The Packers have a short week to prepare for their Thanksgiving tussle at Detroit Thursday. And while coach Mike McCarthy is maniacal about his routine, this is not uncharted territory. Green Bay is 2-0 under McCarthy on Thanksgiving Day; in part because the Lions were wretched at the time.

However, this is not your father's Detroit Lions. Or your grandfather's. Or even his father's. After all, the Lions have been mostly putrid for more than a half-century. However, under coach Jim Schwartz, Detroit is rolling at a solid 7-3. Armed with playmakers on both sides of the ball and a front office that finally appears to know what it is doing, the Lions are, believe it or not, a force to be reckoned with.

On Tuesday, McCarthy said that running back James Starks may play after suffering a sprained knee this past Sunday against Tampa Bay. If Starks can't go, then it will be up to Ryan Grant to emerge from the milk carton he has been hiding on most of the season to shoulder the load and keep Detroit's remarkable defense honest.

Three key matchups:

Detroit DT Ndamukong Suh vs. Green Bay RG Josh Sitton: Suh is one of the elite defensive linemen in football. His hits have become so vicious that he met with commissioner Roger Goodell in New York during Detroit's bye week to talk about it. Sitton has been bothered by a sore knee over the last two months, but that doesn't explain away all of the penalties he has accumulated. Sitton's ineffectiveness has been a hot topic this year; one of the few blights on an otherwise incredible season. In going up against Suh, Sitton will need to revert back to his 2010 form if Aaron Rodgers is to remain upright.

Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers vs. Detroit cornerbacks Chris Houston and Eric Wright: Rodgers was quite critical of himself after last Sunday's win over Tampa Bay, as his timing and communication seemed just a bit off. Jordy Nelson had a breakout game, but Jermichael Finley wasn't even targeted. If Houston and Wright key up on either Nelson or Greg Jennings, then Finley could be back in the swing of things. Both Detroit corners are among the league leaders in interceptions, but with Rodgers just days removed from throwing just his fourth pick of the season, don't expect another gift anytime soon.

Detroit WR Calvin Johnson vs. Green Bay CB Tramon Williams: It's pretty simple. Calvin Johnson is one of the most talented wide receivers in football. Not surprisingly, Johnson has been a touchdown machine, leading the NFL with 11 scores this season. With 54 catches for 885 yards, the man who has been dubbed "Megatron" by his coaches has been the rarest of breed: a Matt Millen draft choice that actually lived up to the hype. The goal for Williams, who certainly will need some help over the top from his safeties, is not to stop the Matthew Stafford to Calvin Johnson express, because that would be fruitless. He just needs to slow it down as best as he can.

NFL Team Ranks:

Total offense: Packers 4, Lions 11

Passing offense: Packers 3, Lions 8

Rushing offense: Packers 21, Lions 22

3rd down offense: Packers 2, Lions 31

Total points scored: Packers 1, Lions 3

Total defense: Packers 30, Lions 9

Passing defense: Packers 31, Lions 5

Rushing defense: Packers 12, Lions 28

3rd down defense: Packers 26, Lions 1

Total points surrendered: Packers 15, Lions 20

Other key games around the NFL:

Miami Dolphins (3-7) at Dallas Cowboys (6-4): Okay, this one might not be a great matchup, but the alternative is listening to Aunt Edna tell another story about how she won at BINGO last week over at the Senior Center. Besides, if the Dolphins don't put you to sleep, the tryptophan from the turkey will be settling in nicely right around the time Enrique Iglesias belts out his first tune at halftime. My favorite memory of Thanksgiving has to be Dallas' Leon Lett sliding around in the snow trying to recover a blocked field goal that didn't need to be recovered in1993. Miami got another shot at the game winning field goal and that time didn't miss. Good times. Prediction: Dallas 24, Miami 10

San Francisco 49ers (8-1) at Baltimore Ravens (6-3): The long awaited matchup of the Harbaugh Boys takes place during a game that most of America probably won't see. Thanksgiving night features Jim's upstart and surprising 49ers against little brother John's defensive minded and veteran laden Ravens. However, the game will be telecast on the NFL Network, which still, unfathomably, is not yet carried by Time Warner Cable, Cablevision, and other providers. Add to that sleepy turkey eaters, and you might just have a spectacular game few actually see nationwide. Rumor has it that Joanie Crean, the sister of the Harbaugh brothers and wife of former Marquette coach Tom Crean was consulting Packers linebacker A.J. Hawk's wife Laura about what she should wear to the game. Reportedly, Joanie has been in contact with Laura's seamstress. Prediction: Ravens 16, 49ers 10

Chicago Bears (6-3) at Oakland Raiders (6-4): When the season began, neither Carson Palmer nor Caleb Hanie was their team's respective starting quarterback. However, with news that Jay Cutler's thumb injury will sideline him for more than one month, Hanie is being pressed into duty in Chicago. Packers fans remember well how Hanie moved the ball effectively in January's NFC Championship Game. If he can just manage the next three games after Oakland, the Bears will be in good shape. After the Raiders, Chicago plays Kansas City, Denver, and Seattle; all teams that have quarterback woes of their own, despite the Tebow apologists argument that he is a better player than what the statistics and scouts all say. For Oakland, running back Darren McFadden has been banged up and his status is questionable. Fortunately for coach Hue Jackson, backup Michael Bush has been shouldering the load nicely. Prediction: Oakland 24, Chicago 13

New York Giants (6-4) at New Orleans Saints (7-3): Finally, a Monday night game that lives up to the billing. Both teams feature elite passing attacks (yes, I'm including you, Eli) and pretty much a mediocre everything else. However, as we have seen with this year's Packers, in 2011, that's all you really need to win a majority of your games. For as spectacular of a season as Rodgers is having in Green Bay, Drew Brees is lighting up the scoreboard down on the Bayou. Three years ago, he came up just 15 yards short of Dan Marino's 25-year old record of 5,084 yards in a single season, and is flirting with that mark again with 3,326 yards through the Saints first 10 games. With an average of 332.6 yards per game, Brees is easily outpacing Marino's 1984 average of 317.7 yards per contest. Prediction: New Orleans 34, New York 27

Broadcast information:

Television: FOX 6, WITI-TV: Joe Buck (play-by-play), Troy Aikman (analyst) and Pam Oliver (sidelines)

Local Radio: WTMJ – AM 620; Wayne Larrivee (play-by-play) and Larry McCarren (analyst)

National Radio: Westwood One; Kevin Kugler (play-by-play), Hub Arkush (analyst), and Mark Malone (sidelines)

For what it's worth:

This is the 34th time the Packers have played on Thanksgiving Day, with 20 of those contests being held in Detroit. All time, the Packers are 13-18-2.

No two teams have played each other every season longer than the Packers and Lions, a streak that dates back to 1932. The only two teams that have played more in NFL history are the Packers and Bears, but because of the 1982 players strike, Green Bay and Chicago did not meet that season.

The Packers have won 18 of their last 21 games vs. the Lions.

Canadian rock band Nickelback will perform at halftime, despite an online petition circulated by Lions fans that preferred an artist with Detroit ties. As the game is broadcast on the FOX network, the national anthem will be performed by American Idol runner up Lauren Alaina.

My prediction:

The Packers have to lose sometime. They've flirted with it before, and one loss won't derail their season now. Remember, the goal is to win the Super Bowl, not go 16-0 in the regular season.

Detroit 37, Green Bay 33