The Green Bay Packers will attempt to clinch a playoff spot when the short-handed New Orleans Saints come to Lambeau Field for a showdown on “Monday Night Football” in Week 16. With a win, the Packers are officially in the NFC playoff field.
Can the Packers improve to 11-4 while winning a fifth game in six tries since the bye?
Here are five things to watch and a prediction for Week 16:
Another Josh Jacobs game?
The Saints can be stingy defending the pass, but all the stats suggest the Packers could find a major advantage when they run the football on Monday night. Expect another heavy dose of Josh Jacobs, who has handled at least 20 touches in four of the last five games. This is a game where the Packers need to set the tone early and use the run game to take the sting out of a talented pass-rushing front.
Can Love extend streak to 6 games?
Packers quarterback Jordan Love has a passer rating of 100.0 or better in five straight games. Can he run the streak to six games against a defense allowing a passer rating of 83.0 overall this season? Love doesn’t have to set the world on fire on Monday night, but another efficient performance — especially off play-action and creating explosive plays down the field — would be a good sign as the postseason approaches. The Packers are proving tough to beat when Love doesn’t turn the ball over, and he hasn’t thrown an interception since Nov. 17.
Encore for Cooper?
The Packers won’t have Quay Walker, who is battling an ankle injury, so rookie Edgerrin Cooper — who won NFC Defensive Player of the Week last week — will once again be in the spotlight. Can the rookie build on his impressive return to the field against the Saints on Monday night? Sending Cooper on blitzes could be one way for Jeff Hafley to create havoc against a rookie quarterback. And you can bet the Saints are building the offensive plan around getting the ball out of Spencer Rattler’s hands quick. Cooper could have a chance to fly around the field sideline to sideline on Monday night.
Return of Jaire?
His status is still TBD, but Jaire Alexander (knee) practiced in full all week and could be set to return after missing most of the last six games (he played only 10 snaps in Chicago). Getting him back with three weeks to go could provide a nice ramp up period before the postseason. If Alexander can’t go, Monday night would provide another opportunity for Carrington Valentine and Eric Stokes to build on an encouraging performance in Seattle. Expect the rotation between Valentine and Stokes to continue even if Alexander is back as one of the primary perimeter starters.
Test for the offensive tackles
The Saints have a pair of edge rushers with 50 or more pressures in Carl Granderson and Chase Young, providing a nice challenge for Rasheed Walker and Zach Tom — one of the best pass-blocking tackle duos in football. It’s hard to imagine the Saints winning this game without the defensive front dominating, and Darren Rizzi’s team might need a pressure-forced turnover or two to threaten the upset. If Walker and Tom play well on Monday, the Packers could cruise.
Prediction: Packers 24, Saints 10 (8-6)
The Saints can’t be overlooked, not after they won three of their first four games under Darren Rizzi and then gave the Commanders a big scare late last Sunday. But when you play someone matters so much, and the Saints are going to be severely shorthanded on Monday. Derek Carr is out. So is Alvin Kamara, Chris Olave, Taysom Hill, Rashid Shaheed and Paulson Adebo. The Packers defense could dominate against a patched-together offense led by rookie quarterback Spencer Ratter, who has been sacked 10 times on just 140 dropbacks and is 0-3 as a starter. Add in the potential for the Packers run game to go wild, and this game should never be in doubt. While it’s possible the streak of 30-point games continues, I’m not betting on it. The Packers still win by two touchdowns in a mostly stress-free victory at home.
