Thanksgiving Special: 3 Reasons Why the Green Machine Rolls on for Another Week

Thanksgiving, a time to be thankful for all that we have. Like turkey, football and an undefeated Packers side.

And on Thanksgiving Day, Green Bay travels to Detroit in what will be an incredible game of football, with so much at stake for both sides in this one. For the Packers, this game stands as arguably their biggest roadblock in achieving a perfect season. For the Lions, a win here would go a long way to their hopes of achieving a playoff wild card—especially with the injury to Jay Cutler and the Chicago Bears.

Yep, there's a lot to love in this one, and here are three reasons why the undefeated Packers will remain exactly that, undefeated, after Week 12.

1. The Green Bay offense is that good.

This game is shaping up as an offensive shootout for both sides, and if you're Matthew Stafford, you don't wanting to be playing in that game against Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers. We all know of Rodgers' stats, which are rewriting history—10 games straight of a 100-plus quarterback rating, 304.9 passing yards per game, 31 touchdowns and only five interceptions. Yep, he's pretty good.

Offensively, the Packers seem unbeatable, and well, that's because they are unbeatable. The 35.5 points per game they're putting up is easily the highest of the league, and with Rodgers completing 72.3 percent of passes—another league high—the Packers look tough to stop aerially.

When they do go to the ground, James Starks and Ryan Grant are solid enough to move the chains and have combined for over 100 yards per game and eight touchdowns. To beat the Packers, you're going to have to hold them under 25 or so points, which the Lions are not capable of doing—nor is any other team in the league at this point.

2. The Detroit offense is not as good.

I'm not saying the Lions' offense is not good, because it has been clear this year that it is—30.1 points per game with 31 touchdowns is very good. Calvin Johnson, Kevin Smith and Matthew Stafford are playing very good football.

What I'm saying is that they're not good enough to mix it with the Packers. While the Green Bay defense is notably weaker than last year, they've been stronger in the past two weeks and will be hyped up to face Detroit. The 200 yards that Smith rushed for last week will not work against the Packers; Stafford will need to throw in another five-touchdown performance like last week, and the 61.3 percent that he's currently completing at is hardly inspiring stuff of that happening here.

3. Is the Detroit defense good enough to win it?

With Chad Clifton out, the Packers' offensive line looks even more exposed than usual, and Detroit will need to bring its best pass-rush if it is going to win this one. Green Bay will need to get passes off quicker than usual, so if the defense can step up and put pressure on Rodgers, moving the chains may appear harder than it looks. However, even with a dodgy line, the Lions' pass rush and a crazy Ford Field, the Detroit defense is not enough to win it for them.

I think Rodgers is good enough at moving the chains even with pressure—we saw that when the Pack flogged Jared Allen and the Minnesota pass rush. I also think that for all the hype around the Lions' defense, they're still allowing the same amount of points per game as the Packers and have only recorded three more sacks than the Packers.

So, either the Packers' defense—which everyone is happy to put down as being wide-open and easy to exploit—is just as good as Detroit's, or the Lions' defense is not as strong as it should be for all the hype it's receiving. Yards are not recorded on the scoreboard—only points, and the Green Bay Packers will record too many of those for the Lions to be a threat in this one.

Fancy a bet or two?

1. Head to head: Green Bay

2. Margin and spread: Green Bay (1-12)

3. Total points: Over 50 points

4. First scoring play: Green Bay field goal

5. First touchdown scorer: Jermichael Finley