Cheese Stuffing

Last time Matt Flynn faced the Detroit Lions, it was Jan. 1, 2012, and he lit Detroit’s depleted secondary up for a Green Bay Packers franchise-record six touchdowns in a 45-41 Green Bay win as Aaron Rodgers rested on the sideline. The Pack had wrapped up home-field advantage through the playoffs, so it was the smart call. Especially for Flynn, who was able to do this because the Lions’ secondary frequently left cow pastures around his receivers.

Flynn parlayed that game into a three-year, $26 million contract with the Seattle Seahawks, which never paid off because Flynn was ousted as Seattle’s starter in 2012 by Russell Wilson. Flynn was traded to the Oakland Raiders in April, bounced around a bit with the Buffalo Bills after his Oakland release and was re-signed by the Packers on Nov. 11 after Rodgers suffered a broken collarbone and backup Seneca Wallace was lost for the year to a groin injury. After making a lot of money to do very little, Flynn was able to come home again and hoped for a repeat performance against the Lions on Thanksgiving Day.

“We got him paid, and I don’t know what his career’s done since then,” Detroit linebacker DeAndre Levy said earlier this month about Flynn’s one-game wonder.

In the rematch, Flynn fell back to earth with a rather large thud, while Levy continued on a historic track. No linebacker in the modern era has ever led the NFL in interceptions over a full season, and Levy is currently on pace to do so with six. He added the sixth against Flynn as part of a day that Green Bay’s backup quarterback will want to forget as soon as possible. He completed just 10 of 20 passes for 139 yards with no touchdowns and the interception to Levy, and he was sacked seven times as the Lions rolled to a 40-10 victory. Detroit has the lead in the NFC North with seven wins and the home-and-home advantage against the 6-4 Chicago Bears, who face the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.

You don’t often see a 30-point win that was more of a blowout than the final score indicates, but had the Lions stayed out of their own way early on, it could have been even uglier for the Packers, who are now 0-4-1 since Rodgers was injured against the Bears on Nov. 10. Detroit’s first four drives featured two lost fumbles — one each by Matthew Stafford and Reggie Bush — a Stafford interception and a field goal. In the first quarter, Detroit gained 159 yards and came up with no points to show for it.

However, that ratio turned around pretty quickly as Green Bay’s reeling defense — the real reason for the team’s misfortunes this season — had no answers for what the Lions were doing. Stafford finished with 22 completions in 35 attempts for 330 yards and three touchdowns, peppering nearly his entire offensive roster with passes and hitting 11  receivers in the process. Bush atoned for his early fumble by gaining 117 yards on 20 carries on the ground and adding another 65 yards on five catches.

“The big guys up front,” Stafford said of his underrated offensive line, when asked how his team was able to turn things around. “When we can run the football, we’re tough to stop with the weapons we have on the outside. We turned the ball over too many times today, but our defense did a great job and kept getting the ball back for us.”