GREEN BAY – Two Thanksgivings ago, Ford Field was the site of the first truly big win of Jordan Love's career.
Then last year, in a Thursday night game, the Packers quarterback put together another admirable effort in Detroit that came up just short at the wire.
This time, once again playing on Thanksgiving, Love will be dealing with a left shoulder injury that's forced him to alter the way he hands the ball off, and he'll be trying to protect that bum shoulder from any significant contact as best he can.
But when he walks out of that Ford Field tunnel Thursday to lead the Packers in an important NFC North showdown, he'll do so knowing he's played pretty darn well in that building to date. Banged up or not, he'll be counted on to deliver his best to keep his team in the thick of a hotly contested division race.
"Yeah, I think anytime you're playing somewhere, you'll remember those games and feelings of being there," Love said. "But as we always say, every year's a new year. Every game's kind of a new journey in itself."
As for that shoulder, he said it's not holding him back, and he's able to play through it. Head Coach Matt LaFleur thought it took more fortitude these last two games than perhaps it appeared.
"It speaks a lot to him, just in regards to his mindset, his mentality, and how tough he is," LaFleur said. "It takes a lot of physical and mental toughness to be able to stand in there, especially when you are injured, knowing that you're probably going to get hit at some point. I thought he exuded that."
He'll need to summon it again in a tough environment he's handled well.
Love's first snap at Ford Field was famously the deep shot to Christian Watson to jump-start the Thanksgiving game in 2023. The 53-yard completion led to an opening TD in a 29-22 triumph.
Last season, a tougher start saw the Packers trailing by 10 points at halftime, but they rallied to take a lead early in the fourth quarter, only to lose when the Lions burned the last 3½ minutes on the clock to set up a walk-off field goal.
All told, Love's numbers in two games at Detroit are as follows: 34-of-52 (65%), 474 yards, four TDs, no INTs, 120.2 passer rating.
Anything resembling that would go a long way toward putting the Packers in the best possible spot with five games left.
At 7-3-1, Green Bay is sandwiched between 8-3 Chicago and 7-4 Detroit in the NFC North standings. The Bears travel to face the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles on Black Friday, meaning by the time the weekend arrives, the Packers could be anywhere from first to third place in the division.
So, this one feels pretty big, right?
"It definitely does," Watson said. "Honestly, any NFC North game feels like a big game for us, but a chance to go 2-0 against a team in the division is definitely a big-time game for us."
The opportunity to follow up Green Bay's Week 1 win over Detroit with another to complete the season sweep can't be overstated. The Lions have won the division each of the last two years, and they lost only two division games in 2023-24 combined.
They've already lost two this year (the other to the Vikings), so a third division loss would legitimately open the door to a changing of the NFC North guard.
"We know this game is important," safety Xavier McKinney said, rather matter of factly.
Coming off last week's win over Minnesota, the Packers are 2-0 in the division now after going 1-5 last year, the biggest reason they finished third. Three more division games remain after Thanksgiving – including two against the Bears – so this one in Detroit isn't make-or-break.
But it sure would set the table.
"We're laser-focused," McKinney said. "We understand this stretch of games is not going to be easy. We gotta be locked in and we can't have any moments where we get lax or we get comfortable.
"We gotta just stay locked in from start to finish."
