Playoff time brings out the respect card, and the Detroit Lions deem the deck stacked with disrespect from Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Lions head coach Dan Campbell said his message to the team was to embrace playing in games that mean something, but don’t forget we have “nothing to lose.”
The Lions can earn a playoff spot if the Seattle Seahawks lose to the Los Angeles Rams earlier in the day. But if the Seahawks win, the Lions are eliminated.
Still, the Packers would be in position to enter the playoffs by beating the Lions, who don’t want to give Rodgers another chance for playoff glory.
“I’m ready to show him — that we don’t have no respect for him. Even though we know he is the G.O.A.T. We don’t have no respect for him, because he has got to play us,” Lions cornerback Jerry Jacobs said.
Rodgers said this week he knows Detroit isn’t “the same old Lions,” recalling a loss in the first meeting between NFC North foes this season.
“They were 1-6 at one point and they’ve come all the way back,” Rodgers said.
Rodgers was 14 of 26 for 137 yards and two interceptions in his end zone in a 15-9 loss to the Lions in November.
The Lions have won two straight over the Packers, but Campbell doesn’t want to poke the bear.
“I just don’t see anything different,” Campbell said of Rodgers. “I see an outstanding quarterback who has played and had an outstanding career. I would anticipate he’s going to play one of his best games again. And we always have to be prepared for that.”
Free safety DaShon Elliott hopes to return for Sunday’s primetime game with major playoff implications. He missed the past two games with a shoulder injury, but head coach Dan Campbell said he’s fired up to return.
Elliott, 25, said he has no love for No. 12.
“The way he carries himself, I don’t like none of that s—,” Elliott said.
–Field Level Media
