The Detroit Lions have a lot to play for in Week 17, as they take on the division rival Green Bay Packers. Their opponents, however, don't have any reason to go all-out at this point. Green Bay has clinched the division, the best record in the NFC and as such, a No. 1 seed in the conference, which comes with a first-round bye. They're likely to rest a lot of the starters, while the Lions are still fighting for better seeding to get a potentially more favorable matchup in the first round of the playoffs.
On one hand, they could take on either the New Orleans Saints or San Francisco 49ers - both of whom they've lost to this season. On the other hand, they could take on either the Dallas Cowboys of New York Giants, matchups which Detroit could be favored in. It all really comes down to which starters the Packers decide to rest.
Most importantly, it depends on how head coach Mike McCarthy decides to roll with his quarterbacks, namely Aaron Rodgers. Jason Wilde spoke with Rodgers on Friday, and Rodgers didn't give away much:
Rodgers: "What did Mike say?" Answer to "Are you playing?": Big smile, then, "I'm going to leave it up to Mike. I'll let Mike answer that."
So what about McCarthy, has he given anything away? Only that it's likely the other quarterbacks would get some reps:
MM on Rodgers: "Whether he starts, we'll talk about that today. It's important for the quarterbacks, we repped all three of 'em this week."
Essentially, this means that Rodgers isn't going to play a full game on Sunday, but it may not take a full game for that offense to put points on the board, even against a strong Lions defense. It's likely that Matt Flynn will see a lot of action under center, and if McCarthy is serious, then Graham Harrell could get some time as the signal caller as well.
For more on the Detroit Lions, check out Pride of Detroit. For the flip-side, you can check out our Green Bay Packers blog at Acme Packing Company. You can also head over to SB Nation's main NFL hub at SBNation.com/NFL.