Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers have had it tough of late. They’ve won just one game in their last five, and their offense is largely to blame for it. Rodgers got the best of Matt Stafford for fantasy football purposes a few weeks ago when the Pack and the Detroit Lions were on the field, but that was only due to the huge comeback in the fourth quarter which ultimately fell short. We'll have to see how things go when these clubs play the return game at Ford Field on Thursday.
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Rodgers was worth 28.3 fantasy points four weeks ago against these Lions, but he was literally worth just 13 points before the last six minutes of the game when the comeback was on.
When you look at the totality of what Rodgers has done of late, you can't be disappointed from a fantasy standpoint. He has thrown at least two touchdown passes in eight of his 11 games this year, and he's only been picked off a total of four times.
That average of 24.8 fantasy points per game isn't bad, but it isn't the 26.7 fantasy points per game Rodgers averaged last season.
The big problem with Rodgers is not having Jordy Nelson to throw the ball to deep. There hasn't been a single pass for 70 yards this year for the Green Bay legend. That's taking a lot away both from the Packers offense in general and for Rodgers' fantasy stats.
What's also worth watching in this game is Rodgers' left arm. He took a shot on his funny bone last week against Chicago and never quite looked the same. As it is, this is a man who hasn't completed 60 percent of his passes in over a month, something that is incredibly not-Aaron-Rodgers-like. Now throw in a bum arm, albeit his non-throwing arm, and there's certainly a cause for concern.
Stafford meanwhile, is coming off of the game of his season on Thanksgiving Day against Philadelphia. Granted, that game came against one of the worst secondaries and one of the most dysfunctional teams in football at the moment, but still, five touchdown passes and 44.6 fantasy points is nothing to complain about.
That said, Stafford hasn't ultimately done all that much this season if you take away a four-touchdown game against the Bears and that five-TD game against the Eagles. Stafford only had a total of five touchdown passes in his four previous games before the explosion on Thanksgiving, so expecting all that much out of a man who doesn't have the wheels to make up some points on the ground like Rodgers does is irresponsible.
However, there's a lot of reason to like Stafford here. Calvin Johnson had three touchdowns last week, and it's becoming clear that he is going to make or break the rest of this season for the Lions. This offense has looked a lot more open over the course of the last few games since the front office was cleaned out during the team's bye.
Lastly, there's just no ground game for the Lions to count on. They aren't even averaging 75 rushing yards per game, and the last time around against Green Bay, they averaged less than two yards per carry, the factor which ultimately let the Packers hang around in a game which otherwise should've been over.
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BookMaker's live betting platform means you always have access to odds and lines to every sporting event. Click here and start wagering today! The game between the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers is scheduled for Thursday, December 3, 2015, at 8:30 p.m. ET at Ford Field. The game will be broadcast regionally on CBS and the NFL Network.
