While they may not be as effective as they seem, the Green Bay Packers do love throwing the deep ball, no pun intended. Quarterback Jordan Love has attempted more passing attempts of 20+ air yards than any other quarterback, and this is nothing new. Green Bay has ranked in the top-five of attempted deep shots in every season but one, dating back to at least 2018 (they were eighth in 2025).
Unfortunately for the Detroit Lions, they have been terrible at defending deep passes. This season, the Lions rank
32nd in EPA/pass (+1.41), 31st in yards per game (80.6), and 31st in yards per play allowed (18.3) when targeted deep.
Lions coach Dan Campbell knows that the Packers’ two deep receivers, Christian Watson and Matthew Golden, could be a problem on Sunday when the two teams face off.
“It presents some big challenges because these aren’t guys that can just track the ball down. They have got speed now. I mean, they have got speed and they can track the ball and the quarterback gives them a nice pretty ball, man, lays it out there,” Campbell said. “And really about 50 percent of these are either DPI or catches, which is talk about explosive. So, that’s the danger in it.”
But as Campbell was quick to point out, the Lions can’t afford to just play their safeties deep, hoping to eliminate deep shots, because that’s when Packers tight end Tucker Kraft takes over.
“If you’re going to use it to take the top off on some of this, well now you have got Kraft underneath and you have got to worry about the backs. It does, it creates some issues, man, that you have got to be ready for,” Campbell said.
So on this week’s Midweek Mailbag, Erik Schlitt and I discuss the options for defending the Packers’ passing attack. What role should Brian Branch play in defending the pass? Should he try to erase Kraft over the middle of the field? Is he best used this week at nickel, box safety, or deep safety—or a combination of all three? And is this the week to heavily rely on the athletic Keith Abney? Or should Detroit play it more safe with a veteran like Chuck Clark?
Other topics on this week’s show include:
- What is the Lions’ biggest advantage over the Packers? And what is Green Bay’s biggest advantage over Detroit?
- How much will Josh Jacobs’ return this week matter?
- Will the Lions utilize more 21 personnel (two running back sets) or max protection against the Packers’ and Vikings’ aggressive defense?
- Outside of the secondary, where do the Lions need to improve most to compete for a Super Bowl?
- If the defense continues to improve, should the Lions still trade for a cornerback?
- Given Detroit’s slow start, why should anyone be optimistic the Lions can turn it around this year?
Check out the entire show using the Spotify embed below or searching “Pride of Detroit” on your favorite podcasting platform.
You can catch a longer version of the Midweek Mailbag by heading over to our YouTube page or Twitch channel and watching this week’s show. In the longer version, we also gave our reactions to Sam LaPorta’s expressions of frustration over contract negotiations.
