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Quick Take: Packers, Lions each hit critical juncture

NFL.com and NFL Network reporter Ian Rapoport has his thoughts on the game:

Why this game is intriguing: Is it just me, or are the Lions the strangest team in football? They're talented, have plenty of big names, and can spark all sorts of fireworks in the fourth quarter with quarterback Matthew Stafford. And yet, they do things like lose to a vulnerable Minnesota Vikings team just when it seemed like they were perfectly set up to begin a late-season run. The Lions have another big-time chance Sunday against another rival from the NFC North, one of the NFL's most intriguing and surprising divisions. In come the Packers, bringing their precision-based offense to the loud environment in Detroit, ready to face a Lions defensive line that should be more disruptive than it is. Oh, and did we mention that the Packers are fresh off a bye, likely having cleared up many of those nagging injuries? If the Packers win, the Lions will have to bid good night to their hopes of pulling themselves out of a season-long malaise. There are a lot of Xs-and-Os reasons to like this game, like seeing how the Packers cover Calvin Johnson. But the real reason to watch is that the outcome of this one will have far-reaching consequences for both teams.

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