Green Bay will head into Thanksgiving hoping the lightning that is Matt Flynn's right arm can strike twice in the same place. Packers coach Mike McCarthy announced on Wednesday that Flynn will be Green Bay's starting quarterback on Thanksgiving Day in Detroit.
"He's taken all the starter reps this week and he's ready to go," McCarthy said.
Flynn was in a competition with Scott Tolzien for the starting job. Tolzien started in Green Bay's 26-26 tie with the Vikings last week, but was pulled in the third quarter after going 7 of 17 for 98 yards. Flynn replaced Tolzien and led the Packers back from a 23-7 deficit.
McCarthy said he waited until Wednesday to name Flynn the starter because he wanted to make sure Aaron Rodgers couldn't play. Rodgers, who's been out with a fractured collarbone since Nov. 4, threw a few passes during Tuesday's practice.
"We wanted to make sure Aaron had an opportunity to get down on the field and work, and then as a staff as we went through the plan, Matt took the starter reps from day one," McCarthy said. "It's like anything you just wanted to make sure."
Offcially, Flynn will be the starter on Thursday, Tolzien will be the backup and Rodgers will be inactive.
It will be Flynn's first start in a Packers uniform since Week 17 of 2011 when he threw for 480-yards and six touchdowns in a 45-41 win over Detroit. Both the 480-yards and six touchdown passes are franchise records he shares with Aaron Rodgers.
Not only did the performance against the Lions put Flynn in the Packers record book, but it earned him a huge contract with Seattle in March 2012.
The start against Detroit on Thursday will actually be Flynn's second of the season. Flynn also also made a start in Week 4 with Oakland in a 24-14 loss to the Redskins.
Flynn will be the Packers fourth starting quarterback this month, a pretty high number for a team that only started three different quarterbacks from Sept. 27, 1992 to Nov. 4, 2013.
