Packers Beat Saints: Snaps, Stud, Dud, Defining Play

With a blowout victory over the New Orleans Saints, Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur was able to manage the snap counts of several key players on Monday night.

Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs (8) stiff-arms New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu (32) during the first quarter. / Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers made short work of the undermanned New Orleans Saints on Monday night, winning 34-0 to secure their spot in the playoffs.

The lopsided nature of the score allowed the Packers to pull their starters ahead of a short-week showdown at the Minnesota Vikings.

“I think that’s good for us knowing what we have in front of us – a short week and against one of the premier teams in this league,” coach Matt LaFleur said on Tuesday. “I’m sure it’s going to be a physical affair on Sunday afternoon. So, to give guys a little bit less of a workload, I think will be beneficial for us.”

Let’s dive into the playing time and some other postgame analysis.

Snaps Offense

Out of 69.

Quarterback: With Jordan Love getting to watch the end of the game from the sideline, Malik Willis led a seven-play touchdown drive and took a couple knees to run out the clock.

Offensive line: Left tackle Rasheed Walker was replaced by Andre Dillard, right tackle Zach Tom was replaced by rookie Travis Glover and left guard Elgton Jenkins was replaced by Kadeem Telfort for the final nine snaps.

Running backs: Josh Jacobs played a season-low 28 snaps – his 40.6 percent share of the playing time was his first game of 50 percent or less this season – to perhaps provide a bit more spring in his step for next week. Emanuel Wilson played 25 snaps and Chris Brooks played 22. All of them scored touchdowns.

“Josh is the main guy in that group,” Love said, “and then to have Emanuel and Chris be able to come in and they had some big-time runs tonight, too, breaking tackles and just those second-effort plays, which goes unnoticed. It’s a really good group that we’re going to need to lean on.”

Tight ends: Tucker Kraft played 43 snaps, with his 62.3 percent share his lowest of the season. In his return from ankle surgery, Luke Musgrave played eight snaps. The Packers added John FitzPatrick after Musgrave’s injury. Would he be the odd man out? Hardly, he played 26 snaps – his career high by 12 and 11 more than the last two weeks combined. Ben Sims played 13.

Receivers: Wearing a Guardian cap for a second consecutive week following a concussion, Romeo Doubs led the way with 46 snaps. Christian Watson was on his way to leading the team for a fifth consecutive week but suffered a knee injury in the second quarter, sat out most of the second half and finished with 30. Dontayvion Wicks played 42, Jayden Reed 40 and Bo Melton 22.

Defense

Out of 56.

Defensive tackles: Kenny Clark has played 227 more snaps than any of the defensive tackles and leads the defensive line overall. Against the Saints, he played merely 20 snaps – a season low and less than half his weekly average. That should equate to fresher legs next week. Karl Brooks led the way with 29, followed by Colby Wooden and Devonte Wyatt with 22 apiece and TJ Slaton with 17.

“We’re playing really good football,” Clark said. “This time of the year, you want to be stopping the run at a high level, and we’re doing that. And offense is doing a great job of getting up, and we’re able to rush the passer, pressure him or whatever we call. So, it’s been good for us.”

Defensive ends: Rashan Gary averaged 40.1 snaps in the first 13 games. He played 29 against Seattle and 24 against New Orleans. Brenton Cox played a career-high 26, followed by Kingsley Enagbare with 25, Arron Mosby with 19 and Lukas Van Ness with a season-low 18.

Linebackers: With Quay Walker out, of course Eric Wilson was the only player on the defense to play all 56 snaps. Plus, he played 15 on special teams. Edgerrin Cooper had a team-high six solo tackles (and tied Wilson with eight overall) in 39 snaps, far out-snapping Isaiah McDuffie (21). Rookie Tyron Hopper played eight at the end of the game.

Cornerbacks: With the Packers dealing with injuries in the secondary, Carrington Valentine (51) and Keisean Nixon (48) were the every-down corners. For Eric Stokes, the rotation continued; this time, with Corey Ballentine. Stokes played 35 and Ballentine played 23.

Safeties: Xavier McKinney had sat out nine snaps all season. With the game well in hand, he was off the field for 13. With Javon Bullard and Evan Williams inactive, Zayne Anderson started for the first time in his career and played 48 snaps. Rookie Kitan Oladapo played 15 (his career total had been three) and Omar Brown, a practice-squad player who was elevated, played eight in his NFL debut.

Stud: Devonte Wyatt

With three sacks in the first three games, 2022 first-round pick Devonte Wyatt looked like he was on the way to a breakout season. But he suffered an ankle injury in Week 4 against Minnesota, didn’t play for a month and was slow to make an impact upon his return. He has a sack each of the last two weeks. His four tackles resulted in gains of 0, 3, minus-12 (the sack) and minus-2.

“We’ve been looking for that the whole year, and we finally got it tonight, so I’m excited about it,” Wyatt said of the team’s first shutout since 2021. “We’ve just got to really keep that going, keep shutting teams out.”

Rashan Gary didn’t make much of a statistical impact, but he probably had a half-dozen impact rushes. Zach Tom was the ringleader of an offensive line that kept Cameron Jordan, Carl Granderson and Chase Young out of Jordan Love’s face.

Dud: Nobody

If you want to nitpick a 34-0 victory, right guard Sean Rhyan had a couple rough pass-protection reps. Late in the first half, Jordan Love would have had a big gain to Romeo Doubs but Khalen Saunders blew past Rhyan to force an incompletion.

For the Saints, right tackle Trevor Penning was abused for one sack and 11 total pressures. Rashan Gary and Brenton Cox took turns beating Penning, a first-round pick in 2022.

Defining Play

On first down from the Saints’ 21 on the opening drive, Josh Jacobs took a toss to the right and had a clear path before being met by former All-Pro safety Tyrann Mathieu. With a wicked stiff-arm, Jacobs gained 20 yards to the 1 to set up the first touchdown.

The reaction?

“Shoot, really, I’m going to just say it, ‘God damn,’” fellow running back Emanuel Wilson said.

Added running back Chris Brooks: “Yeah, we’re hyped. We’re hyped, for sure.”

Jacobs was less impressed.

“I honestly did not know how the stiff-arm was, but everybody kept telling me about it,” he said. “I was trying to score. I was mad that I stepped out. I’m like, ‘Dang.’ I was like, ‘Man, I probably should’ve dove there, tried to get in.’”

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