Frozen north heats up and Galway's Andy Quinn signs with Boston - 5 NFL storylines

Michael McQuaid of Pro Football Ireland looks at some of the key storylines ahead of the 14th week of the 2024 NFL season, which gets underway tonight (1.15am Irish time) with the visit of the Green Bay Packers to the Detroit Lions.

Battle for the North

The visit of the Packers to the Lions is one of the best primetime games of the year, with the game really impacting on the NFC North overall. Both teams have had a full week of rest after playing on Thanksgiving.

The Packers are making their late season march. Over the last three weeks, quarterback Jordan Love has been leading the NFL in various stats, which include expected points added (EPA) per dropback, yards per dropback, and touchdown percentage.

Love goes up against a Lions defence ranked in the top ten of the league, with an average of 320 yards allowed per game through 13 weeks. The Lions have had a significant amount of injuries this season (with Aidan Hutchinson the standout loss), but they have found a way each week to recover from any setback, sitting on 11-1 as we enter the final stretch.

As the leader of the Lions, Jared Goff is having a season to remember. Last week, he joined Peyton Manning as the only quarterback since 1950 to have 10-game win streaks with multiple teams. Goff seems to have found another level for a Lions team looking to reach the summit for the first time. Over the previous three weeks, Goff has completed 37.5% of his passes while under pressure.

On the defensive side of the ball last week the Lions impressed. Za'Darius Smith, Al-Quadin Muhammad, and DJ Reader all set or tied their season highs in pressures, marking only the second time this season a team has had three players achieve seven or more pressures in a single game.

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