The Detroit Lions (3-2) and Green Bay Packers (4-2) will square off in Detroit’s first NFC North battle of the 2026 season.
“They’re playing really good football right now,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said of the Packers. “Two of their best games have been these back-to-back games. Plus-six in the turnover ratio the last two weeks; it was seven takeaways on defense, man. It’s an opportunistic defense. They fly around the football. They disguise well and create issues. […] it’s been an outstanding test
for us. Hell of an opponent, first division game of the season at home. We’re looking forward to it, but this is a real good team right now playing good football.”
Let’s take a closer look at the Packers’ coaching staff, the scheme they run, and scouting notes from their most recently viewed games.
Packers head coach: Matt LaFleur
NFL coaching seasons: 18th (Texans, Washington, Falcons, Rams, Titans, Packers)
Head coaching seasons: 8th (Packers 2019-present)
Offensive coordinator: 2nd (Rams 2017, Titans 2018)
Other coaching roles held: QB coach, Offensive assistant
Influences: Mike Shanahan, Kyle Shanahan, and Sean McVay
Coached under: Both Shanahans, McVay, Gary Kubiak, Dan Quinn, Mike Vrabel
Play caller: Yes
Dan Campbell on LaFleur:
“Matt’s (LaFleur) doing a hell of a job. They have. They’ve gotten better every week. […] what Matt’s done over there and they’ve done offensively, they’ve evolved in areas, but there are some things that they’re going to hang their hat on. They’re good at and they’re not going to change that. They’ll just wrinkle it, man, a bunch of eye candy to try to get you off of it. And it’s effective. It’s still effective. It’s been effective every year.”
Offensive coordinator: Adam Stenavich
NFL coaching seasons: 10th (49ers, Packers)
Offensive coordinator seasons: 5th (Packers 2022-present)
Previous coaching positions: Run game coordinator, OL coach, Assistant OL coach
Playing career: 5 seasons on NFL practice squads (Panthers, Packers, Cowboys, Texans)
Influences: Kyle Shanahan and Matt LaFleur
Coached under: Shanahan and LaFleur
Offensive scheme
Passing game: West Coast Shanahan offense
Running scheme: Wide zone/Shanahan system, introduced more gap/trap/wham concepts
Scouting notes:
- Core concepts of LaFleur’s scheme: Early down play-action, pre-snap motion, bunch formations, spread the ball around, vertical attack, explosives, screens, chip blocks are used to slow the pass rush, adaptability
- Primarily utilize 11-personnel: 60% of the time — 12-personnel: 25%; 13-personnel: 15%
- Efficient passing attack — 269.3 passing yards per game (5th)
- Have moved the ball well; struggled to score touchdowns early in the season, but have improved
- Pass yards per play: 7.5 (12th); EPA per pass: 0.05 (13th)
- Red zone touchdown efficiency: 50% (22nd); Jordan Love EPA in red zone: -0.24 (32nd)
- Deep ball is the strength of this offense, but also situational, as it is more frequently used when they have the lead (15.5%), but is not as prevalent when trailing (6.67%) — per Anthony Balaj’s film study
- 3rd most explosive passing plays in the NFL
- The deep ball also leads to big penalties; gained 135 yards on penalties on deep passes through six games
- Majority of all targets go to top three skill players: WR Matthew Golden, WR Christian Watson, TE Tucker Kraft
- Target share: Golden 26%, Watson 22%, Kraft 17% — That’s two-thirds of the passes thrown by Love
- Offensive line play has been an issue, both in the pass and run game
- Pressures allowed: 97 (29th); pressure rate: 40.2% (25th); quick pressure rate 22.1% (22nd)
- Time to pressure: 2.36 seconds (32nd)
- Jordan Love EPA when pressured: -0.26 (17th), per Sumer Sports
- Run game has been, by far, the worst rushing attack in the NFL
- Rushing yards per game: 59.8 (32nd); per carry: 2.9 (32nd); Rush EPA: -0.29 (32nd); success rate: 30.4% (32nd, per NextGenStats, via NFLPro); DVOA stuffed runs: 25% (32nd)
- OL stats: PFF blocking grade: 47.3 (32nd); DVOA (32); adjusted yards (32nd)
- RB Josh Jacobs is eligible to return, and while the Packers are playing coy, the Lions say they expect him to play — but how ready will he be after not playing football for the last month and a half?
Dan Campbell on Packers offense:
“They’ve settled some things in in that old line. […] (QB Jordan) Love, man. He makes it go. He is the secret sauce. And (WR Christian) Watson and (WR Matthew) Golden, man, they’re dangerous threats down the field and he’s going to give them opportunities that shows up every week. (TE Tucker) Kraft has come off the injury nicely. He’s gotten better every week. He’s playing good football right now. So, this team’s playing at a high level.”
Defensive coordinator: Jonathan Gannon
NFL coaching seasons: 16th (Falcons, Titans, Vikings, Colts, Eagles, Cardinals, Packers)
Defensive coordinator seasons: 3rd (Eagles 2021-22, Packers 2026)
Head coaching seasons: 3 seasons (Cardinals 2022-25)
Previous roles: DB coach, assistant DB coach, defensive quality control; Scout (Rams 2009-11)
Influences: Mike Zimmer, Matt Eberflus, Vic Fangio
Coached under: Zimmer, Eberflus, Jerry Gray, Emmitt Thomas; Nick Sirianni, Frank Reich, Bobby Petrino
Staff ties to Detroit: Daniel Bullocks (Packers CB coach — drafted by Detroit in the second round of the 2006 NFL Draft)
Dan Campbell on Gannon:
“Gannon’s doing a hell of a job with that defense too. They’ve just steadily gotten better and better and they’re playing at a very high level right now.”
Defensive scheme
Base: 3-4 hybrid Base
Coverage: Fangio zone principles, two-high split-zone safeties
Scouting notes:
- 3-4 Base (23% of defensive sets), 2-4 Subpackage (Nickel: 75%)
- Fangio zone principles, two-high split-zone safeties (65%); Lots of 3-safety sets
- Off-Zone coverage: 78%; Man: 18%
- Two-high safeties (65%): Cover-2: 21%; Cover-4: 26%; Cover-6: 10%; Cover-2 Man: 1%
- Single-high safety (35%): Cover-3: 24%; Cover-1 Man: 10%
- Cover-0: 5%
- Two-high shell designed to limit explosive plays; Passing explosives allowed: 1.8% (Best in NFL)
- Safeties Xavier McKinney and Evan Williams have been tremendous
- Third-safety/NB Jonathan Bullard has leveled up his game in the slot
- Disguising/simulating and timing of blitzes (31.7%) to create pressure has been effective
- Pressures: 100 through six games (2nd most); Overall pressure rate: 41.2% (4th)
- Non-blitz pressure rate: 35.4 (17th)
- Rotate four EDGE players pretty evenly to keep fresh
- Rotate four defensive tackles through 3- and 2-down DL fronts
- Run defense has taken a step back under Gannon
- Run defense DVOA: 26th
- Rushing yards allowed: 114.3 per game (18th); 4.0 per play (15th)
- Offenses heavily attacking the edges of this defense: Outside zone plays on 63% of run calls (2nd most)
- Two problem areas that got them into trouble early in the season…
- 3rd down defense: allowing a 44% conversion rate (25th)
- Red zone touchdowns allowed: 75% conversion rate (27th)
