Jon Kitna has been under seige this season as he has been sacked an amazing 44 times so far this season.  That’s not an excuse for his play of late but he should do a better job of protecting the football as he has fumbled the football 11 times this season (losing 5 of them).  Kitna has completed 249 of 381 passes (65.4%) for 2,897 yards with 14 TD passes and 12 interceptions (87.4 QB Rating).  If Kitna is to make good on his prediction of 10+ wins this season he will have to play better as the Lions defense has allowed 364.9 yards per game.

The Packers beat the Lions at their own game yesterday further proving that the Lions aren’t quite reday for Prime Time yet.  Jon Kitna completed 19 of 40 passes for 224 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 interception.  Kevin Jones had a solid game as he carried the ball 20 times for 93 yards (4.7 ypc) with a TD run and he also caught 2 passes for 27 yards.  T.J. Duckett got some rare work as he carried the ball 7 times for 29 yards (4.1 ypc).  Aveion Cason had a solid all-around game for the Lions as he carried the ball 1 time for 3 yards and he also caught 4 passes for 58 yards (14.5 avg).  Cason also returned 6 kickoffs for 188 yards (31.3 avg) often giving the offense good starting field position.  Calvin Johnson had one of his best games in the NFL as he caught 7 passes for 83 yards (11.9 avg) with a TD grab.  The Lions finished up with 134 yards rushing on 30 carries (4.5 ypc) and they also completed 19 of 40 passes for 197 yards.

Kenoy Kennedy led a poor Lions defensive effort with 10 tackles.  The Packers finished up this game with 100 yards rushing on 17 carries (5.9 ypc) and they also completed 31 of 41 passes for 381 yards.

If the Packers win this football game they will clinch the NFC North with 5 weeks to go.  The Lions need to win this game if they want to make the playoffs as they have played very poorly the last two weeks.

Look for the Packers to start throwing the ball when they get off of the bus.  The Packers have only allowed 14 sacks this season so Favre should have time to throw the ball.  That could mean big trouble for the Lions who are allowing 257.9 yards passing per game.  Look for Favre (2,985 yards passing, 19 TDs and 8 INTs) to shred the Lions defense in this game.

The Lions would smart to run a more balanced offense to try to control the clock in this game.  But, Mike Martz won’t likely have any of that as he prefers the Lions to air it out.  The Lions offensive line better be able to block DEs Aaron Kampman (9 sacks) and Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila (8.5 sacks) or Jon Kitna will make mistakes with the football that will turn this game in the Packers favor. 

PREDICTION:  PACKERS 31, LIONS 21

Turnovers and a lack of a running game killed the Lions in this game.  Jon Kitna completed 28 of 43 passes for 377 yards with 1 TD pass ad 3 interceptions.  Kevin Jones had another off game with 11 carries for 25 yards (2.3 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 12 yards (4.0 avg).  Shaun McDonald led all receivers on the Lions with 7 catches for 113 yards (16.1 avg) with a TD grab.  Roy Williams also had a really solid game with 6 catches for 106 yards (17.7 avg).  Calvin Johnson (3 rec, 45 yards, TD) and Mike Furrey (5 rec, 41 yards) each got some quality work in for the Lions.  The Lions finished up with 25 yards rushing on 11 carries (2.3 ypc) and they also completed 28 of 43 passes for 351 yards.

The Lions defense was bending but not breaking as they played well enough to win.  The Lions defense was led by linebacker Ernie Sims who had 12 tackles.  Safety Kenoy Kennedy also had a solid game with 8 tackles and a fumble recovery.  The Giants finished up with 72 yards rushing on 27 carries (2.7 ypc) and they completed 28 of 39 passes for 269 yards.

Something has to give in this game and it should be fascinating to watch.  The Lions are a sparkling 4-0 at Ford Field as they have outscored their opponents 124-67 at home so far this season.  But, the Giants hail from the NFC East and the Lions are 0-2 against teams from that division and they’ve been outscored 90-24 by teams that aren’t in the Giants class.

The Giants have a very physical and balanced offense and that could pose problems for the Lions defense which isn’t that good.  The Lions do have a good interior defense against the running game but the Giants will likely still pound Brandon Jacobs (545 yards, 5.3 ypc) at them to help open up the passing game.  Eli Manning has been so-so this season but if Jacobs gets it going on the ground Manning will kill the Lions with play action passes to Plaxico Burress (41 rec, 588 yards, 8 TDs), Jeremy Shockey (43 rec, 487 yards, 3 TDs) and Amani Toomer (33 rec, 392 yards, 2 TDs).  Manning will have to be careful with the ball however as the Lions already have 15 pickoffs this season.

The Lions must attempt to run the football in this game with Kevin Jones against a Giants defense that is allowing 4.1 ypc this season or else Jon Kitna will have a long, long day.  That’s because the Giants blitz early and often and the result has been 32 sacks this season.  The Lions have allowed an amazing 40 sacks this season already and they can’t afford to let Kitna get rattled into mistakes.  The Giants allow 200.2 yards passing per game and opposing QBs have a rating of 84.0 against them so if Kitna has time to throw he will have success. 

PREDICITON:  NEW YORK GIANTS 31,  DETROIT LIONS 20