Packers clinch playoff berth with 34-0 win vs. Saints in first shutout of season: Key takeaways
The Green Bay Packers punched their ticket to the playoffs with a 34-0 win over the New Orleans Saints on Monday night in the first shutout of the 2024 NFL season.
The Saints, 5-10, were eliminated from playoff contention on Sunday after the Atlanta Falcons beat the New York Giants. New Orleans has missed four consecutive playoffs — and the injury-wracked squad didn’t muster much life at Lambeau Field on Monday, letting the Packers take a 21-0 lead in the first half with three touchdowns in three drives while interim coach Darren Rizzi struggled to manage the clock.
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Green Bay kept New Orleans scoreless in the second half to close the shutout in a game where all three running backs that took a snap secured a rushing touchdown.
The 11-4 Packers can’t claim the NFC North — that title will go to either the Detroit Lions or the Minnesota Vikings, both of whom also won this week to go 13-2. But if Green Bay wins its final two games, against the Vikings and then the Chicago Bears, the Packers could finish the regular season in second place in the NFC North.
The Packers have now won five of their past six games. They play the Vikings in Minneapolis on Sunday in what will be a crucial game for the division standings.
How Green Bay got it done
New Orleans entered Monday night 27th in the NFL in rushing yards allowed per game with 134.4. Green Bay toted the rock 37 times for 190 yards (before end-of-game kneeldowns), good for 5.1 yards per rush from nine different ball carriers and three rushing touchdowns from three different players.
Josh Jacobs led the way with 13 carries for 69 yards before he appeared to get banged up in the third quarter and rest the remainder of the game. The Packers never announced an injury for him and the ESPN broadcast said Jacobs was fine to go back in but was being rested. Emanuel Wilson chipped in 11 carries for 52 yards and a touchdown, while third-string back Chris Brooks scored his first career touchdown from a yard out.
For only the second time in six seasons with Matt LaFleur as coach, the Packers pitched a shutout. The only other time was Week 10 of the 2021 season in a 17-0 win over the Seattle Seahawks at Lambeau Field. While it took until December for the first shutout, there has never been a season without one. —
Saints as sad as expected
The Saints realistically had no chance to beat the Packers on Monday night. The oddsmakers knew it putting Green Bay as a 14-point favorite. New Orleans’ offense resembled a preseason roster on paper, and that’s not hyperbole.
And the Saints did nothing during the game to prove anyone wrong. Well, maybe except that a 14-point spread wasn’t enough.
Jacobs tossing Tyrann Mathieu out his way and then Ugo Amadi flopping to the ground on an easy TD throw from Jordan Love to Dontayvion Wicks on the first drive in the first quarter encapsulated Monday night for the Saints.
The defense presented no resistance against Jacobs, Love and Co. with poor tackling and undisciplined play. The Saints’ offense played about as bad as you’d expect with a no-name unit. And a comedy of errors by the Saints near the end of the first half probably didn’t help Rizzi’s cause in trying to build a resume to become the full-time head coach, as his record dropped to 3-3 as the team’s interim head coach. —
New Orleans feeling the injuries
How can you properly evaluate Saints QB Spencer Rattler’s play in an offense without Alvin Kamara, Chris Olave, Taysom Hill and Rashid Shaheed? The rookie quarterback didn’t even have Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who missed Monday with a chest injury. And an offensive line that’s been porous all season. Still, Rattler went 15-of-30 passing for 153 yards with an interception and lost fumble resulting in a 51.1 passer rating.
The Saints made the right choice to start Rattler for the injured Derek Carr rather than Jake Haener, who looked shellshocked in his one start last week. But nowhere in Rattler’s four starts this season, including Monday night, has he shown enough for the 2024 fifth-round pick to be considered a legitimate threat to win the starting QB job in New Orleans at any point. —
What the playoff picture looks like for the Packers
With their convincing win over the Saints, the Packers clinched a playoff spot for the second consecutive year after starting each season as the NFL’s youngest team.
Green Bay has already been eliminated from the NFC North race and needs to win out with the Vikings losing their remaining two games to have a chance at the No. 5 seed. Realistically, the Packers will get the No. 6 seed in the playoffs unless the Washington Commanders (10-5) or another team passes them in the final two weeks. That means a trip to either Los Angeles, Tampa Bay, Seattle or Atlanta is on the docket in the wild-card round.
