Last Thanksgiving, Amon-Ra St. Brown admits the Packers' defense "caught us by surprise." Green Bay came into Detroit and forced Jared Goff into three turnovers in a dominant win for the Packers that sparked their second-half surge.
"So we’ll be ready this week," said St. Brown. "We know they play hard every time."
The Lions are headed to Lambeau with first place in the NFC North on the line, in a battle between the NFL's top scoring offense and its top defense in takeaways. One explosive unit versus another.
Packers safety Xavier McKinney, who already said the Lions "try to embarrass people" on offense, is ready for a game rife with trash talk.
"It’s definitely going to be that," he said. "You got a big-time game, a lot of big-time players, naturally we’re going to have back and forth, so I expect it. … I (talk) when I need to, when I feel like it’s right to. But I normally like to let my game do the talking itself."
McKinney's game has talked loudly in his first season with the Packers. He leads the NFL with six picks. Green Bay has 19 takeaways as a team. The Lions have 15, tied for second, after producing four in last week's rout of the Titans. Amik Robertson was at the center of it with two punch-outs.
"Guys on this defense, we out there hunting the ball because we know what our offense can do once they get the ball," Robertson said.
The Lions have committed just five turnovers, fourth fewest in the NFL. Jared Goff hasn't thrown a pick in his last four games. But the Packers' defensive line caused Detroit all kinds of issues last time they met. The Lions' ability to pass protect could decide the game. A turnover one way or the other could be the difference.
"It’s going to be a battle, man," Robertson said. "Dawgs versus dawgs, and that’s how you like it. That’s how you want it, man. We’ve all been playing football since we was young and games like this, the real dawgs come to life, and I know we got more dawgs over here."
In Detroit's last trip to Green Bay, St. Brown caught a touchdown in the Lions' win and celebrated with a Lambeau Leap -- and promptly had a beer poured on him in the stands. He won't be going back for seconds.
"I got something else in mind, so hopefully I can get into the end zone and show you guys," he said. "One (beer shower) was enough."
Lambeau Field, Dan Campbell said Friday, is "one of those things that God created. It's where football began a little bit." And with rain in the forecast Sunday in Green Bay, the game could turn beautifully ugly.
"We’re looking forward to this," said Campbell. "We’ll be in the elements, which is great. You hope for this. We’ll be in all-white, so we’ll have the grass stains and everything rolling, man, it’s going to be good ol' football, the way it’s meant to be played."
"Anytime you’re playing at Lambeau," said St. Brown, "it’s going to be an awesome environment. Division game, it’s going to be a great atmosphere, I’m excited for it."