Green Bay Packers Scheduled to Face the Detroit Lions in Historic Matchup
On Thanksgiving Day in 1962, the undefeated Green Bay Packers rolled into Detroit to face the division rival Lions and lost in one of the NFL's most stunning upsets.
On Thanksgiving Day in 2011, the again undefeated Green Bay Packers roll into Detroit and hope to walk away from the game with different results than 49 years ago.
It is a bid for perfection for the Packers – something rarely done in the NFL. And for the Lions, it is an effort to stop seven-consecutive Thanksgiving Day losses.
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"We definitely want to take that back under control," Ndamukong Suh, Lions defensive tackle, said of the recent losses. "It would be a great year to continue breaking some of these streaks."
The last time the two teams met, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was stopped regularly in the team's 7-3 loss in December 2010.
"They gave me a concussion," Rodgers said defending the loss.
Both teams will be familiar with the pair’s history together as they face off in the holiday game, but not all players are caught up in the mystique.
"I don't see them as a golden, perfect team," Suh. "Everybody has flaws in this league, but everybody has great things that they do. And it's just a matter of limiting the mistakes that we have on our team and causing them to make as many mistakes as possible."
The confidence the Lions team has going into Thursday’s matchup may prove to be their greatest strength.
"We're all professionals," Lions defensive end Chris Avril said. "Their record doesn't faze us. They put their pants on just like we put ours on."
The 10-0 Packers play the 7-3 Lions in the first of three Thanksgiving Day games.
The 3-7 Miami Dolphins face off with the 6-4 Dallas Cowboys in the second matchup. The evening game features the 9-1 San Francisco 49ers and the 7-3 Baltimore Ravens.
