The elements are in the Packers’ favor.
The Green Bay Packers are home underdogs against the Detroit Lions in Week 9, but maybe they shouldn’t be. The Lions are definitely one of the hottest teams in the NFL right now, and the Packers — even at 6-2 — are going to have a difficult time keeping them out at the end zone…
…But they might be getting some help from the elements.
It just so happens that the weather forecast for this game could end up being a major advantage in favor of the home team
The weather forecast for Sunday afternoon in Green Bay is chilly, rainy, and windy. It’s going to be in the low 50s with rain showers expected, as well as wind gusts upwards of 16 MPH. By the time the fourth quarter is expected to roll around, the precipitation probability is expected to be 99 percent.
The precipitation probability throughout the game doesn’t get any lower than 77 percent, which is significant.
Packers could benefit in a big way vs. Lions from weather forecast
You might be asking yourself why this is such an advantage for the Packers and not for the Lions, who are a tough team that can run the ball.
Well, this just so happens to be the first outdoor game of the entire 2024 season for the Lions. The Lions obviously play all of their home games indoors and they’ve only played three games on the road: At Arizona, Dallas, and Minnesota.
The Lions have been able to play in controlled climates all year long, and you might even say they are “due” at this point. There difference in Jared Goff’s stats indoors vs. outdoors and on turf vs. grass are particularly notable, and the challenging conditions only add to that.
Green Bay not only has experience in the Lambeau Field elements, but it also played a rain-hit game against the Arizona Cardinals earlier this season. The Lions have played exclusively on fast tracks indoors.
It’s still going to be tough for the Packers to grind out a win even if the elements are on their side, as the Lions have only turned the ball over twice on this five-game winning streak they’ve been on. They take care of the football and benefitted greatly from that. But when the elements are unpredictable, the ball is wet, and it’s not as easy to maintain balance in the passing game, mistakes tend to happen.
The Packers have been the best team in the NFL in 2024 when it comes to turning the ball over defensively and they’re going to need to steal some possessions from the Lions and create short fields for their offense. Xavier McKinney leads the league with six interceptions and has a point to prove against the Lions.
This feels like one of those games where the team that finds a way to win the turnover battle is going to win, and the Lions not having played a single game outdoors this year would seem to give the Packers a huge edge overall.