Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers Race Through a Gauntlet in NFC North Showdown

A popular quote holds that “A lion runs the fastest when he is hungry.”

How about when he’s gassed, too? 

The “Thursday Night Football” era and the Detroit Lions’ first run of relevancy in decades undoubtedly add a wrinkle to Salman Khan’s wise words.

Tonight’s crucial clash between the Lions (11-1) and visiting Green Bay Packers (9-3) marks Detroit’s fourth game in 18 days. Ditto for Green Bay. While no one is complaining of the crunch ahead of the pivotal NFC North game, no one is denying it, either.

“I think just taking care of your body is the biggest thing,” Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown said. “We have a lot of walkthrough reps so mentally, got to stay locked in because sometimes you can’t get all the physical reps, just because of the way the schedule has been recently for us.”

Indeed “you can’t get all the physical reps” when you’re on injured reserve, a status befitting 18 Lions players. This week, Detroit also ruled out left tackle Taylor Decker (knee) and defensive tackle DJ Reader (shoulder).

The Packers will be without several mainstays as well, namely cornerback Jaire Alexander (knee) and receiver Romeo Doubs (concussion).

With both teams primed to play into January and ideally February—Super Bowl LIX is set for the 9th of that month—the showdown loses little luster despite the absence of multiple marquee names.

“We’ll have a chance to catch our breath after this one,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “It goes without saying, it puts a strain on. It does. It puts a strain on you. But yet, Green Bay’s going through the same thing, so it doesn’t matter. It’s about, really, who handles it better.”

Just as late-season fatigue is a given, so are the stakes for this game. Yes, Virginia, Detroit enters on a 10-game winning streak and shares the best record in football with the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.

But other teams are surging simultaneously. The Philadelphia Eagles and Minnesota Vikings both stand at 10-2 and hope to pounce on a potential Lions slip-up.

The Eagles and Lions nearly had a chance to gain ground in their Week 13 Sunday games. Alas, the Lions withstood a late charge from the visiting Chicago Bears—and their since-dismissed coach’s colossal clock mismanagement—to prevail 23-20 in a Thanksgiving matinee.

Detroit running backs coach Scottie Montgomery said “the hardest part” of this recent stretch was pivoting from playing on Sunday in Week 12 to prepare for a Thursday afternoon game.

If there’s a silver lining, it’s that the club’s next game after that—alias tonight—fell on a Thursday, too.

“Now we’re kind of back in the normal schedule,” Montgomery said, “seeing our guys practice.”

Green Bay can attest after rolling past the Miami Dolphins on Thanksgiving night. The Packers also know a few things about streaking, winning seven of eight since the calendar flipped to October.

The only blemish? Lions 24, Packers 14 in Week 9.

“Man, this is the type of stuff that you live for and it’s also the type of stuff that gets you ready for the tournament,” Campbell said.

The team that secures the NFC’s top seed certainly will have flexed its resilience and endurance.