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Matthews.
• "I feel better from Sunday ... but it's a longshot," Wilson, who injured his knee in last weekend's blowout loss to the New York Giants, said Wednesday. "It's a horrible feeling knowing I won't be able to play Sunday and help the team with my defense, to stop this beast."
• Few teams have been hit harder by injuries this year than the Packers (7-4), who have lost more than a dozen starters or projected starters for at least one game, and their timing has only made the pain worse.
• With No. 1 receiver Greg Jennings already out, Jordy Nelson, Aaron Rodgers' second-favorite target, missed one game and most of another. James Starks, Green Bay's leading rusher last season, was still nursing a toe injury when Cedric Benson went down with a foot injury. Starks got healthy just in time for fullback John Kuhn to suffer a hamstring injury.
• The Packers had to take on Calvin Johnson and the Detroit Lions without both Woodson and cornerback Sam Shields. The last time Green Bay faced a bulldozer of a running back, Houston's Arian Foster? Nose tackle B.J. Raji was in sweats.
• Now comes Peterson, and Wilson will be on the sidelines.
• "Without C.J., it's definitely going to be tougher," fellow defensive lineman Ryan Pickett said. "C.J. is a real good player, especially against the run."
• The Packers have been tough to run on lately. After giving up a total of 407 yards rushing in the first three weeks of the season, they've held opponents to an average of 91.9 yards over the last eight games, fourth-best in the league.
• They were particularly stingy with Foster. Though he scored two touchdowns, Foster was held to just 29 yards, his fewest in two seasons, and his 1.7 yards per carry was a career low.
• But Wilson played a big part in that. And, no offense to Foster or any of the other running backs the Packers have faced, but Peterson is a much, much bigger challenge.
• "This is a different animal," Pickett said. "I mean, he's a once-a-decade kind of runner."
• Peterson leads the NFL with 1,236 yards rushing, almost 200 more than Foster. He's averaging a whopping 5.8 yards per carry, about a yard better than almost every other top running back. He's run for 100 yards in five straight games, matching Robert Smith's franchise record.
• And this from a guy who blew out his ACL not even 12 months ago.
• "I think he's better, scary to say," Pickett said. "I already thought he was the best back, hands down, in the league, and now he's looking better on tape. I was

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