The Detroit Lions will face the Green Bay Packers on Monday night for the first of two meetings with their NFC North division rival this season.
Last year, the Lions beat the Packers in both of their meetings. A 31-23 win in October came against Aaron Rodgers while a 31-0 win in Week 17 came mostly against DeShone Kizer at quarterback as Rodgers was knocked out of the game with a concussion after just nine snaps.
Lions head coach Matt Patricia knows the challenge that Rodgers presents and isn’t exactly eager about facing him knowing his team got the better of Rodgers last season.
“I think for us, it’s all about this year,” Patricia said Tuesday, via Carlos Monarrez of the Detroit Free Press. “Probably makes me more nervous than anything, to be honest with you, just knowing what a competitor he is.
“So from my standpoint it’s all about trying to prepare and get ready this year and the things that they’re doing this year. Certainly they’re in a really good spot and they’re operating at a very high level, so we’ve got a big task in front of us.”
Rodgers passed for 442 yards and three touchdowns in the Lions first win over Green Bay last season. That Packers team was spiraling to a 6-9-1 record. This year’s Packers team is 4-1 and leading the NFC North through the first five weeks of the year. Patricia fully expects Rodgers to be a dangerous proposition for his team this week and know the competitive nature he’ll bring to the field on Monday night.
“I think you guys know me well enough to know that I’m extremely competitive,” he said. “I want to win and everything I do I try to make sure I do it to the best of my abilities.
“But when you’re staring across the line of scrimmage at Aaron Rodgers, you know you’ve got a long day of work in front of you.”