The Green Bay Packers believe they've come a long way since they last faced the Detroit Lions nearly a month ago. They get a chance to prove it Thursday when they visit Detroit to close a stretch of three games in 12 days.

Although the Packers (9-3) have put themselves in good shape to earn a playoff berth by winning three straight and seven of their last eight, they remain two games behind the Lions (11-1) and a half-game behind Minnesota (9-2) in the NFC North. They also already lost at home to both teams.

The Lions and Packers both secured wins on Thanksgiving and improved to 11-1 and 8-3, respectively. That puts pressure on Minnesota to take care of a good Cardinals team on Sunday, get to 10-2, and maintain its spot in between those two rivals heading into the final five weeks of the season.

Hours after the Green Bay Packers watched the Chicago Bears fail to give them any help when they botched the end of the early Thanksgiving game against the Detroit Lions, the Packers figured they'd better at least help themselves Thursday at Lambeau Field.