It's the final prime-time game in a streak of four for the Green Bay Packers as they return home to take on the New Orleans Saints tonight from Lambeau Field. Kickoff is slated for 7:15 CST as the Packers will have their last non-divisional matchup of the regular season. The Packers hold an 18-10 lead on the all-time series with the Saints with the latest being an 18-17 victory over the Saints in early 2023.  The 10-4 Packers are coming off their 30-13 drubbing of the Seattle Seahawks in a blowout game despite the only 17-point margin of victory. The 5-9 Saints are coming off a 20-19 loss to the Washington Commanders and are seemingly just looking to limp across the finish line with their pride still intact. 

The last time these two teams met was on September 24th, 2023 when Jordan Love earned his first victory as a starter at home on Lambeau Field in a close 18-17 final score. It was a bit of a dismal showing by the Packers at first, falling down 17-0 at the half before turning the tables on the Saints and scoring 18 unanswered points in the second half on their way to victory. Jordan Love went 22/44 for 259 yards a touchdown and an interception. He also ended up being the leading rusher for the Packers in the game earning 39 yards on 9 attempts including a touchdown. Rashan Gary also had a big game for the Packers' defense sacking the Quarterback three times. 15 months later, this is definitely a different Packers' offense that we hope will be on full display tonight. 

Last week as I said before, was a blowout of the Seattle Seahawks. I had initially viewed last week's game as a bit of a measuring stick for the Packers to show despite their fighting for a Wild Card spot and Seattle possibly fighting for a divisional title, how much better they are. Well, they absolutely did not disappoint. The Packers' offense dominated early on the ground and then continued that domination through the air, and on defense. They showed their ability to play complimentary football as well as impose their will in the trenches. 

Tonight, the Saints are just playing for pride at this point. They're missing several key players as well as playing with a backup Quarterback. It's easy for the Packers to overlook them but that's something they cannot do as this Saints team still has some fight in them and would love nothing more than to play spoiler on National Television tonight.  

What to see on Offense

Pure and simple, this is an opportunity for the Packers' offense to dominate. We saw the Packers' offense impose their will on a lackluster Seattle rush defense last week, and tonight could be more of the same. The Saints' rush defense ranks 27th in the league allowing 134.4 rushing yards per game. They also allow an average of 4.94 yards per carry. 

Linebacker Demario Davis leads the team with 104 tackles, but only three of those have been for losses. After Davis, the closest run-stopper may be fellow LB Pete Werner with 70 tackles. When it comes to making tackles behind the line of scrimmage, DEs Chase Young and Carl Granderson lead the way tied with eight each, but when it comes to stopping the run, there hasn't been a whole lot of push from the Saints. Josh Jacobs had his way with the Seahawks defense in the first half last week en route to a 94-yard game on the ground. The only reason he slowed down I believe is that the Seahawks began to do a better job of swarming the ball carrier in the second half and I think the Packers started to get a little more exotic with their run-calls to see what would work. Despite my preference that they'd put their feet on the throats of their opponents in the second half of a blowout, I suppose it's as good a time as any to dig deep in the playbook and see what sticks when the result isn't as crucial.

Tonight I expect to see a start like last week's game where the Packers try to wear out the Saints' defense early with Josh Jacobs and the running attack. 

On to the passing game. If you're a Saints fan, it's not going to get a whole lot better as you're likely already aware.  The Packers will have their full complement of receivers once again and Jordan Love should have the luxury of throwing the ball around the yard to anyone that gets open. 

CB Alontae Taylor leads the way for the Saints' secondary leading the team with 13 passes defended, but doesn't have a single interception yet this season. He has come up big in other stat sheet categories though, holding four sacks and two forced fumbles. After Taylor, there's the safeties, Ugo Amadi and Tyrann Mathieu. Mathieu is tied for the team lead in interceptions with CB Paulson Adebo who is on IR, but Mathieu still shows up as a savvy veteran with a knack for capitalizing on mistakes if you give them. Jordan Love has done a great job post-bye week of not turning over the ball, so I expect that to continue, but if he's not careful, Mathieu will surely be one to make him pay for it. 

Possibly the only positive the Saints have on defense is their pass rush. They are 16th in sack percentage so far in 2024 holding 37 total sacks on the season. DT Bryan Bresee leads the team with 7.5 sacks while DEs Chase Young and Carl Granderson follow closely behind with 5.5 each. Veteran DT Cam Jordan only holds three sacks on the season so far, but two of them came last week against Washington. He may be starting to heat up in the final games of the season, so the Packers will want to keep a close eye on holding him at bay. As I say every week though, I'm not concerned at all about the opposing pass rush. This Packers' offensive line has been outstanding at keeping the Quarterback on his feet and I expect tonight to be more of the same. 

Overall, this could be a game where the Packers' offense imposes their will. If so, and this is a blowout early, I can say I hope they keep the gas pedal down and close out the Saints early, we don't need to let anyone stick around. I'd love to see one of our receivers like Christian Watson have a huge game tonight just taking the lid off a dismal secondary.

What to See on Defense

I always seem to start out one of these sections with an injury report and this week isn't any different. On the Saints' side, they'll be without QB Derek Carr, RB Alvin Kamara, and WR's Bub Means and Chris Olave. Olave has been out for some time, but Carr and Kamara are new to the list in the last few weeks. On the Packers' side, we will be without Javon Bullard and Quay Walker for sure as they both recover from ankle injuries, Jaire Alexander, Corey Ballentine, and Evan Williams are questionable. This is the first time I think Jaire may be a go. He was a full participant in practice all week long and if he's healthy, honestly I'd like to see him at least be active to play sparingly and get back into the swing of things before facing Minnesota next week. They can put him on a snap count just to get his feet back under him tonight and that's perfectly okay with me. 

Let's just get it out of the way, the Packers shouldn't have a lot to fear with the Saints' offense. That's not to say this is easily in the bag and could be a shutout, but things just don't look good for the Saints matching up against a Green Bay defense that's been coming into its own. Spencer Rattler will get the start for the Saints at QB, he's thrown for 706 yards this season in three starts with two touchdowns and two interceptions. In those three starts, Rattler has been sacked 14 times. So, after the Packers got home against a weak Seattle front seven times, there's a legitimate chance they could do the same against another weak line with the Saints. 

New Orleans' top two pass catchers this season are Alvin Kamara and Chris Olave who as mentioned before will not be playing tonight. That leaves TE Juwan Johnson as next in line, followed by former Packer, WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling, and then WR Rashid Shaheed. There's something to be said about the state of the passing attack when your top-producing WR has only played eight games this season and is still holding a lead over players who have been there for 12-14. The big kicker though, is MVS and Shaheed have only played in six games themselves, so we're looking at a very lackluster passing attack for the Saints. As I said before, this would be a great game to kind of ease Jaire Alexander back into it, but if they decide to rest him one more week, it shouldn't be a big loss against the Saints passing game. 

As for the rushing attack, Alvin Kamara unsurprisingly leads the team in rushing yards, but as previously stated, he will miss tonight's game. After Kamara, we have another big drop-off to TE Taysom Hill who's ranked second in rushing yards, but after him, we have rookie Kendre Miller who could offer a little explosiveness as he averages 4.6 yards per carry in a small 28-carry sample size, and then after him comes a familiar face in former Packer, Jamaal Williams who's averaged about 3.7 yards per carry in 35 carries.

Kamara has been the bell cow this season for the Saints, and rightfully so, without him though, leaves a big question mark. This is a big opportunity for Kendre Miller to show perhaps he's the future at the position for the Saints, and of course, Jamaal Williams would love to have a big game against his former team. I think the Packers' defense should be up to the task and will be able to limit those chances and walk away with a good game on Monday Night Football. 

Extra Notes

I'm so glad kicking isn't an issue for the Packers at this point in the season with Brandon McManus holding true ever since he walked into the building. The same can't be said for the Saints though where their kicker, Blake Grupe is 22/26 so far this season, and has missed two extra points. I think McManus will just be a score-padder tonight without any crucial kicks, but it will be nice to know he'll be reliable if needed while Grupe may wind up being a factor in the event this game gets close, and not in a good way. 

I keep thinking Keisean Nixon is going to get a touchdown in one of these games on a kickoff. Well, New Orleans has been kicking to returners a little more than most teams lately so perhaps we'll see one tonight, I can dream. 

In the End

The Packers are 14.5-point favorites in this game for a reason. They should have no problem taking their record to 11-4 in this one sending the home fans home happy. But they definitely shouldn't read me saying that. As said before, New Orleans would love nothing more than to play spoiler in this one and grab some positivity to wind down the season. The Packers need to see this as a game to show how strong they are in making short work of a team they should beat-handedly. 

A big victory tonight will keep the wheels moving strong for heading to Minnesota for a big match-up next week. Go Pack Go.