Three Overreactions From Packers’ Victory Over Saints

The Green Bay Packers made short work of the New Orleans Saints on Monday night. Here are three takeaways with a showdown at the Minnesota Vikings looming.

Green Bay Packers defensive end Rashan Gary (52) rushes New Orleans Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler (18) on Monday. / Wm. Glasheen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers beat the New Orleans Saints 34-0 on Monday night. It was their first shutout since 2021 and their most lopsided victory since beating the Bears 55-14 in 2014.

Based on the talent disparity, the Packers should have dominated. They did.

Here are this week’s Overreactions.

1. Peaking at the Right Time

OK, this isn’t an overreaction at all.

Aside from one rocky first half that led to their demise against the Lions, the Packers are rolling.

They’ve won five of their last six games, with the last four of those wins coming by at least 13 points. They’ve scored 30-plus points in five consecutive games, the team’s longest streak in more than 60 years. The defense has given up less than 20 points in each of the five wins.

Sure, the Saints weren’t a very good team even at full strength, but they had won three of their last five games. Their losses were 21-14 to the Rams, with the Saints reaching the Los Angeles 9 in the final moments, and 20-19 to the Commanders, with the game-winning two-point pass falling incomplete.

So, did the Packers take care of business against a downtrodden foe? Yes, but the Saints – with two backup quarterbacks – almost beat the Commanders, who are on the precipice of reaching the playoffs.

“Yeah, I would say so,” coach Matt LaFleur said when asked if the team was trending in the right direction. “And what’s really cool is we’re getting contributions from a lot of different people. I think that’s usually the mark of a good team.

“You’ve got to stay healthy and continue to build on what you’ve done, but I love the energy of our group. Our guys show up ready to work, willing to work, every day. We’ve got to continue to push one another to be at our best, because this is the time when you need to be playing your best ball.”

Mission accomplished for LaFleur.

2. Championship Offense (Almost)

Back to the streaking offense.

Green Bay has scored 30-plus points in five consecutive games, the second-longest streak in franchise history behind the 1963 team’s seven-game run. It’s the longest current streak in the NFL and the second-longest in the league this year behind Buffalo’s eight in a row.

A lot of those Aaron Rodgers-led juggernauts from the 2010s depended on Rodgers. This offense is as diverse as it gets. Jordan Love can win games. Josh Jacobs can win games. Jayden Reed, Tucker Kraft, Romeo Doubs. The offensive line. Indoors or outdoors. Lambeau Field or a parking lot.

It’s not accurate to say the Saints are a bad team. The offense is terrible. The defense is really good, though. In the first five games under interim coach Darren Rizzi, the Saints were No. 1 in the NFL in scoring defense, with their worst performance being 21 points against the Rams.

The Packers took that group to the woodshed with 21 points in the first 22 minutes.

In the red zone, which had been the team’s undoing during the first half of the season, they went 4-for-4. Taking a page out of Dan Campbell’s playbook, they went 3-of-3 on fourth down.

All of that is great. And yet there are the maddening lulls. Perhaps coach Matt LaFleur was being a bit sarcastic when he said the next step was, “Scoring every time you possess the ball.”

The Packers had a chance to finish the job before halftime but went three-and-out. After scoring three touchdowns on three possessions to start the game, they kicked two field goals their next four possessions before Malik Willis led a garbage-time touchdown drive.

Jordan Love understands there’s room to grow. And that should be exciting, not frustrating.

“I don’t think we’re far off. I think we’re right there,” Love said. “I think it might just be a missed throw here, not being able to hold up in protection long enough. I just think it’s little things that when we start being more consistent and dialing in on these things that the sky’s the limit for the offense.

“We’re definitely not far off. It’s just little things that we can clean up. I’m sure we’ll be disappointed to look at film and see those little things that could have been even a bigger score on offense here for this game.”

3. Nice Appetizer

Of course, Green Bay’s defensive shutout comes with an asterisk. The Packers beat up on an offense that lined up without quarterback Derek Carr, running back Alvin Kamara, receivers Chris Olave, Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Rashid Shaheed, and do-it-all Taysom Hill.

Kamara leads the Saints in rushing, receptions, receiving yards and total touchdowns. Last year, Olave, Kamara and Shaheed finished first, second and third on the team in receptions. Signed at midseason this year because of the injuries, Valdes-Scantling led the team in touchdown receptions.

It will be an infinitely bigger challenge next week against the Minnesota Vikings.

Sam Darnold is fourth in the NFL in passer rating. Much like Jordan Love, Darnold has eradicated the big blunders from his game with 15 touchdowns and one interception the last six weeks.

Justin Jefferson is on a trajectory to be one of the greatest receivers in NFL history. Few teams can match the firepower of receivers Jefferson and Jordan Addison, running back Aaron Jones and tight end T.J. Hockenson.

In Week 4 at Lambeau Field, a game the Vikings led 28-0 in the second quarter, Jefferson and Jordan Addison combined for nine receptions for 157 yards and two touchdowns.

After beating up on the who’s-who combination of quarterback Spencer Rattler, running back Jordan Mims and receiver Dante Pettis on Monday, defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley will face a monumental task in slowing the Vikings’ offense with a depleted secondary.

How can the Packers, with the perpetually uncertain status of cornerback Jaire Alexander and injuries to Evan Williams and Javon Bullard, possibly stop Darnold, who has a 100-plus passer rating in 12 of 15 games, and Jefferson, who has 448 receiving yards and five touchdowns the last four games?

It seems like Mission Impossible for the Packers. Unless defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley can turn water into an All-Pro cornerback, the Packers could walk off the field staring at the No. 7 seed and a monumentally difficult road in the playoffs.

“You get a guy like that, one of the best receivers in the league, it’s going to take a team effort,” safety Xavier McKinney said. “I always say, you can’t stop guys like that, but you can contain them. So, we understand that, and it’s going to be a challenge for us. It was a challenge for us the first time we played them, it’s going to be another challenge again.

“It’s going to be fun, and I’ve got 100 percent trust in our corners to go out there and ball, because I know how they’re built mentally and they like that challenge, so it’s going to be fun.”

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