Saints Bracing for Winter Weather, Packers

The weather should be an advantage for the Green Bay Packers on Monday night, though the New Orleans Saints are doing what they can to minimize the impact.

Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs (8) runs the ball against the Miami Dolphins on Thanksgiving. / Tork Mason / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The New Orleans Saints spent the week getting ready for more than the Green Bay Packers.

They also spent the week getting ready for Mother Nature.

On Saturday, rookie quarterback and Phoenix native Spencer Rattler, who will start in place of injured Derek Carr, went through the offensive script with quarterbacks coach Andrew Janocko inside the cafeteria’s walk-in freezer.

“Hopefully, it’s not 10 degrees [like in the freezer], but we’ll be ready,” Rattler told reporters.

The Saints will leave for Green Bay earlier than usual on Sunday to get some on-field work in the Wisconsin cold.

“There’s only so much you can do, and so we try to do as much as we can,” interim coach Darren Rizzi told reporters on Saturday. “We’re going to walk-through up there tomorrow night outside, just to get outside in the cold weather, under the lights somewhere. So, we’re doing everything we can, but there’s only so much you can do.”

It was 53 degrees on Saturday in New Orleans. It will be about 30 at kickoff on Monday in Green Bay. A couple inches of snow is in the forecast but should not be an issue for the game.

“Things may change so stay tuned for updates,” WBAY-TV’s Brad Spakowitz said. “The bulk of whatever occurs should be on the way out just as the Packers’ Monday night game kicks off.”

Rizzi did his best to downplay the weather. Really, he’s right. Mother Nature could have been much crueler. Had this game been played on Dec. 12, it would have been 13 degrees at kickoff with a wind chill of 0.

“The reality is, for people that don’t know, the sideline’s warm,” Rizzi said. “At the end of the day, they have all the heaters and the heated benches and everything. It’s really when you get in between the lines and you go out and you do your deal.

“It’s not supposed to be terribly cold, so I don’t see it being a huge factor. I’m more concerned about is it going to be wet, windy, not so much the temperature. But we try to replicate and practice as much of that stuff as we can.”

While the Saints will get a crash course on handling the cold, the Packers practiced outside all week. They practiced in a couple inches of snow on Thursday. The snow had melted off the field on Friday, but it was cold and breezy. The high was 18 on Saturday.

“I would say it was beautiful. It was,” coach Matt LaFleur said after Friday’s practice. “We had a great practice out there today. The energy, the vibe, we got to see the sun. I mean, who’d have thunk it, you know?

“I mean, it was beautiful. It really was. It was a clean practice today. I know it was cold, but those guys managed that. It was a little windy depending upon which way we were going but it was a really crisp, clean practice. I was really impressed.”

Living in the cold is the big advantage for a cold-weather team. The Saints have played just one game with a kickoff temperature of 32 or colder over the last 14 seasons. It was 6 degrees at kickoff of a 17-10 win at Cleveland in 2022.

“I’m from The South, so knowing when I’m back home for a long time and coming to the cold, it’s not too fun,” Packers defensive end Kingsley Enagbare said. “So, I can imagine we would have a homefield advantage. …

“We were talking about it earlier. A lot of us are from The South. Being from a north team, you can cool down or heat up practice, but you can’t really make a practice colder like this. Definitely, I feel like it’s something that we got an advantage, especially late in the season for teams, especially coming from The South.

The Packers’ physical, run-first offense should work to their favor on Monday night, especially against one of the NFL’s worst run defenses.

The difference in records, the Saints’ quarterback situation and the winter weather are all reasons why the Packers are unusually heavy favorites.

“I like the cold games, snow games, because defenders don’t really want to hit and it kind of makes them make decisions,” running back Josh Jacobs said. “You’ve got to make a business decision at times. It’s easier for me because I’m going to make you have to make that decision.”

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