Thursday Night Football brings both teams together after a full week since playing on Thanksgiving. Detroit (11-1) has already beaten Green Bay (8-3) once, but the Lions are still only 3.5-point home favorites against the visiting Packers. The projected total and outcome for this Packers-Lions matchup provide valuable insights for crafting winning NFL DFS lineups in Week 14. In this breakdown, we’ll dive into key NFL DFS ownership projections and player projections for DraftKings and FanDuel, helping you build optimal lineups for Thursday Night Football.
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NFL DFS Picks: Packers-Lions Thursday Night Football Week 14
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NFL DFS Picks for Packers-Lions Thursday Night Football Week 14: Jordan Love
Jordan Love
DFS Salary
DraftKings: $9,400
FanDuel: $13,500
Fantasy Points
DraftKings: 17.68
FanDuel: 17.07
On Thanksgiving, both the Packers and Lions won at home, keeping pace with each other in a tight battle for the NFC Central title. Detroit leads the league with an 11-1 record, tied with Kansas City, of course. Green Bay is rocking with a 9-3 record, though somehow that is third in the NFC North, behind the Minnesota Vikings (10-2).
This is a crucial game with Detroit having bested Green Bay 24-14 during a Week 9 matchup in Lambeau Field. If the Packers win, they are live for the division title; if they lose, their path to the Super Bowl will be tougher as a Wild Card entry.
Even with a full week of practice, Romeo Doubs (concussion) is out again. That was not an issue against the Miami Dolphins on Thursday Night Football, but Doubs’ absence looms large tonight for Jordan Love and the passing attack.
Prior to Thursday’s three-touchdown performance by rookie Caleb Williams, the Lions had allowed only seven aerial scores on the season. In a twist, no other quarterback tossed more than one touchdown, with Dak Prescott, Cooper Rush, Mac Jones and Anthony Richardson all being blanked. Love was as well back in Week 9, which was one of the two games where the 26-year-old did not account for a touchdown.
In his eight other starts, Love has 20 passing scores and seven multi-touchdown efforts. Technically, he did have a multi-touchdown game in Chicago since he ran for his lone touchdown of the year.
Detroit has a strong defense, anchored by a tremendous line. However, attrition is running high with six defensive linemen on the injured reserve, including Aidan Hutchison. For tonight, Levi Onwuzurike, DJ Reader and Josh Paschal have been ruled out, as all three were injured on Thanksgiving.
Green Bay Packers Positional Preview
Running Back | Packers-Lions NFL DFS Picks for Thursday Night Football Week 14
What’s old is new again, and suddenly a quartet of older running backs are dominating the statistical leaderboards this season. Josh Jacobs is fourth in the league with 82.3 rushing yards per game, accompanied by eight touchdowns. His 4.5 yards per carry are a full yard higher than last year, plus he has been active in the passing game with nearly three targets per tilt.
Since the Week 10 bye, he has been on the field for around 70% of the snaps, rushing 63 times for 225 yards and five touchdowns. He also has 10 targets for eight receptions and 132 yards in this timeframe.
Chris Brooks seems to have passed Emmanuel Wilson for the secondary role with 50 offensive plays, compared to 22 during this stretch. Brooks was a UDFA out of Brigham Young University who saw some action with the Miami Dolphins last year. Though Brooks is far from a flashy recommendation, his reasonable salary on DraftKings ($2,400) makes him a borderline core play with the expected baseline of a couple carries and a couple targets. Things are a little tighter on FanDuel ($6,000) due to the half-PPR format, though Brooks could pay off his salary with a couple of catches and 40-combined yards.
Wide Receiver | Packers-Lions NFL DFS Picks for Thursday Night Football Week 14
Last week this was a three-man show, as Bo Melton saw action on nine offensive snaps and Malik Heath one. The snaps Doubs vacated pushed oft-injured Christian Watson to a career-high 94% participation rate. Dontayvion Wicks also hit a personal-best 89% snap share, and Jayden Reed tied his second-largest snap share (67%) over the last seven games.
Reed led the way with six targets, followed by five for Wicks and four for Watson. Reed also had a carry for 23 yards, and we know the team looks to scheme out specific plays for him, even though he is not a “true” full-time player. The former Michigan State Spartan had two touchdowns on Thanksgiving, pushing him into the team lead with six on the season. Wicks has four, though only one of those came after his two-touchdown performance in Week 5.
Salary, of course, is a thing in DFS, and the main sites gave Reed the largest cap hit and Wicks the smallest. That is going to lead to some fun decision points, and there really is not a right or wrong answer — well, prior to kickoff anyway.
Tight End | Packers-Lions NFL DFS Picks for Thursday Night Football Week 14
Since Week 5, when Luke Musgrave was injured, Tucker Kraft has played nearly 90% of the snaps. Ben Sims is on the field for around one-third of the offensive action, and John FitzPatrick is well down the list as the TE3 with six, one, three, 14 and zero plays over the last five weeks.
Sims has only four targets on the season, with the last occurring in Week 8, while FitzPatrick’s lone look was in Week 12. Across the last four games, Kraft has seen six, one, two and seven opportunities. On Thursday, the second-year tight end tied his season high with six receptions, and his 78 yards were the second most on the season.
Kicker | Packers-Lions NFL DFS Picks for Thursday Night Football Week 14
Brandon McManus replaced Brayden Narveson in mid-October after the rookie missed on five of his first 17 field goal attempts. McManus has always had accuracy issues from distance, but he has converted 10 of 11 field goal attempts for the Packers, including one from beyond 50 yards, and his lone miss was from 46 yards in Green Bay against Detroit in Week 9.
Defense | Packers-Lions NFL DFS Picks for Thursday Night Football Week 14
Green Bay has been solid this season with 32 sacks, while Detroit has ceded 24. On the turnover front, the Lions have suffered only 11 via nine interceptions and a pair of fumbles. Safety Xavier McKinney is tied for the league lead with seven interceptions through 12 games, and the Pack Attack (23) is just two takeaways shy of the league lead.
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NFL DFS Picks for Packers-Lions Thursday Night Football Week 14: Amon-Ra St. Brown
Amon-Ra St. Brown
DFS Salary
DraftKings: $9,400
FanDuel: $13,500
Fantasy Points
DraftKings: 17.68
FanDuel: 17.07
Cornerback Jaire Alexander and Corey Ballentine are out with knee injuries, and linebacker Edgerrin Cooper will miss this tilt with a hamstring issue. That leaves two of the better cover men and a strong middle-of-the-field presence out of the mix tonight.
Amon-Ra St. Brown earned first-team All-Pro honors last year thanks to 164 targets, 119 receptions, 1,515 yards and 10 touchdowns. That, gamers, is some serious volume.
This year the team has been more balanced on offense, and the defense has been incredibly stingy, allowing only 16.9 points per game, topped by the Los Angeles Chargers (15.7). Playing with the lead had led to less work for St. Brown, though he still has nine receiving touchdowns, trailing Ja’Marr Chase (13) and Terry McLaurin (9).
St. Brown leads the team with 93 targets, which are 28.2% of the total share and 45.8% of what has been earmarked for the wideouts. Most importantly, he has had at least seven targets in seven of the last eight games. That is not quite the dominance of last season, but it is still among the best in the league.
Kalif Raymond landed on the injured reserve last week, which has consolidated things for Jameson Williams and Tim Patrick. On Turkey Day, St. Brown was on the field for 94% of the offensive plays, Williams 79%, Patrick 70% and aging Allen Robinson II 10%.
In the last three games, Williams had six, seven and seven targets, with Patrick getting a respectable four, four and three. Robinson’s last two looks were in Week 11, and he has only five targets this season. Patrick is a punt on DraftKings ($3,200), though very thin on FanDuel ($8,000) since he lacks red zone upside — however, in a fun quirk, he has one red zone look in each of the last three games, and a poor throw from his quarterback cost him some Thanksgiving glory.
Williams is actually in the mix for the multiplier slot in the large-field tournaments, particularly as a downfield threat and with the Green Bay secondary operating shorthanded tonight.
Detroit Lions Positional Preview
Quarterback | Packers-Lions NFL DFS Picks for Thursday Night Football Week 14
Jared Goff has had more than 30 pass attempts thrice this season. He had 55 against Tampa Bay in Week 2 — the lone loss for Detroit. Over the last two games, he has 36 and 34 attempts, which is good for fantasy gamers. These were closer games, and while the Lions won on the road 24-6 against Indianapolis two weeks ago, the Motor City Kitties had a scant 14-6 lead until a touchdown late in the third quarter broke things open.
On Thanksgiving, Goff logged 34 passes against the Chicago Bears, tossing a pair of touchdowns but only compiling 221 yards. Efficiency has been key for the top selection of the 2016 NFL Draft, which is best exemplified by his 412 yards and four touchdowns against Jacksonville, when he completed 24 of 29 (83%) of his passes.
Though his 22 touchdowns are the fifth most in the league, they are well behind Joe Burrow (30) and Lamar Jackson (29). Leading the league with 8.8 yards per attempt is key; now, if only we can have a close game tonight with Green Bay putting points on the board, that would give the Lions a reason to unleash the passing game.
Running Back | Packers-Lions NFL DFS Picks for Thursday Night Football Week 14
The backfield of David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs has been second to none over the last two seasons. This year they each already have 11 touchdowns, with 21 coming via the run and Gibbs adding one more via the pass. Per ESPN, this duo is the first pair of teammates to run for 10-plus touchdowns in back-to-back seasons.
Gibbs has three fewer carries than Montgomery, but he has 253 more rushing yards, sporting a gaudy 6.0 yards per tote. Monty has the edge in the red zone with 49 opportunities, compared to 39 for Gibbs. Their passing game production is similar as well, with Gibbs having seven more targets but only one extra reception and 5 additional yards.
Conventional thinking still has Gibbs as the likely passing down back, however, the Lions have rarely been playing from behind. Each player has been able to have good games together, and their “outbursts” have Gibbs with three two-touchdown games, while Montgomery has two.
Craig Reynolds will likely get a handful of snaps and a carry or two, but we did see him at all on Thanksgiving. Sione Vaki is the fourth running back, though he has more than one offensive snap only twice this season and once since Week 3.
Tight End | Packers-Lions NFL DFS Picks for Thursday Night Football Week 14
Sam LaPorta had one of the best rookie seasons in the history of the NFL. However, he has not been particularly productive this season. Things are trending up, as the second-year player saw six targets in four of the last five games, along with four of his five touchdowns.
Tonight the Stokastic projections have LaPorta for 5.2 targets, 3.8 receptions, 40 yards and a 35% probability of reaching pay dirt. Though he has only four double-digit-fantasy point outings this season, three of those have occurred in the last five games.
Brock Wright tends to be on the field for around half of the snaps, with Detroit giving two-tight end sets a go around 40% of the time. Wright is a fan favorite and beloved by his teammates. He is an excellent blocker and is usually rewarded with a target or two most games. Shane Zylstra is the deep backup, with his lone target coming in Week 11, when LaPorta was out.
Kicker | Packers-Lions NFL DFS Picks for Thursday Night Football Week 14
Jake Bates has a fun story that has been covered in this article before:
“Bates started out as a soccer player with Central Arkansas, transferring to Texas State in 2020 after two seasons on the pitch. There he became a kickoff specialist before transferring to Arkansas, only to be stuck as the kickoff specialist once again. Houston signed Bates after the 2023 NFL Draft, though he was released two weeks later. The Michigan Panthers came calling next, so Bates finally got his chance to kick field goals in the UFL. He had a game-winning 64-yarder, which was the longest in league history. He had several other 60-plus conversions, which ultimately earned him a second NFL chance.“
He leads the league with 45 point after touchdown attempts and 44 conversions. He also has missed only one of his 20 field goals, nailing all five from 50-plus yards. Enjoy!
Defense | Packers-Lions NFL DFS Picks for Thursday Night Football Week 14
Green Bay has allowed only 15 sacks this season, with only the Buffalo Bills (13) ceding fewer. Detroit has 30 sacks, which is solid, but the Lions are missing a lot of key defenders on the front line. The Motor City Kitties are sixth in the league with 19 takeaways, and Kerby Joseph is tied with McKinney for the interception lead at seven. The Packers are allowing just over one turnover per game, so there is not much that stands out in this matchup from a fantasy perspective.
NFL DFS Picks for Thursday Night Football Week 14: Rankings
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Now let’s jump into the final rankings for the Packers-Lions Thursday Night Football slate!
Top 10 NFL DFS Showdown Picks for Packers-Lions
- Amon-Ra St. Brown: Captain, My Captain!
- Josh Jacobs: Just keeps getting it done, and he gets a bit of a break against the thinned-out Detroit defense.
- Jordan Love: Moving indoors is a bonus.
- Jahmyr Gibbs: Highest salary on both DraftKings and FanDuel, plus the shared backfield has him coming in with less projected popularity than his counterpart.
- Jameson Williams: Betting on the upside; good “boom” percentage in the multiplier slot.
- Jake Reed: Less time on the field than his counterparts but better prospect for the high-leverage looks.
- David Montgomery: If the projected popularity flips towards Gibbs, then Monty is a great leverage option.
- Jake Bates: Solid salary saver with upside.
- Jared Goff: Not besmirching his season, but volume has been spotty.
- Tucker Kraft: He has 10 red zone looks, topping Reed (9) and Wicks (8), albeit barely.
Secondary Options
- Dontayvion Wicks: Not as sneaky as some are professing today; expect to see him on 30%-plus of all FanDuel ($7,500) lineups and be north of 40% on DraftKings ($4,200).
- Brandon McManus: Playing indoors favors his accuracy.
- Christian Watson: Playing indoors favors his speed.
- Sam LaPorta: Last year he would have been in the top 5.
- Tim Patrick: Decent salary saver but hard to see him doing a lot, which in turn keeps him in the tournament mix.
Lottery Tickets
- Detroit D/ST: Love susceptible to picks.
- Green Bay D/ST: Meh.
- Chris Brooks: Viable as a DraftKings cash game (H2Hs, 50/50s, 3-mans) punt at $2,400.
- Brock Wright: He is on the field at least.
- Craig Reynolds and Emanuel Wilson: RB3s, projected for 3.5 opportunities; neither has a clear path to glory, and they are that far behind their respective RB2s.
- Bo Melton: Last player worthy of his own line.
- Malik Heath and Allen Robinson II: Lost in the sauce as wideouts.
- Ben Sims, Shane Zylstra, Maurice Alexander, John FitzPatrick and Sione Vaki: Just say no!
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