Packer Central

What’s Packers-Saints Score? Live Updates on ‘Monday Night Football’

The Green Bay Packers are one win away from wrapping up a playoff berth. They’ll try to clinch a spot on Monday night against the New Orleans Saints.

Bill Huber

Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs (8) stiff-arms New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu (32) during the first quarter.
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
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GREEN BAY, Wis. – If the Green Bay Packers beat the New Orleans Saints on Monday night, they’ll lock up a playoff berth.

Follow along all night for updates from Lambeau Field.

Final Score

Packers 34, Saints 0

Here is the story from the second shutout of the Matt LaFleur era.

Fourth Quarter

Packers 34, Saints 0 (2:41 remaining)

The Packers have scored 30-plus points in five consecutive games, the second-longest streak in franchise history. Emanuel Wilson plowed into the end zone on third-and-goal.

With Malik Willis leading a bunch of backups, he had Dontayvion Wicks wide open for what would have been a 40-yard touchdown but was tipped by Khalen Saunders at the line of scrimmage. On fourth-and-2, Willis threw a beauty to Jayden Reed for 34 to the 6.

Packers 27, Saints 0 (5:44 remaining)

With Jeff Hafley emptying the bench, the shutout is alive. On fourth-and-long, Spencer Rattler went deep but Zayne Anderson almost made a leaping interception at the sideline.

The Packers are emptying the bench on offense. Malik Willis is in at quarterback, and the offensive line includes Andre Dillard at left tackle, Kadeem Telfort at left guard and Travis Glover at right tackle.

Packers 27, Saints 0 (7:13 remaining)

Brandon McManus booted a 46-yard field goal. The offense snapped out of a second-half rut when Jordan Love hit Jayden Reed for 37 yards over Tyrann Mathieu on third-and-12.

Packers 24, Saints 0 (11:50 remaining)

The Saints went three-and-out. Colby Wooden deflected a pass and Lukas Van Ness had a quarterback hit on third down.

Packers 24, Saints 0 (13:07 remaining)

Emanuel Wilson had consecutive runs of 17, 7, 4 and 3 yards, but the drive stalled when Jordan Love’s second-down pass was batted down and a screen to Chris Brooks didn’t go anywhere.

It could have been worse.

Third Quarter

Packers 24, Saints 0 (2:11 remaining)

Spencer Rattler made a couple impressive completions, one to tight end Juwan Johnson for 17 yards and another to Dante Pettis for 20 on third-and-17. On the next play, Rattler booted to his right and threw across the field to his left. Safety Zayne Anderson, making his first career start, grabbed his first career interception.

The Packers are 17 minutes from their first shutout since a 17-0 win over Seattle in 2021.

Packers 24, Saints 0 (7:03 remaining)

Brandon McManus stared at the ball. Would it have enough oomph to get through the cold December air? Yes. McManus booted a 55-yard field goal to punctuate a drive that included a 14-yard run by Bo Melton and a couple bruising efforts by running backs Chris Brooks and Emanuel Wilson.

Injury update: WR Christian Watson (knee) is questionable. Watson was shaken up on a jet sweep in the second quarter but returned to action; it's not clear if this is a new injury or an acknowlegment of the score.

Packers 21, Saints 0 (12:14 remaining)

The Saints gained one first down but Spencer Rattler’s pass on third-and-2 was nowhere near Dante Pettis.

Halftime

Packers 21, Saints 0

The Packers were expected to crush the Saints. And that’s exactly what they’re doing.

Jordan Love is 12-of-18 passing for 127 yards and running back Josh Jacobs has 91 total yards. The touchdowns were scored by Dontayvion Wicks on a basketball screen-and-roll type of play and short runs by Josh Jacobs and Chris Brooks.

The Packers lead 222-81 in yards and 15-6 in first downs.

Second Quarter

Packers 21, Saints 0 (0:00 remaining)

Roughing the passer on Brenton Cox gave the Saints 15 yards and Spencer Rattler hit Kevin Austin for 17 against Carrington Valentine on third-and-6; Valentine forced a fumble but it bounced out of bounds. With the Saints on the outskirts of field-goal range, Karl Brooks freed up Devonte Wyatt for a 12-yard sack. On the Hail Mary, Xavier McKinney almost grabbed his eighth interception but was out of bounds.

Packers 21, Saints 0 (1:49 remaining)

The Packers went three-and-out. Jordan Love had Romeo Doubs open on a deep crossing route on second down but Khalen Saunders beat right guard Sean Rhyan to force an off-target throw.

Packers 21, Saints 0 (2:45 remaining)

The Saints picked up two first downs, including Kendre Miller running past Devonte Wyatt for 10 yards on third-and-10. One play later, Keisean Nixon blitzed off the slot and got the sack/strip against Spencer Rattler. Rashan Gary recovered at the 34.

Packers 21, Saints 0 (6:28 remaining)

The Packers were 14.5-point favorites. Too big of a spread? Definitely not. A 67-yard touchdown drive has the Packers up by three touchdowns. On the second play, Tucker Kraft was wide open on a crossing route for a catch-and-run gain of 30 yards. One play later, Christian Watson gained 14 to the 6 on a jet sweep, with Romeo Doubs providing the key block on Kool-Aid McKinstry. On second-and-goal from the 1, Chris Brooks plowed through Demario Davis at the goal line for his first career touchdown.

Packers 14, Saints 0 (9:25 remaining)

Edgerrin Cooper stuffed Kendre Miller for a loss of 3 on first down. Tack on a false start, and it was Mission Impossible for Spencer Rattler on a three-and-out punt.

Packers 14, Saints 0 (11:43 remaining)

The Packers are up two scores on a season-long 96-yard touchdown drive.

After Tucker Kraft’s “quarterback sneak” on third-and-1 at the start of the drive, it was Josh Jacobs time with catches of 13 yards (with one broken tackle) and 7 yards (with three broken tackles). In between, on third-and-7, three receivers went deep, which cleared out the middle for Romeo Doubs’ 15-yard reception.

At the start of the second quarter, the Packers faced a fourth-and-1. The Saints left a huge void for Jordan Love’s sneak. Later, on fourth-and-2, Love faked the handoff to Jacobs and threw a pass into the flat for a catch-and-run gain of 21; Christian Watson was wide open for what would have been a 35-yard touchdown. Whatever. Jacobs ran for 12 yards on the next play – 14 yards came after breaking a tackle behind the line – and plowed in from the 2 on the next play.

Jacobs is up to 85 total yards. He has a rushing touchdown in six consecutive games, one off Paul Hornung’s team record.

First Quarter

Packers 7, Saints 0 (5:38 remaining)

The Saints picked up one first down but Spencer Rattler’s pass on third-and-7 was a high fastball through the hands of receiver Kevin Austin. Interim Saints coach Darren Rizzi kept the offense on the field but former Packers lineman Lukas Patrick was flagged for a false start.

The Packers will start at their 4 after Kingsley Enagbare was flagged for holding on the punt return.

Packers 7, Saints 0 (8:41 remaining)

The Packers drove 63 yards to the game-opening touchdown. On third-and-goal at the 2. Dontyavion Wicks set a screen against Ugo Amadi to free up another receiver, Jayden Reed. With the initial play covered, Wicks worked himself free for an easy touchdown. It was like a basketball screen-and-roll play.

The big play on the drive was a 20-yard run by Josh Jacobs that included 10 yards after contact and a vicious stiff-arm against Tyrann Mathieu.

Injury update: LB Ty’Ron Hopper (ankle) is questionable.

Red-Hot Offense

The Packers’ offense, even with its penchant for going into lulls, has scored 30-plus points in four consecutive games. That’s tied for the second-longest streak in franchise history; the 1963 team did it in seven consecutive games.

Talk about peaking at the right time.

“I think you look at how we played last year toward the end and now, I think it’s pretty similar,” quarterback Jordan Love said. “The main thing for me is just taking care of the ball, being smart with it, going out there and finding completions and keep continuing to stack those positive plays.

“I think that’s where we’re at our best, when we don’t put ourselves in bad positions on offense with those third-and-longs and some of those difficult situations to convert on. I think when we’re doing that, we’re running the ball well and when guys are just making plays for me on the outside, it makes life easy. But I think the biggest thing is just stacking those positive plays, being efficient and being able to drive down the field, put up points and staying out of those tough situations.”

They will be tested by a Saints defense that is No. 1 in points allowed in the five games since Darren Rizzi took over as interim coach.

Packers-Saints Inactives

Four starters are out on defense for the Packers. Four starters are out on offense for the Saints.

Of the Saints’ top four in receiving yards, running back Alvin Kamara and receivers Chris Olave and Marquez Valdes-Scantling are out.

Big Moment for Carrington Valentine

With injuries in the secondary, cornerback Carrington Valentine figures to be pressed into a key role.

Last week against the Seahawks, he had one interception and was named the “G of the Week” by coach Matt LaFleur.

“The way he practiced last week, I knew he was going to play well,” defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley said. “That’s not just me blowing smoke. If you watched him practice last week, the way he pressed, the way he covered, he had multiple interceptions, he had multiple PBUs. Right after the game, I congratulated him, but that’s how he practiced. And when you do that, that’s usually what happens on gameday. Right?

“The resiliency and how he’s played all year. He’s another guy that he’s been in and out of practice, he’s had injuries, he wasn’t here for a lot of the training camp, and now he’s kind of getting in the groove and he’s playing really well, and I would expect that from him moving forward.”

Packers Are Huge Favorites

The 14.5-point spread held all week. The Packers haven’t been this large of a favorite in more than a decade.

According to The Action Network’s Evan Engram:

- The largest primetime upset in the last 20 years was the Bengals beating the Steelers as 14.5-point underdogs on a Monday night in 2020. The largest Monday night upset of all-time had the Colts beat the Patriots as 17.5-point underdogs in 1978.

- Since 2012, favorites this big on MNF are 1-7-1 against the spread, failing to cover the spread by an average of 7.4 points.

- The Packers are a league-best 7-0 against teams with a losing record this season.

According to Pro Football Network, Tuesday marked 365 days since Green Bay’s last regular-season loss in the United States against a non-NFC North team.

It’s a Different Jordan Love

In Week 3 of last season, the Packers heard boo-birds as they trailed the Saints 17-0 entering the fourth quarter.

You know the rest of the story.

Jordan Love led the team to 18 unanswered points and the Packers survived on a missed field goal in the final moments.

Love wasn’t quite on his way at that point – the rest of the first half was a struggle – but it showed what was possible.

“That game definitely meant a lot to everybody in the locker room, and I think it just showed our ability to stay together,” Love said. “Obviously, it was not a great start for us, and I think everybody staying together and nobody flinching being down 17 and to be able to come back and just chip away at that lead and take it one play at a time, I think it helped us going forward.

“(It) gave everybody that mindset that no matter what the situation is, what the score might be, that we can come back from anything, so I think that definitely helped us a lot.”

Love during the second half of the last season emerged as one of the NFL’s top young-gun quarterbacks. By passer rating, he’s even better this year. In the five games since the bye, he is third in the league with 119.9 passer rating.

In the last four games, he is No. 1 with a 119.1 passer rating. His seven touchdowns vs. zero interceptions ranks third and his 8.9 yards per attempt is first.

“I feel like I’m playing at a decent level,” he said. “I think there’s definitely some stuff I can clean up and play even better, so I think there’s still a lot more out there, but it’s not bad right now.”

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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.