The Lions have signed 26-year old DT Keyunta Dawson.  Dawson played in all 16 games for the Colts last year and he had 31 tackles, 1 fumble recovery and 1 pass defensed.  He has now played in 58 games in his first four years in the NFL and he has 113 tackles, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble, 5 fumble recoveries, 2 passes defensed and 2 tackles for a loss.  Dawson will get a couple of weeks to show that he belongs in the NFL.

UPDATE:  (12/22/2011) – The Lions have waived Keyunta Dawson.  Dawson played in 2 games for the Lions this year and he had 1 tackle.

Ndamukong Suh is going to miss the Lions’ next two games against the New Orleans Saints (on the road) and the Minnesota Vikings (at home).  With that in mind, the Lions need either 25-year old Sammie Hill or 23-year old rookie Nick Fairley to step up.  Hill has played in 11 games for the Lions so far this year and he has 14 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss.  Nick Fairley can make up for lost time for the Lions if he could step up in the next couple of games.  He has played in 6 games for the Lions so far this year and he only has six tackles.

The NFL has suspended 24-year old DT Ndamukong Suh for the next two games without pay due to his actions in the game on Thanksgiving when he stomped on a Packers’ player’s arm.  Suh has played in 11 games for the Lions this year and he has 31 tackles, 3 sacks, 1 pass defensed and 3 tackles for a loss.  He has now played in 27 games for the Lions in his first two years and he has 97 tackles, 13 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery, 1 interception, 4 passes defensed and 9 tackles for a loss.  This could really hurt the Lions, who are fighting to get into the playoffs.

The Lions have signed 26-year old RB Aaron Brown.  Brown played in 6 games for the Lions last year and he carried the ball 17 times for 58 yards (3.4 ypc).  He also caught 8 passes for 45 yards (5.6 avg) last year for the Lions.  Brown has played in 21 games in his first two years with the Lions and he has carried the ball 44 times for 189 yards (4.3 ypc).  He also has caught 17 passes for 129 yards (7.6 avg) with 1 TD grab for the Lions.  Brown won’t likely get a lot of P.T. unless the Lions suffer more injuries at RB.

26-year old WR Calvin Johnson is having easily the best year of his NFL career for the Lions.  He has played in 11 games for the Lions so far this year and he has caught 63 passes for 1,023 yards (16.2 avg) with 12 TD grabs.  Johnson has went over 100 yards receiving five times already this year.  Johnson has now played in 71 games in his first five years with the Lions and he has caught 333 passes for 5,214 yards (15.7 avg) with 45 TD grabs.  The Lions need Johnson to stay healthy the rest of the year, as Matt Stafford and him are connecting really well this year.

The Lions have placed 22-year old RB Jahvid Best on the Injured Reserve List, ending his season due to a nasty concussion.  Best played in 6 games for the Lions this year and he carried the ball 84 times for 390 yards (4.6 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  He also caught 27 passes for 287 yards (10.6 avg) with 1 TD grab for the Lions this year.  Best has now played in 22 games in his first 2 years with the Lions and he has carried the ball 255 times for 945 yards (3.7 ypc) with 6 TD runs.  He has also caught 85 passes for 774 yards (9.1 avg) with 3 TD grabs for the Lions.  This will hurt the Lions, but it looks like Kevin Smith might lessen the blow a little bit.

The Lions got pushed around a little big by the Packers yesterday.  Matt Stafford did not play well yesterday and it hurt the offense.  Stafford completed 32 of 45 passes for 276 yards with 1 TD pass and 3 very costly interceptions.  He also carried the ball 4 times for 31 yards (7.8 ypc).  Kevin Smith carried the ball 7 times for 36 yards (5.1 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 21 yards (7.0 avg) before leaving the game due to injury.  Maurice Morris had a solid game with 39 yards rushing on 7 carries (5.6 ypc) and he also caught 9 passes for 81 yards (9.0 avg) in this game.  Keiland Williams pitched in with 19 yards rushing on 2 carries (9.5 ypc) and he also caught 4 passes for 33 yards (8.3 avg) in this game.  WRs Calvin Johnson (4 rec, 49 yards, TD) and Nate Burleson (5 rec, 39 yards) had hard times getting open yesterday against the Packers’ secondary.  The Lions finished up with 136 yards rushing on 21 carries (6.5 ypc) and they also completed 32 of 45 passes (71.1%) for 273 yards as they had possession of the ball for 30:48.

The Lions played great against the run yesterday, but not so good against the pass.  Safety Amari Spievey (7 tackles) and CB Eric Wright (6 tackles and 1 pass defensed) led the way for the Lions’ D in this game.  The Packers finished up with 53 yards rushing on 19 carries (2.9 ypc) and they also completed 22 of 33 passes (66.7%) for 296 yards in this game.  The Lions are now 7-4 on the season.

The Detroit Lions have their biggest game of the year today on Turkey Day.  The Lions have their eyes on winning the NFC North as they have two games left with the Packers.  The Packers have their eyes on going 19-0 this year.  This should be an exciting game as the Lions and Packers are averaging a combined 65.6 points per game so far this year.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Lions have the ball:  The Lions can’t afford to fall behind to the Packers, as it will be almost impossible to come back against them.  Matt Stafford is going to be the key to this game for the Lions, so the O-Line is going to have to protect him from OLB Clay Matthews and his cohorts on the Packers’ D.  The Packers are giving up 289.3 yards passing per game so far this year, so Stafford should have some success throwing the ball, but he will have to be careful as the Packers already have 19 interceptions so far this year.  The not so secret weapon for the Lions in this game is going to be Kevin Smith.  Smith made the Panthers pay for overplaying the pass last week and he will look to do the same to the Packers today.

When the Packers have the ball:  The Packers aren’t going to change for any team and why should they?  After all, Aaron Rodgers has an awesome QB Rating of 128.8 so far this year, so no one has come close to slowing him down this year.  The Lions need to get after him in the pass rush to get him to hurry the ball and maybe make some mistakes.  The Lions already have 15 INTs this year, so the potential is there to make the Packers pay for any mistake throwing the ball.  Ryan Grant is going to be the main ballcarrier in this game for the Packers with James Starks out due to injury.  Grant could have a solid game as the Lions are giving up 134.7 yards rushing per game so far this year and 5.0 yards per carry.

PREDICTION:  PACKERS 34, LIONS 31 IN O.T.

23-year old Matthew Stafford is turning into the QB the Lions expected him to be when they drafted him three years ago.  He has stayed healthy for the most part (he has a broken finger on his right hand right now), and he is cashing in on his “potential”.  Stafford has played in 10 games for the Lions this year and he has completed 244 of 398 passes (61.3%) for 2,843 yards with 25 TD passes and 10 INTs (93.4 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 13 times for 33 yards (2.5 ypc) so far this year for the Lions.  Stafford is playing at such a high level right now that he should start be mentioned as one of  the best QBs in the NFL.  The Lions are going to be good for a long time as long as Stafford stays healthy.

The Panthers rushed out to a 27-14 lead on the Lions at the half.  But, the Lions roared back in the second half, outscoring the Panthers 35-8 the rest of the way!  Matt Stafford was very solid in this game as he completed 28 of 36 passes for 335 yards with 5 TD passes and 2 INTs.  Kevin Smith knocked off the rust as he was outstanding today for the Lions.  Smith carried the ball 16 times for 140 yards (8.8 ypc) with 2 TD runs and he also caught 4 passes for 61 yards (15.3 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Maurice Morris pitched in with 29 yards rushing on 7 carries (4.1 ypc) in this game.  Stafford did a great job of spreading the ball around today.  Calvin Johnson (5 rec, 89 yards) and Nate Burleson (7 rec, 63 yards, TD) led the way for the Lions in the passing game today.  TE Brandon Pettigrew (4 rec, 37 yards, TD), TE Tony Scheffler (2 rec, 24 yards, TD) and WR Titus Young (2 rec, 14 yards, TD) also pitched in with big plays in the passing game today.  The Lions finished up with 169 yards rushing on 29 carries (5.8 ypc) and they also completed 28 of 36 passes (77.8%) for 326 yards as they had possession of the ball for 33:07.

The special teams and defense played pretty poorly for the Lions for the most part, despite picking off Cam Newton 4 times.  Rookie WR Kealoha Pilares of the Panthers returned a kickoff 101 yards for a TD in this game.  LB DeAndre Levy (9 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception) and safety Louis Delmas (7 tackles) led the way for the Lions’ D in this game.  CB Eric Wright (6 tackles, 2 passes defensed and 1 interception) and LB Stephen Tulloch (6 tackles, 2 passes defensed and 1 interception) also made huge plays in this game for the Lions.  Safety Chris Harris pitched in with 2 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception in this game.  The Panthers finished up with 137 yards rushing on 26 carries (5.3 ypc) and they also completed 22 of 38 passes (57.9%) for 272 yards.  The Lions are now 7-3 on the year.