On Sunday afternoon, the Detroit Lions will take on a Green Bay Packers team playing its best football of the 2026 season. 

The Packers, winners of three in a row, are coming off a 23-13 defeat of the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football. Meanwhile, Detroit, which spent Week 6 on its bye, defeated the Arizona Cardinals in Week 5, 45-21.

Without further ado, here are the predictions from the Detroit Lions On SI staff for the Lions' Week 7 matchup with Green Bay.

The Lions have their first chance to prove themselves in the NFC North Sunday, taking on a Green Bay Packers team that appears to be built to exploit Detroit's biggest weakness. 

Quarterback Jordan Love has been unafraid to test defenses down the field with wide receivers Christian Watson and Matthew Golden. As a result, I think the Lions will try to dial up the pass-rush and try to get to Love before he has a chance to cut it loose.

Offensively, the Lions need to get Jahmyr Gibbs going as the Packers did a good job of keeping him in check in their two meetings last year. Quarterback Jared Goff has been turnover-free through five games, and will need to keep that going to give his team the best chance to win.

While the Lions have the ability to keep up in the event this game becomes a shootout, the Packers are uniquely equipped to attack the Lions' issues in coverage, both in the secondary and at linebacker. 

Green Bay makes one more play than Detroit, and hands Dan Campbell's team a crushing loss to start a crucial two-game stretch. 

Packers 31, Lions 28

The Detroit Lions have a big time test ahead of themselves on Sunday against the Green Bay Packers. 

The Packers not only are red hot and winners of three in a row. But they're also due to receive a big boost to their run game with the return of Pro Bowl back Josh Jacobs. 

In addition, Green Bay receivers Christian Watson and Matthew Golden are playing some of the best football of their NFL careers. 

Consequently, Kelvin Sheppard's defense won't have it easy in this Week 7 divisional affair.

Yet, the Lions' defense will be in the best shape it's been all season due to the return of Pro Bowl safety Brian Branch. He should provide a major boost to the team's secondary and put it in a stronger position to limit the productivity of Watson and Golden.

I think Detroit's pass defense holds up just enough and Jared Goff and the offense come through in the fourth quarter, leading Dan Campbell's squad to its fourth victory of the season. 

Lions 31, Packers 24

The Lions return to action after a much needed week off. The Packers are visiting Ford Field missing a few key players, but will have running back Josh Jacobs in the lineup. 

If the defensive line can have another strong performance, Jordan Love will not have ample time to find his key targets. 

Tight end Tucker Kraft could be in line for a big game, but Detroit’s offense should keep the momentum from the first quarter of the season rolling. Sam LaPorta might just also have himself a productive afternoon, given the noise he created and wanting to prove he deserves a lucrative new contract. 

Lions 31, Packers 24 

The Lions start divisional play with the Green Bay Packers this week, and it sees the return of Brian Branch and Josh Jacobs for their respective teams. That makes this week even more intriguing.

It will be interesting to see how, or if, the bye week has given Detroit time to somewhat fix its porous secondary. The return of Branch will give fans a glimpse as to how this secondary should operate, but the boundary corner issues could make this discussion irrelevant.

Green Bay is a hard team to gauge, even before factoring in the wild card element that it is a divisional game in the NFC North. The Lions, on fresh legs and with momentum, alongside a rowdy Ford Field crowd, take the win to open the second half of the season.

Lions 31, Packers 27