Saints-Packers on 'Monday Night Football': What We Learned from Green Bay's win over New Orleans

FULL BOX SCORE

• REWATCH: Saints-Packers on NFL+ Premium
• READ: Packers clinch playoff berth with win over Saints
• READ: Green Bay produces 2024 season's first shutout
• READ: Rattler: Saints getting shut out is 'embarrassing'

1. Packers defense continues to dominate. Green Bay has played some dang good football over the last five weeks, and much of that is directly tied to the improvement of its defense. First-year defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley has this group playing with its hair on fire, running up an absurd pressure rate of 52.6% on Monday night, keeping the Saints under 100 yards of offense in the first half while the Packers offense built a 21-point lead. The front seven is getting after opposing quarterbacks, and the results are evident in the point totals allowed since their bye. Green Bay has allowed an average of 15.5 points per game defensively since its Week 10 bye, and if you eliminate Detroit's 34-point showing in Week 14, that number drops to an incredible 11.8 points per game. The Packers peaked Monday night, posting the first shutout of the 2024 season in a game that resembled the 2012 BCS National Championship Game -- you know, the game in which LSU crossed the 50-yard line just once -- more than an NFL contest. If this is who the Packers can be in January, the rest of the NFC should watch out.
2. Rattler can't overcome Packers' defensive avalanche. With Alvin Kamara out and a receiving corps filled with players you've probably never heard of, it's clear these Saints are undermanned. A seasoned, proficient quarterback might push such a team beyond the low expectations that come with a short-handed roster, but the Saints don't have that at their disposal, either. Enter Spencer Rattler, a rookie whose athleticism makes moving the ball possible, like when he completed a jump pass over the middle to move the chains on third-and-long. However, that same quarterback followed up such an impressive completion by trying to fire a pass through a window down the sideline and didn't put enough velocity on the throw, resulting in an easy (and somewhat ugly) interception. This Saints offense reached halftime with 81 yards and finished over 200 yards only because of some garbage-time gains, and it really wasn't Rattler's fault. He was playing with a deck that certainly wasn't full, which shouldn't be held against him as the Saints evaluate his first NFL season.
3. Green Bay's offense is incredibly dangerous. This Packers unit isn't solely dependent on quarterback Jordan Love, despite the attention he attracts. They can pound the run with Josh Jacobs, the NFL's best tackle-breaking running back, and can spell him with Emanuel Wilson and Chris Brooks. All three scored a touchdown Monday night. They'll also turn to their speedsters to win on the perimeter in the run game, handing off to Christian Watson, Bo Melton and Jayden Reed. Love can get loose, too, and I haven't even reached the passing game yet. Reed, Tucker Kraft, Romeo Doubs, Dontayvion Wicks, Watson (when healthy, as he was dinged up again Monday night) and even Jacobs can hurt you through the air, and the mad scientist himself, coach Matt LaFleur, is the one moving all of the chess pieces in real time. Plenty of folks have covered how Buffalo can beat teams in a number of different ways, but the Packers aren't far behind.
4. Khalen Saunders is fun. When your team gets shutvout, it's going to be difficult to find positives. However, wow, Saunders is a treat to watch. He's quietly been productive throughout this season, and for whatever reason, he saves his best moments for the prime-time stage. He picked off a Patrick Mahomes pass in an early-season game against the Chiefs on a Monday night and delivered one of the most enjoyable big-man returns you'll see shy of Leonard Williams' pick-six against the Jets. Saunders nearly snagged himself a second Monday night pick in 2024 had his teammates not knocked it out of his hands while wrestling for possession. He also deflected a pass at the line of scrimmage intended for Wicks that had a good chance of going for a touchdown, ending his day with four tackles (one for loss) and two QB pressures. The Saints are headed toward a very uncertain offseason, a period in which Teflon-strong general manager Mickey Loomis will be taking stock of the entire roster, but he won't need to think twice about keeping Saunders in the final year of the defensive tackle's affordable contract. He's a difference maker.
5. Malik Willis is in the perfect situation. Yes, I'm writing about the backup quarterback who only entered in garbage time during a blowout. It was that kind of night. But Monday night's performance also made me consider the Packers' season in total, which many will forget encountered a crossroads incredibly early this season when Love suffered a knee injury in Week 1, forcing the Packers to insert the recently acquired Malik Willis into the starting lineup. They promptly won both games with Willis as their starter before Love returned to action. Willis' entry into the game Monday night saw him throw just two passes, but the one he completed -- a 34-yard dime to Reed down the sideline -- reminded me of how far Willis has come in his short time with the Packers, growing from a quarterback who looked so overwhelmed by the speed of the game in the preseason that the Titans chose Mason Rudolph over him, to a QB who fits perfectly with LaFleur as his guide. Hopefully, the Packers never have to turn to him this season except in garbage time. Still, it warms my heart to see a talented player land in the right place and have his talents cultivated properly.

Next Gen Stats Insight for Saints-Packers (via NFL Pro): On a wildly successful night for the Packers' pass rush, eight defenders generated multiple QB pressures on Spencer Rattler, led by Brenton Cox Jr.'s six pressures. Green Bay also held the Saints to 2.6 yards per carry on designed rushes, the second fewest it has allowed in a game this season.

NFL Research: Monday night marked the 240th game of the 2024 regular season and the first shutout of the campaign. It was the first shutout in an NFL game since Week 18 of the 2023 season, in which the Buccaneers shut out the Panthers, 9-0.