Packer Central

Packers-Saints on MNF: Time, TV, Odds, Prediction, Big Matchup

The Green Bay Packers (10-4) will face the New Orleans Saints (5-9) on Monday night. Here is everything you need to know, including who will win this primetime matchup.

Bill Huber

The festive view outside Lambeau Field before Packers-Saints on Monday night.
The festive view outside Lambeau Field before Packers-Saints on Monday night. / Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images
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GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers will cap a streak of four consecutive primetime games when they host the New Orleans Saints on Monday night.

Here’s what you need to know before kickoff, including our game prediction.

Packers-Saints: Game Vitals

Date and time: Monday at 7:15.

Records: The Packers are 10-4 and the Saints are 5-9. Green Bay can clinch a playoff berth with a win; the Saints were eliminated on Sunday.

Where: Lambeau Field.

TV: The game will be broadcast nationally by ESPN with play-by-play man Joe Buck joined by analyst Troy Aikman and Lisa Salters reporting from the sideline.

Is the game on TV where you live?: Yes, this is a national broadcast.

Radio: Here’s the list of Packers Radio Network stations, featuring Wayne Larrivee and Larry McCarren on the call. They also can be heard on Sirius channels 81 or 226.

Westwood One will have the national broadcast with Kevin Harlan on play-by-play Joe Thomas providing the analysis.

Coaches: Green Bay – Matt LaFleur (66-31, sixth season). Saints – Darren Rizzi (3-2 as interim coach).

Weather: According to WBAY-TV, light snow in the afternoon will give way to cloudy skies for the game. The kickoff temperature will be about 32 with a north wind at 6 mph.

How did the Saints get ready for the Frozen Tundra? Well, quarterback Spencer Rattler got ready by stepping into a freezer.

Tickets: Let SI Tickets get you into the game and save you money. Tickets as of Monday afternoon start at $186 apiece with no fees.

Referee: Alex Kemp has been a head referee since 2018. The home team has won 10 of his 13 games this year. For each of the last six years, his crew has called more penalties for more penalty yards than the league average.

Kemp’s last Packers game was the London game against the Giants.

Packers-Saints: Huge Point Spread

The Line: The Packers are 14.5-point favorites at DraftKings Sportsbook. It’s been a long time since the Packers were this big of a favorite.

At DraftKings, Josh Jacobs is the huge favorite to score the first touchdown.

At FanDuel, Jordan Love’s passing over/under is 233.5 yards. For Saints rookie Spencer Rattler, it’s 185.5. They are +750 to throw for a combined 550 yards.

Power Rankings: In Packers On SI’s Consensus NFL Power Rankings, the Packers come in at sixth this week, moving up one spot from the week prior. The Saints are not ranked.

Packers-Vikings Kickoff Update

Green Bay’s game at the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday has been moved from noon to 3:25 p.m. The game will air on Fox.

Packers-Saints: Big Matchup

Green Bay’s pass protection battling New Orleans’ pass rush will be the strength-on-strength matchup.

The Saints had eight sacks in last week’s near-miss against the Commanders. Defensive ends Chase Young and Cameron Jordan had two sacks apiece. Defensive end Carl Granderson had one sack. Linebackers Demario Davis and Willie Gay and safety Ugo Amadi had one sack apiece, as well.

“Their D-line’s good,” Packers offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said. “They have Granderson, they’ve got Cam Jordan, they’ve got (Khalen) Saunders in the middle. They do a really good job, and they’re physical and big.

“Their blitz packages, their third downs, they’ve got multiple different packages they use. They do a good job with Demario Davis, rushing and picking and all that stuff, so they’ve done a good job all year just creating pressure on the quarterback, and they’ve done that for years. That’s a problem every time you play the Saints. You know what you’re in for.”

The Packers have allowed just five sacks the last seven games. That’s the team’s best stretch since 2007. They are eighth in ESPN’s pass-block win rate and 10th in PFF’s pass-blocking efficiency.

Generally speaking, a late-season field works to the offensive line’s advantage. It’s hard for a pass rusher to get that explosive take-off that’s generally required to win at the line of scrimmage.

Jordan Love’s too good to give too much time. Last week against Seattle, he was 11-of-14 for 134 yards and one touchdown with a clean pocket, according to PFF. Love’s clean-pocket passer rating is 108.1; it’s 77.8 when pressured.

“They had a lot of success with the sacks,” Love said. “So, just something you’ve got to be conscious of, but our O-line’s been doing a great job keeping me protected, giving me enough time. It’s one of those things I have to do a great job getting the ball out of my hands quick and make great, quick decisions”

Packers-Saints: Prediction

Sometimes, the NFL is fairly simple. In a quarterbacking matchup between Green Bay’s Jordan Love and New Orleans’ Spencer Rattler, take the Packers.

With Love fully embracing Toyotathon, the Packers should be unstoppable.

Actually, the Saints are no joke. Since Darren Rizzi took over as interim coach, the Saints are 3-2. During that span, they are tied for No. 1 in points allowed and haven’t allowed more than 21 points in any of those games.

So, chances are, this game might be more difficult than the lopsided point spread would indicate. However, Rattler is a rookie and will be trying to make things work without his No. 1 running back (Alvin Kamara), No. 1 receiver (Chris Olave) and No. 1 Swiss Army knife (Taysom Hill).

That would be tough for any quarterback, let alone one making his fourth NFL start.

The Packers are at full strength. There’s no reason why they shouldn’t win rather convincingly.

Packers 30, Saints 13.

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Bill Huber
BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.