Bill Belichick: Packers can beat the Lions if …
By GERY WOELFEL
Jordan Love is on a heater.
And so are the Green Bay Packers.
Love, the Packers’ talented young quarterback, has strung together three consecutive big-time performances for the surging Packers.
To wit:
- Against Chicago, Love completed 13 of 17 passes for 261 yards and a passer rating of 113.
- Against San Francisco, he completed 13 of 23 passes for 163 yards and a passer rating of 107.7.
- Against Miami, he completed 21 of 28 passes for 274 yards and a passer rating of 129.2.
In that three-game span, Love threw five touchdown passes and had just one pass picked off.
While this has been Love’s best stretch of the season, it’s not like he’s performed poorly in the other games. On the contrary.
Love has fashioned just one clunker this season, that coming on Nov. 3 in a 24-14 loss to Detroit at Lambeau Field.
Love completed 23 of 39 passes for 273 yards but threw a pick-6 and finished with a passer rating of 69.7. It was his lowest passer rating this season.
But Love will get to atone for his sub-par showing when the Packers play the Lions for the second time this season tonight in Detroit.
The Showdown in Motown features a Lions team that is 11-1 and tied with Kansas City for the best record in the NFL, and the Packers, who are 9-3 and winners in seven of their last eight games. Their sole setback was to the Lions.
While the Lions are 3.5-point favorites against the Packers, legendary coach Bill Belichick, appearing on “Inside the NFL’’, believes the Packer are primed to pull off an upset.
“The biggest thing that stood out for me is how poorly the Packers played on offense,’’ said Belichick after reviewing film of the Packers-Lions encounter last month. “I think if they can get some of their offensive situations straightened out, they got a real good chance to win in Detroit.
“When you go back to that game, it really looked like a lot of bad offense, bad football by the Packer.’’
Belichick, who seldom minces words, alluded to Love’s poor decision of carelessly throwing the ball late in the first half, a pass that was intercepted by Kerby Joseph who returned it 27 yards for a touchdown and give the Lions a 17-3 advantage.
“A game-changer,’’ Belichick said.
But Belichick believes Love will bounce back and continue on his heater, although the six-time Super Bowl winning coach emphasized how Love should refrain throwing the ball in the direction of Lions safety Brian Branch, whom he regards as the Lions’ best cover guy.
“The Packers need a good game from Love, absolutely,’’ Belichick said.
Prediction: Packers 27, Lions 24.
