Yahoo Sports Staff Updated Sun, October 25, 2026 at 8:10 PM UTC About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In this story The Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions will play the first of their two regular-season matchups in Week 7, with kickoff set for 4:25 p.m. ET at Ford Field in Detroit. The NFC North remains as competitive as ever, as just one of two divisions where each team sits at .500 or better (the other being the AFC North).
The Lions are coming in rested off the bye week and will look to continue their offensive production, scoring 26-plus points in every game so far this season and 31-plus points in all but one. The defense has struggled, meanwhile, allowing the third-most points per game (29.6) and the eighth-highest scoring drive percentage (44.4%) to opponents this year. Detroit will get a big-time reinforcement in the secondary this week, as safety Brian Branch makes his season debut returning from an Achilles injury that ended his 2025 season.
The Packers have won three straight after a 1-2 start. Green Bay has struggled to run the ball effectively, with starting running back Josh Jacobs missing the first six weeks on the commissioner's exempt list. Jacobs has been reinstated to the active roster and is eligible to make his season debut, though the NFL's investigation into his offseason arrest remains ongoing. Jacobs was charged with battery and criminal damage to property stemming from a May incident and pleaded no contest to both.
Follow along with Yahoo Sports for live updates, highlights and more as the Packers host the Lions for an NFC North showdown in Week 7, airing on Fox .
The Lions' secondary has allowed the fourth-most passing touchdowns (14) and the fourth-highest NFL passer rating (106.3) through the first six weeks of the season.
They'll get a key contributor back onto the field in Week 7, though, as Pro Bowl safety Brian Branch makes his season debut after a ruptured Achilles suffered last season. He's officially active.
Here's a look at the list of inactives for Lions vs. Packers in Week 7.
Four years ago, the Detroit Lions traded tight end T.J. Hockenson to the Minnesota Vikings midseason. The Vikings wound up signing him to a then-record-setting extension in the summer of 2023.
Hockenson's eventual replacement in Detroit, Sam LaPorta, is now due for a lucrative extension.
He's in the final year of his rookie deal, and, despite his impressive play upon returning from a back injury that cut his 2025 campaign short , the Lions still haven't extended him.
LaPorta, an Iowa product like Hockenson, expressed his disappointment in that situation during the latest episode of Barstool's "Pardon My Take" podcast.
The 2023 second-round pick was asked about playing with the uncertainty of his NFL future looming.
"I think the combination of getting your heartstrings twisted as well as the violent sport that we play, it sucks," LaPorta said. "And it's disappointing that you go out there every week and you bear the risk of getting hurt. Like last year, whatever it was, Week 9, Week 10, I break my f***ing back for the team. And then I'm going out there this year, and I'm balling, and maybe they're just not showing the love.
"So it sucks. I'm going to continue to be a pro, and I dish a lot of that to my agent, and he handles that great. ... So I'm going to continue to go do my thing and ball out. And in three months, if I don't get to wear the Honolulu Blue and play for the Lions anymore, it's going to be all good. I'll go get paid somewhere else."
Source: Sports
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