Packers clinch playoff berth with dominant win over Saints

GREEN BAY, Wis. — All Matt LaFleur has to do is make the playoffs. Well, most of the time anyway. Green Bay clinched a playoff spot with a 34-0 win over the New Orleans Saints on Monday night. This marks the Packers’ fifth postseason appearance in LaFleur’s six seasons as head coach.

The only time the Packers missed the playoffs under LaFleur was in 2022, Aaron Rodgers’ final season, when they faced the Detroit Lions at home in the final game they needed to win to qualify. Defeated.

If the Packers (11-4) win their remaining two regular-season games (Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings and Week 18 home game against the Chicago Bears), LaFleur will earn 13 wins, his fourth of the regular season. will be achieved.

The Saints started backup Spencer Rattler at quarterback in place of injured Derek Carr (hand), and were without several top players, including running back Alvin Kamara (groin), but the Saints didn’t have much of an early start. He showed no resistance.

Green Bay scored touchdowns on its first three drives for the first time since Week 17 of the 2020 season with the Bears, taking a 21-0 lead.

promising trends: At this point, it has exceeded the trend. Josh Jacobs is now expected to score a rushing touchdown. Jacobs had a 2-yard scoring run in the second quarter, marking his sixth consecutive rushing TD. This tied him for the second-longest streak in Packers history behind Paul Hornung (seven in 1960). Jacobs had 13 carries for 69 yards, one score and four catches for 38 yards..

Promising trends II: Late in the second quarter, the Packers clinched their 27th win of the season when Kayshawn Nixon homered on a cornerback blitz, strip-sacked Rattler, and defensive end Rashan Gary recovered the fumble. Safety Zane Anderson’s first career interception in the third quarter moved the team into a tie for third in the NFL with 28 takeaways, tied with the Buffalo Bills and Houston Texans. Green Bay scored just 18 points last season.

The most amazing performance: I know the Packers like to run the ball. They went into the game intentionally on 48% of their plays, the second-highest rate in the NFL this season, according to ESPN Research. But this was an anomaly even by Green Bay standards. Nine different players had at least one rushing attempt, including tight end Tucker Craft’s sneak on third-and-one and Chris Brooks’ first career rushing touchdown. 1953 was the last time the Packers had nine players with at least one rushing attempt in a game. — Rob Demovsky

Next match: At Vikings (4:25 p.m. ET, Sunday)

The Saints were officially eliminated from playoff contention before Monday’s contest, but they played like it.

Darren Rizzi needed his team to put up a solid performance in Green Bay in order to build a basis for him to take the interim tag off and become head coach. However, the Saints never really got into the game, falling behind 21-0 and failing to move the ball into the red zone throughout the game.

According to ESPN Research, it was the first time since 1997 that the Saints lost the first half of back-to-back games. The Saints lost 20-19 to the Washington Commanders last week without scoring in the first two quarters.

The Saints have two games left, but they showed they have a lot of work to do during the offseason to become a competitive team. They lost by double digits for the second time in the last three seasons. Until 2022, they had not lost more than 10 games since 2005.

Worrying trends: The Saints, with rookie Spencer Rattler under center, are 0-5 this season when starting backup QB, averaging 24.5 points per game in those five games with Derek Carr serving as the signalman. He has only scored 12.8 points. Carr has two seasons left on his contract and would add $51.4 million to the 2025 salary cap if the Saints choose to keep him instead of restructuring his contract.

The most amazing performance: Without a starting quarterback, running back (Alvin Kamara) and big-play wide receiver (Chris Olave), the offense will always face challenges. But the defenders never showed up. The Packers were able to pick apart teams at will, but the Saints couldn’t help themselves with missed tackles, penalties, and explosive plays. This is the story of their season.

QB breakdown: Last week, the Saints returned Rattler to the starting lineup after Jake Hayner went to the bench after playing half a game and 39 yards of net offense. Rattler was able to make some plays with his feet and made some nice throws against the Packers, but the offense certainly didn’t pick up where it left off against Washington. He has been sacked 17 times in five games this season. — katherine terrell

Next match: vs. Raiders (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET)