Sunday’s weather forecast for Green Bay is befitting the turn to early November on the calendar. High temps of around 52 degrees are expected, with a 100 percent chance of what the Weather Channel deems “steady rainfall” throughout the afternoon, with a breeze of 15-20 MPH blowing off the western shores of Lake Michigan.
Those are the expected conditions waiting for the Detroit Lions on Sunday. The trip to Lambeau Field to face the Packers represents the team’s first taste of the outdoors in the 2024 season, and it will be chilly, wet and breezy.
Lions head coach Dan Campbell is ready for the weather, and so are his players.
This was Campbell’s opening statement to his pre-practice press conference on Friday. It’s every bit as energetic as it reads, too,
“This is – there again, just reiterating how exciting this is, to be able to play these types of games, these big-time games, environment, division game on the road, at a place that’s – it’s one of those things that God created, it’s where football began a little bit, those types of things. So anyway, we’re looking forward to this.
We’ll be in the elements, which is great. This is like one of those – you hope for this. I think we’ll be all-white, so we’ll have the grass stains and everything rolling, man, it’s going to be good old football, the way it’s meant to be played. So, excited, great opponent, but our guys are fired up, man, they’re looking forward to this.”
Campbell’s Lions have won in their last two trips to Green Bay, though in different weather conditions. In 2023, they played on Thursday Night Football in Week 4 and drew a lovely fall evening at 64 degrees with low wind and no rain.
One year earlier, it was a frigid January afternoon in Week 18 when the Lions rolled into the frozen tundra and ended Aaron Rodgers’ time with the Packers by beating Green Bay and preventing them from making the postseason. The game-time temperature was 21 degrees that day, with occasional spits of light snow flurries and wind gusts.
Those positive experiences might help explain Campbell’s affinity for playing in the elements.
“I just – I love the good throwback games. It’s good to get one every once in a while,” Campbell stated.