Like Christopher Nolan’s villain The Dark Knight RisesBane once said, “Let the games begin!”

The Green Bay Packers (6-2) will play for first place in the NFC North on Sunday, with the Detroit Lions (6-1) invading Lambeau Field and looking like a total mask.

Their offense is a mix of explosive and gritty.

Their defense can make big plays.

Their special teams showed their prowess in Sunday’s blowout against the Tennessee Titans.

The Packers, as has been the case for most of the year, didn’t play their best game, but they had enough to beat the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.

The big question coming into this week isn’t whether they can play their best game. It is whether they will even be able to put their best foot forward.

Jordan Love left Sunday’s game with a groin injury. Malik Willis has been admirable in his absence, but the Lions are a different beast than a run through the AFC South.

Safety Evan Williams left the game with a thigh injury and cornerback Jaire Alexander suffered a knee injury on the final defensive snap. Their ability on Sunday is in question.

Even if they all play, the Packers will need to get their A-game together, something they have yet to do this season.

“They are very, very good. And we knew that,” LaFleur said of the Lions on Monday. “I knew that during the year and it’s not shocking to me. It’s a team we’re obviously very familiar with and we’ll have to play as well as we can. And it all starts with preparation. We should have a great week of training.”

Here’s a look at this week’s fixtures.

The passing offense

When Jared Goff was traded to the Lions, the conventional wisdom was that he was just a sideline replacement as part of the Matthew Stafford blockbuster. Goff will be a placeholder for the Lions until they can recruit a young quarterback to lead them going forward.

Goff didn’t get the grade.

He was a perfect fit in Detroit with coach Dan Campbell and offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.

Goff completed nearly 75 percent of his passes. The Lions have scored 172 points over the past four weeks — the most by a team since 2019 — and much of that credit goes to Goff, who has nearly as many touchdowns (10) as incompletions ( 13) during that period.

If there is such a candidate for MVP come late October, Goff could be the club’s leader.

According to Pro Football Focus, Goff has the best passer rating in the NFL on passes thrown 20+ yards downfield. At the same time, the Lions are second in the NFL in yards after the catch.

Amon-Ra St. Brown is a slot killer. Sam LaPorta was the best tight end in his draft class.

One break the Packers took this week was not having to deal with Detroit’s prolific deep threat Jameson Williams. Williams, who will serve the final game of a two-game suspension, is averaging over 21 yards per reception.

The Lions’ passing attack may not be as spread as Green Bay’s, but it is more prolific.

Instead, Green Bay’s defense was up and down.

A week after tormenting Houston’s CJ Stroud at Lambeau Field, they allowed Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence to throw for over 300 yards.

They will have to be better on Sunday or it could be a long day.

Advantage: lei

Rush Offense

The Lions call up Jahmyr Gibbs, who is part of their two-headed monster at running back, Sonic.

It’s an apt name, because once it starts moving, it could be gone in an instant.

He is accompanied behind by a sledgehammer, David Montgomery.

Both were successful against Green Bay. Montgomery scored three times in Detroit’s 34-20 win at Lambeau Field last season, while Gibbs averaged nearly 5.0 yards per carry in two games against the Packers as a rookie.

Gibbs is coming off a monster game against the Titans. He had just 11 carries, but made the most of them with 127 yards, including a 70-yard touchdown.

The Packers were good, not great against Jacksonville’s Bigsby tank. Green Bay missed seven tackles against him, according to PFF.

There aren’t many teams that are better than the Lions at forcing missed tackles.

The Packers have tackled this season well. If they don’t get back to that standard, this game could get out of hand.

Advantage: lei

Pass defense

This matchup is tough to break down because of the uncertainty at quarterback for the Packers.

Willis was a godsend. Would they be able to take first place in the NFC North without him?

The answer is a resounding no.

Willis was every bit as impressive as LaFleur described after Sunday’s win when he replaced Love early in the third quarter and drove in the game-winning drive.

The Packers asked Willis to play extended minutes in three games. They are 3-0 in those games. That’s more than they could have asked for when they traded a seventh-round pick for him at the end of training camp.

In those three games, Willis hasn’t turned the ball over once and has a 130 passer rating.

The other reality is that the bottom of the AFC South is a different animal than the one he’ll face if he starts against the Lions.

The Lions have won six games. The three teams Willis has beaten have won seven in a row.

Even if Love plays, the Lions tend to take the ball.

Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch combined for nine of the Lions’ interceptions. Love added to his league-leading total with another interception on Sunday.

If Love plays, he can’t afford to turn the ball over. Neither can the Packers. The margin for error is much smaller against an elite team like the Lions.

The Lions are in a pass rush transition. Aidan Hutchinson was a leading contender for Defensive Player of the Year with 7.5 sacks when he suffered a broken leg on Oct. 13. The Lions have 20 sacks, with Alim McNeill (2.5) a distant second behind Hutchinson.

They’re still capable of getting after the quarterback, but everyone in their rotation has moved up in the order with Hutchinson on the sidelines.

With the uncertainty at quarterback, we’ll give the edge to Detroit.

Advantage: lei

Rush Defense

Josh Jacobs led the Packers to victory against the Jaguars, carrying the rock 25 times for 127 yards and two touchdowns.

When Willis had to play, Jacobs was the focal point of the offense and the hero in two of those wins.

Much like the Willis story, the Lions present a different challenge to Green Bay’s rushing attack compared to previous opponents.

Detroit ranks fifth in the NFL in rushing defense, giving up 101.9 yards per game, though it is 22nd with 4.66 yards allowed per carry.

Something that might be encouraging, though, is that the Jaguars were a highly rated rushing defense coming into Sunday’s game, but Jacobs ran all over them.

Maybe Detroit will be more accessible. This is strength on strength, and Willis adds to the running game if asked to go. That’s a small advantage, but one that works in Green Bay’s favor thanks to Jacobs’ brilliance.

Advantage: Packers

Special teams

Brandon McManus made his mark early with the Packers, drilling a 45-yard field goal to beat the Texans. For an encore, he made another game-winning field goal against the Jaguars, though this one was much shorter.

McManus has yet to miss a kick in his two games with the Packers. He’s been a steady presence, which is what the Packers could have asked for after their experience last season, plus.

Otherwise, Green Bay’s special teams were relatively nondescript in Sunday’s game. However, the Lions played a starring role against the Titans. Kalif Raymond had punt returns of 90 yards (for a touchdown) and 64 yards (to set up a touchdown), and Khalil Dorsey added a 72-yard kickoff return to set up a touchdown.

Rookie Lions kicker Jake Bates was perfect on field goals and missed just one extra point.

Of course, something to always monitor when playing against Campbell is his aggressive nature on special teams.

Campbell attempted a fake field goal against Green Bay last year at Ford Field but failed.

He won’t be shy if he sees an opportunity.

Overall, Detroit has been much better and more explosive on special teams, which gives them the edge.

Advantage: lei

More Green Bay Packers news

Our consensus NFL power rankings | Play to win the game | The defense must rebound against the prolific | Overreactions of the five packers | The latest Packers injury updates | Josh Jacobs took over against the Jaguars | Packers-Jaguars record | Inside the game-winning completion | Brian Gutekunst’s final moves win the game | ‘High level’ of concern for Jordan Love | Packers-Jaguars: Stock report | The Packers are missing out on some top wide receivers (including one from Detroit)