inconsistent in night games. The Packers have seemed to either blow out their opponents in primetime or struggle until the very end of the contest. If the Packers fall into the latter category in this game, a Lions team that looked hungry under new head coach Dan Campbell could take advantage.

Keys to the Game

As it pertains to the Detroit Lions, the biggest key to this game will be defending the combination of Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams. Against the 49ers last week, the Lions gave up over 175 yards receiving to Deebo Samuel in their Week 1 loss. Adams is a much tougher cover for a Detroit secondary that will be operating at less than 100 percent in this game, which could be a major problem for the Lions.

Green Bay’s biggest key heading into this game is simply keeping themselves sharp mentally. After playing worse in Week 1 than any other team in the league, the Packers need to forget about that performance and get back to doing what they do best. That is no guarantee given the friction between Aaron Rodgers and the Packers organization, but one would expect a much better showing from the Packers on Monday night.