Live analysis from the NFL's Thanksgiving Day games

Follow along throughout the day as we break down everything you need to know from an exciting slate of Thanksgiving games.

Live analysis

Wicks on the board
22-yard TD catch, 14:19 - 2nd quarter

Injuries to Tucker Kraft and Jayden Reed, along with some early struggles from first-round rookie Matthew Golden, opened the door for someone like Dontayvion Wicks to seize a featured role in the Packers' passing game. Could this be the start of something? Wicks made an impressive grab through contact for a touchdown on a critical fourth-and-2 early in the second quarter. It's his first score since Week 16 of last season. He's always had route-running ability; with a little more consistency at the catch point, he could easily emerge as an impact player. The Packers might need that from him down the stretch.

St. Brown taken to locker room

Uh oh. Amon-Ra St. Brown was forced to exit midway through the first quarter after getting rolled up on at the end of a run play. He walked off under his own power but went right to the locker room for further evaluation. Detroit officially called it an ankle injury, listing him as questionable to return. Already without Sam LaPorta, the Lions' offense could be in real trouble if St. Brown is forced to miss time. Jameson Williams will get all the targets he can handle from here, and the running backs should be even more involved than usual in the pass game. Let's see if Dan Campbell also gets a little creative in an effort to help pick up the slack.

Packers run well early

I wondered pregame whether the Packers might have some trouble consistently moving the ball on the ground against Detroit. I may have overlooked the potential impact of a lineup change up front. Second-round rookie Anthony Belton got the start at right guard after rotating in at that spot last week, and his powerful presence seems to be a nice addition when it comes to moving bodies on the interior. Josh Jacobs had four carries for 21 yards before a few Jordan Love misses forced Green Bay to settle for a field goal. He also kick-started the offense on the third drive with a 29-yard run.

Pregame notes

The Lions really need this one. The playoff odds are, of course, a big part of that equation. A win would give Detroit an 86% chance of getting to the postseason, while a loss sends that figure all the way down to 60%, according to Next Gen Stats. But getting there is only the first step. If this team is going to make any sort of deep run, the offense has to find a way to overcome the loss of Sam LaPorta.

The Lions' attack has struggled since the star tight end went down with a back injury in Week 10. They posted 0.16 EPA/play in snaps with LaPorta on the field this season, which would be the best mark league-wide, according to TruMedia. Without him, they've put up minus-0.12 EPA/play. Sure, it's a relatively small sample, but it's alarming that those numbers are in line with the 28th-ranked Vikings. Jahmyr Gibbs saved the day with a career game that helped Detroit narrowly avoid a loss to the Giants last week. That responsibility can't always fall to the star running back, though - particularly against a Packers team that held the Lions to 2.1 yards per carry in Week 1. Could this a big spot for Jameson Williams alongside Amon-Ra St. Brown? The speedy wideout, who was held without a catch against New York, needs to be a focal point.

On the other side of things, I'm still waiting for the Packers' offense to look like a championship-caliber scoring attack. Similarly to the Lions, they just don't have the same firepower without Tucker Kraft at tight end. Josh Jacobs is back after missing last week's win over the Vikings, but the passing game will probably have to do most of the heavy lifting against a Detroit defense that's posting a top-five success rate against the run. Will the Packers' offensive line be up to the task if it's forced into more passing situations than it might prefer? Green Bay currently ranks as a bottom-10 team in pressure rate. Jordan Love's ability to create could be a big factor today.

Dan Wilkins is theScore's senior NFL writer.