After a tough loss to the Cowboys in Dallas last week, the Lions have a chance to rebound this week in their first division game of the season this Sunday at Ford Field against the Green Bay Packers.
"Division games, they count two," safety Glover Quin said Wednesday. "Obviously, we're not in the spot we want to be in right now. Getting a big division win against Green Bay, it's huge. You get a win in your column. You give them a loss in their column. It's huge."
While playing a division opponent is important, the familiarity doesn't always make things easier from a preparation standpoint.
"Maybe in the past," quarterback Matthew Stafford said. "Obviously, they have a new defensive coordinator this year. For the first nine years of my career it was Dom Capers. I wouldn't say it was easier, but I was more familiar with what they were all about.
"Obviously, (they have) a new defensive coordinator this year so I have quite a bit of learning to do on these guys. Do I know a few of their players maybe better than some non-divisional opponents? Yes, but they have plenty of new guys around, too, to get to know and to learn."
PREPARING FOR THE PACKERS
Sunday's matchup will be the first time the Lions have faced Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers in over a year. Rodgers missed both of last year's games with a broken collarbone, and while he's been dealing with a knee sprain suffered Week 1, he's still been able to show up on gamedays.
"I didn't necessarily feel great last week going through practice on Thursday and Saturday," Rodgers said via conference call Wednesday. "I felt really good on game day. I'm not regressing, but I'm not taking huge leaps week to week. Adrenalin kicks in on game day. I felt a little better the last couple of weeks."
Despite a 22-0 victory over Buffalo last week, Rodgers wasn't happy with the offense's performance. He's ready to put it behind him and move on to the Lions.
"That's the beauty in this league," he said. "You put things to rest on Monday after you watch the film. We're in our preparation for Detroit. It's a normal week. You kind of get back into it, move forward. We're moving forward on the same page and opening to play a little better collectively and personally moving forward."
For Mike O'Hara's full scouting report on the Packers, click here.
CARRIES FOR KERRYON
Fresh off his first career touchdown, running back Kerryon Johnson has impressed so far this season, which has a lot of people asking: Will he see more playing time? Johnson's snap count went up from 16 in Week 1 to 36 and 33 the following two weeks, but down to 20 Week 4 in Dallas.
"I think we have a lot of really good running backs and I think we try to use them appropriately," head coach Matt Patricia said Monday. "I think Kerryon played a significant amount of the game (Sunday in Dallas), 20 snaps of 55, that's a good amount, plus we have two other running backs, plus we had a couple two-minute drives in there with some other personnel packages."
Offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter was also asked about Johnson's carries this week. He said he'd prefer to keep that information in-house for strategic reasons, but did say it could vary from week to week.
OTHER NOTEWORTHY ITEMS
- The Detroit Lions announced Wednesday that they have signed OL Andrew Donnal to the active roster and S Rolan Milligan to the practice squad.
- Which under-the-radar player could make a difference this week? Tim Twentyman covers that and more in his latest 10 Questions column.
- In partnership with Kids Kicking Cancer and Henry Ford Health System, the Lions hosted the 2nd Annual Superhero Ball for families who have been impacted by pediatric cancer on Monday night.
