To wrap up what has already been a wild and crazy Week 16 slate of games, the Green Bay Packers play host to the New Orleans Saints on “Monday Night Football.”
The Packers got back in the win column last week and have now taken four of their last five. They’re too far behind to swoop in and take first place in the NFC North, but they can still try to vault themselves higher in the wild card standings by going 3-0 to finish the regular season.
The Saints are playing out the string on a lost season, but they do have a chance to ruin some opponents’ seasons down the stretch of this year. Maybe not next week against the Raiders, but Monday night against the Packers and in Week 18 against the Buccaneers, they can really throw a wrench into somebody’s plans.
Can Green Bay pick up a much-needed victory, or will New Orleans play spoiler? We’ll find out soon enough. Before we break down the matchup, here’s a look at how you can watch the game.
Packers vs. Saints where to watch
Date: Monday, Dec. 16 | Time: 8:15 p.m. ET
Location: Lambeau Field (Green Bay)
Channel: ABC | Stream: fubo (try for free)
Follow: CBS Sports App
Betting odds: Packers -14, O/U 42.5 (via Caesars Sportsbook)
When the Saints have the ball
New Orleans enters this game without Derek Carr, Alvin Kamara, Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed and Taysom Hill, not to mention Ryan Ramczyk, who has been out all season. Spencer Rattler will get the start under center. In his previous three-plus games worth of action, he completed just 57.5% of his passes at an average of 5.9 yards per attempt, with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He took sacks on over 10% of his dropbacks and had a passing success rate of a pitiful 32%, according to Pro-Football-Reference. Kendre Miller will get all the work he can handle, but he’ll be running into stacked boxes behind a line that has not exactly distinguished itself this year.
It is highly likely that this offense is totally non-viable against a Packers defense that is fourth in the NFL of opponent turnover rate and that has yielded a score on the eighth-lowest share of opponent drives.
When the Packers have the ball
Honestly, the Packers should be able to find offensive success however they want it on Monday night.
Few teams are running the ball more effectively at the moment. Josh Jacobs is mowing down opposing defensive lines to the tune of a 50.6% rushing success rate. He’s got 1,147 yards and 12 touchdowns. The offensive line is playing well and clearing more than enough space for him ands Chris Brooks and Emanuel Wilson to make their way to the second level against a Saints defense yielding 4.9 yards per carry — the second-worst mark in the NFL.
Jordan Love is apparently hitting his stride: He’s completed 68.7% of his passes at an average of 9.9 yards per attempt, with eight touchdowns and just one interception across Green Bay’s last five games. Seemingly every week, it’s a different pass-catcher stepping up. Sometimes it might be Tucker Kraft, sometimes it might be Jayden Reed, sometimes it might be Romeo Doubs. Who knows, one of these weeks it might actually be Dontayvion Wicks. And New Orleans has allowed more passing yards than all but four other teams, despite having played one fewer game than everyone else except for Green Bay.
In other words, it’s wheels up on this Packers offense.
Prediction
New Orleans is just not in any kind of shape to compete with this Packers team at the moment. Look at the teams Green Bay has lost to this year: Detroit twice, Minnesota and Philadelphia. Those are the three top teams in the NFC. The Saints … are not that. Pick: Packers 30, Saints 6
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Author: Jared Dubin
December 23, 2024 | 6:05 pm
