Detroit Lions vs. Green Bay Packers: Complete game guide and 3 things to watch on Thanksgiving

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● What: Detroit Lions vs. Green Bay Packers

● When: Thursday, Nov. 27, 1 p.m.

● Where: Ford Field, Detroit

● How to watch: FOX (Burkhardt/Brady/Andrews/Rinaldi)

● How to listen: 97.1-FM The Ticket in Metro Detroit or any number of network affiliates around the state.

● Line: Lions -2.5

● Injury report: The Lions will undoubtedly be short-handed for this one. Not only will the team be without All-Pro safety Kerby Joseph for a sixth consecutive game, but center Graham Glasgow, tight end Brock Wright and receiver Kalif Raymond have also been ruled out.

Several other players are questionable, including three starting offensive linemen and cornerback Terrion Arnold, who has missed the past two games with a concussion.

● Officiating assignment: Ron Torbert’s crew.

● Last meeting: In the season opener, the Packers overwhelmed the Lions, holding the visitors to 46 rushing yards in the 27-13 victory.

Three things worth watching

● Jahmyr Gibbs is on a tear.

Not only is the playmaking back coming off the best performance of his career — and frankly, one that might be difficult to top — he’s now had three of his four most productive games of his career in Detroit’s past five.

During that five-game stretch, he’s racked up 828 yards from scrimmage and eight touchdowns. That’s an absurd 2,815-yard, 27-touchdown pace over a 17-game season.

Gibbs is making a strong case that he’s the NFL’s top offensive weapon, a threat to score every time he touches the ball, but he’s still not matchup-proof. Even during this surge, he was limited to 28 scrimmage yards in a loss to the Vikings.

Presently, the Lions offense goes as their ground game goes, and, as much as David Montgomery can still provide bursts, Gibbs sets the day’s tone. That’s been true all season, including the opener, when the Packers stymied the dual-threat star, holding him to a season-low 19 yards on nine carries and a paltry 31 receiving yards despite allowing Gibbs to catch 10 passes.

If the Packers come close to repeating that success, it figures to be a long day for the Lions, who desperately need a win on Thursday to keep their division title hopes afloat.

Glasgow’s absence could complicate things. He’ll presumably be replaced by veteran Trystan Colon. He’s started games at both guard spots the past two seasons, but hasn’t got the call at center since 2021.

● As reflected by Gibbs’ receiving production in the opener, the Packers had every answer for Detroit’s short passing game. Quarterback Jared Goff had a lofty completion percentage in the contest, connecting on 31-of-39 throws, but netted just 225 yards through the air.

Working the ball downfield has been an element lacking from Detroit’s second-ranked scoring offense. Goff is close to the bottom of the league in air yards per pass, and he’s attempted just a tick more than a dozen throws that have traveled 20 or more yards beyond the line of scrimmage the past seven games.

Sure, defenses are dictating some of that, and you better believe the Packers will aim to continue that trend with their rush-four, drop-seven, zone-heavy defensive scheme. This might just be who the Lions are until they get more comfortable working rookie Isaac TeSlaa into the game plan.

That means a lot of patience, long drives with steady execution, and some broken or missed tackles as the source of big plays.

● Welcome back, Marcus Davenport.

Detroit activated the edge rusher on Wednesday, a week earlier than required, suggesting he’ll be part of the game plan on Thanksgiving.

The Lions could certainly use a little more juice opposite Aidan Hutchinson. Al-Quadin Muhammad has been the best source of pocket pressure in that split role, but he’s been reserved for obvious passing situations.

A healthy Davenport is an upgrade over Tyler Lacy, who has primarily filled the early-down snaps prior to Detroit working defensive tackle Alim McNeill into some of those reps the past two weeks. That was a creative stopgap by coordinator Kelvin Sheppard, which helped get rookie Tyleik Williams more playing time, but the Lions had a clear vision for the Hutchinson and Davenport pairing.

A segment of the fan base has continued to sarcastically parrot coach Dan Campbell’s “We’re good” whenever the pass rush falls short of dominance. Davenport now gets a chance to prove his coach right.