Can the Saints defense stop a red hot Packers offense?
The New Orleans Saints have another tough matchup this week as they travel to Green Bay to take on the Packers.
The Green Bay Packers offense ranks among the best in the league in terms of points per game allowed. The put up about 27.1 points per game but recently are scoring about 30 per game. They’re led by Jordan Love, who’s been a little underwhelming when you consider the hype, he had entered the year but has still been solid.
The Packers passing offense currently ranks 11th in the NFL, throwing for about 231 yards per game with Jordan Love under center. The Saints defense has been horrible against the pass this year, but over their last three games versus Matthew Stafford, Drew Lock and Jayden Daniels, they’re allowing just 189 per game.
Out wide, the Packers have Jayden Reed, Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs. None of them are 1,000-yard receivers, but they’re all capable of beating you on any given Sunday. Alontae Taylor has not played his best football recently, and with Marshon Lattimore gone and Paul Adebo out, he’s going to need to step up against whichever receiver he’s covering.
Where the Packers offense really excels is in the run game. They average 144 yards per game this season, which ranks 4th in the league. Josh Jacobs is their main back and has totaled 1,147 yards and 12 touchdowns. Behind him, in his second season, Emmanual Wilson has been a very nice complimentary piece. He’s rushed for 348 yards and a score behind a 4.8 average in 2024.
The Saints defense, which has been very poor against the run this season, actually had a pretty good outing against the Commanders last weekend. They gave up 137 yards, but they only averaged 3.9 yards per carry against a pretty good rushing offense. They’ll need a similar performance from their defensive line and linebackers on Sunday if they want to slow Josh Jacobs down. He’s a better back than the Commanders have, so it’s going to be a tough test.
Another thing the Packers offense does really well is pass protect. They rank second in the league in sacks allowed (1.1) and ranks only behind Buffalo. They keep Jordan Love clean and give him a bunch of time to survey the field. The Saints pass rush hasn’t been great this year, but they’re coming off a game where they sacked Jayden Daniels eight times, so we’ll see if they can keep their good form up.
This is going to prove to be one of the Saints toughest challenges of the year. They have to go to Lambeau Field and stop a Packers offense that is rolling right now. Can they do it? I think they’re capable of it, but we haven’t seen them be very consistent this season. I don’t think GB will drop 30, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see them in the mid to high 20s.
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