On Thursday night, the Green Bay Packers had a true “contender or pretender” game as they faced the NFC North leaders, the Detroit Lions, at Ford Field.

And whilst the Packers ultimately came up short against the current frontrunners for the #1 seed in the NFC, they gave the Lions about as difficult test as they have faced this year, with a wild last minute play-call from head coach, Dan Campbell, granting Detroit a 12th win this year, 31-34.

After the game, Green Bay head coach, Matt LeFleur, stated that the Packers would have to “earn the right” to return to Ford Field, with a Divisional round matchup potentially on the horizon if they make the playoffs and move past the Wild Card stage.

As Positive A Loss As A Team Can Have For Green Bay

Yet, this was anything but a despondent loss for the 3rd place team in the NFC North, in fighting an incredibly closely fought game that, were it not for a couple of miscues and penalties – such as a costly fumble by receiver, Christian Watson – could have gone the Packers’ way.

And Green Bay’s players seem well aware of that fact, with veteran defensive lineman, Kenny Clark, issuing a sinister message to the Lions, per Matt Schneidman of The Athletic.

Unlike LeFleur’s more reserved message, emphasizing the importance of winning the right to see Detroit later on in the postseason, Clark has full confidence that his team will make their way to a matchup with the mighty Lions; and can beat them when they do.

Are The Packers Bona Fide Super Bowl Contenders

Besides a wet night at Lambeau in November against the same Lions, the Packers have not been easily subdued by any opponent, with all of their other 3 defeats coming by 5 points or less – even with Jordan Love’s persistent injury woes throughout this season.

However, Green Bay should be concerned by the fact that all of their losses have come at the hands of strong opponents – the 12-1 Lions (x 2); 10-2 Eagles; and 10-3 Vikings, rather than “flukey”, one-off type defeats.

In fact, the only team the Packers have beaten with a winning record are the 8-5 Houston Texans, who many believe lack the current infrastructure to compete deep into the playoffs at this point in time.

The inability to beat high-level opponents is certainly a worrying sign for Green Bay with regards to their Super Bowl aspirations, yet Packers fans will point to the improvements shown by the run defense and Jordan Love’s continual improvement from his early season injuries and interception free-for-all as a symbol of the team moving in the right direction – with Thursday night’s game being the proof in the “pudding”.