Random stats: Lions vs Packers part one

Week 3 is here, and with it brings the first rivalry game of the year for the Detroit Lions. Last week the Lions nearly set a new record in the random stats world with 17 penalties in their loss to the Titans. This week the Lions need to bring their A game and behave in Lambeau. Because, as we know, times haven't always been great there for Detroit. Let's elaborate on that. Hop in the DeLorean, we're going back to 1930.

Back to 1930

November 2nd, 1930 to be exact. Chuck Bennett and the Portsmouth Spartans, coming off a loss to the Chicago Cardinals, headed to The City Stadium in Green Bay, Wisconsin to take on Red Dunn and the Green Bay Packers for the very first time. The Packers had just shut out the Minneapolis Red Jackets the week before. On this day, they would serve another shutout and beat the Lions for the first time ever. 173 games later and the results tend to be the same. Especially in Wisconsin.

In Wisconsin

The Lions just can't seem to catch a break in the land of cheese. At least until 2015, that is. Before that, the Lions went on the much publicized streak of not winning in Wisconsin for 24 straight years. But things before that were bad enough. Pre-1992, the Lions were 24-34-4 in Wisconsin. 24 years later, they are 25- 58-4. Yeah, that is sad. But last year that 24-year streak finally came to an end when the Lions beat the Packers 18-16 in a thriller of a game. One streak is dead. But another one has popped up.

Back to back

No this isn't reference to that Drake song all the kids are listening to these days. This is in reference to the next streak the Lions have to try to break. That's beating the Packers in Wisconsin two years in a row. The last time that happened? Here are some clues. Hook opened in theaters everywhere the same day, Michael Jackson had a hit with "Black or White" and the Banks family would take a trip to the slopes in Utah the very next day.

If you guessed 1991, you were right. Get used to seeing that year. It holds the key to everything. The Lions haven't won two times in a row in Wisconsin since 1991. The Lions haven't swept the Packers since 1991. 1991, 1991, 1991. Try not to have nightmares about it.

An odd stat

This is the kind of stat that makes random stats so much fun to put together. Last year I noticed something interesting about the Packers before they played the Lions at Lambeau. The week before the Lions got their first win in Wisconsin in 24 years, the Packers lost to the Carolina Panthers. A winning team. Why is that odd? Because the last time the Packers had lost a game to a winning team the week before hosting the Lions was 1991. The last time the Lions had won in Green Bay.

Guess what? That same thing happend to the Packers the year before when they lost to the Chiefs, then followed that up with a loss at home to the Lions. So here we are in 2016. And for the second straight season, the Packers are coming into a home game against the Lions following a loss to a winning team. Could history repeat itself? If so, we'll be like this after the game.

Week 3

This isn't the first time the Lions have faced the Packers in Week 3. In fact, this will be the tenth time. Like so many other things when it comes to the Packers, the Lions have had trouble in this facet of the rivalry. The Lions are 2-7 against the Packers in Week 3, but the Lions do have the latest win: A 19-7 win during the 2014 season.