It’s only September but come December and more importantly, January when the playoffs begin, it’s a pretty good bet the Green Bay Packers and New Orleans Saints will be mentioned in the same sentence again. The perennial contenders in the NFC meet in an early season litmus test at the Mercedes Benz Superdome Sunday night. The Packers are off to a 2-0 start thanks to a pair of division victories while the Saints stand 1-1, opening with a home win against Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers before falling last Monday night in the Allegiant Stadium debut of the Las Vegas Raiders. Sunday’s winner will certainly enjoy the wind in their sails to the 2020 season’s quarter pole and the loser will have plenty of time to regroup and prove why they belong in the championship conversation when fall gives way to winter.
The matchup features marquee veteran quarterbacks in Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees, both locks for the Pro Football Hall of Fame when their playing days are done. You want top flight running backs? How about Aaron Jones and Alvin Kamara? Unfortunately, two of the game’s best wide receivers may not take the field. Michael Thomas, who caught a ridiculous 149 passes last season, was ruled out Friday, still dealing with a high ankle sprain and Davante Adams didn’t practice all week because of a tight hamstring and was listed by the Packers as doubtful. There’s still plenty of star power on display for the NBC Sunday Night Football prime time show, so let’s break it down.
When the Packers have the ball.
The Packers would love to have Adams but they won’t fret if he sits this one out. They went 4-0 without Adams mending from a turf toe injury last season which included road victories at Dallas and Kansas City. Rodgers has run Matt LaFleur’s game plan with precision so far thanks to an offensive line blocking to the tune of 6.2 yards per rush and allowing but one sack in 75 drop backs, despite a revolving door at four of the five positions. Only left tackle David Bakhtiari has taken every snap at his own position.
The Saints run defense hasn’t allowed a 100 yard rusher in over three years and the Packers are coming off a 259 yard rushing effort against Detroit. Jones may not pile up another 168 himself but he should gain enough to prevent New Orleans from unleashing Cameron Jordan off the edge. That matchup with Bakhtiari should be fun to watch. Demario Davis flows through traffic to make a lot of tackles but second level coverage was exposed by Raider tight end Darren Waller on Monday night. Look for the running backs or Robert Tonyan and Jace Sternberger to run a lot of intermediate routes.
The New Orleans secondary has two veterans and two youngsters who will breathe much easier without Adams. Janoris Jenkins (31) and Malcolm Jenkins (32) are teamed with a pair of 2017 draft picks in Marcus Williams and the talentend Marshon Lattimore. Don’t be surprised if the Packers challenge this group with deep shots.
I’ll be surprised if the New Orleans defense slows down the hottest offense going after the first two weeks.
When the Saints have the ball.
It’s amazing how many folks can’t wait to write off Brees after a pair of statistically, sub-par peformances but he lost one of the game’s best wideouts after week one. This remains a very dangerous, get it snapped, get it out quick, rhythm attack. Kamara may be the best two-way running back threat in the game, he can run hard between the tackles and run pass routes like a wide receiver.
Jared Cook is still playing tight end at a high level and former Bronco Emmanuel Sanders leads a young receiving corps without Thomas.
Then, there’s Taysom Hill. The New Orleans version of “Inspector Gadget” will line up everywhere. Defensive Coordinator Mike Pettine says it’s hard preparing for the Saints offense because they can go from a spread you out attack with a Hall of Fame quarterback on one snap, to a read option style game with Hill in the backfield on the next.
The key for the Packers will be to neutralize Kamara’s big plays, blanket the receivers off the line of scrimmage to force Brees to hang on to the ball a tick or two longer to allow Za’Darius Smith, Preston Smith and Rashan Gary to get home. Easier said that done in what could well be a track meet.
The bottom line.
Have the Packers steamrolled inferior opponents in the first two weeks? Probably, but they’ve done it impressively on offense. Are the Saints in decline? Probably not. Green Bay’s overall talent and level of execution with the ball could easily produce a third straight win to start the season but I’m hard pressed to believe the Saints will drop two straight, even on a short week. I like the Saints to survive the shootout on their home field, 34-31.
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