Packers clinch playoff spot with dominating win over Saints

GREEN BAY, Wis. — All Matt LaFleur does is make the playoffs. Well, most of the time anyway. The Green Bay Packers clinched a playoff berth with Monday’s 34-0 win over the New Orleans Saints, which means they will go to the postseason for the fifth time in LaFleur’s six seasons as their head coach.

The only time the Packers have missed the playoffs under LaFleur was in Aaron Rodgers’ last season, 2022, when they entered the final game of the season needing a win to qualify and lost to the Detroit Lions.

If the Packers (11-4) win their remaining two regular-season games — at the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday and at home against the Chicago Bears in Week 18 — it would give LaFleur his fourth 13-win regular season.

The Saints, with backup Spencer Rattler starting at quarterback in place of the injured Derek Carr (hand) and without several of their top players, including running back Alvin Kamara (groin), didn’t put up much resistance early.

The Packers jumped out to an early 21-0 lead and scored touchdowns on their first three drives for the first time since Week 17 of the 2020 season at the Bears.

Promising trend: At this point it has gone beyond a trend. Josh Jacobs scoring a rushing touchdown is now an expectation. Jacobs’ 2-yard scoring run in the second quarter made it his sixth straight game with a rushing touchdown. That ties the streak for second-longest in Packers history behind only Paul Hornung (seven in 1960). Jacobs finished with 13 carries for 69 yards and a touchdown plus four catches for 38 yards.

Promising trend II: When Keisean Nixon came home on his cornerback blitz late in the second quarter, the strip-fired Rattler and defensive end Rashan Gary recovered the fumble, giving the Packers their 27th takeaway of the season. Safety Zayne Anderson’s third-quarter interception, the first of his career, tied them for third in the NFL with the Bills and Texans with 28 takeaways. Last year they only had 18 takeaways all season.

Most Surprising Performance: We know the Packers like to run the ball. They entered the game with designs on 48% of their plays this season, the second-highest rate in the NFL this season, according to ESPN Research. But this was unusual even by Packer standards. Nine different players had at least one rushing attempt, including tight end Tucker Kraft converting a sneak on third-and-1 and Chris Brooks with his first career rushing touchdown. The last time the Packers had nine players with at least one rushing attempt in a game was 1953. — Rob Demosky

Next game: at Vikings (4:25 p.m. ET, Sunday)

The Saints were officially eliminated from playoff contention prior to Monday night’s game against the Packers, and they played like it.

Interim coach Darren Rizzi needed the team to have a solid showing in Green Bay to build his case to shed the interim tag and become head coach. But the Saints were never really in the game, falling into a 21-0 deficit and failing to move the ball into the red zone all game.

According to ESPN Research, it was the first time the Saints had been shut out in the first half of consecutive games since 1997. They lost 20-19 to the Washington Commanders last week after failing to score in the first two quarters.

The Saints have two games left, but they showed they have a lot of work to do in the offseason to become a competitive team. The Saints have now lost double-digit games for the second time in three seasons. Before 2022, they had not lost 10 or more since 2005.

Disturbing trend: The Saints, who started rookie Rattler, are now 0-5 when starting backup quarterbacks this season and have averaged just 12.8 points per game. game in those five matchups, as opposed to 24.5 points per match under Carr. He is under contract for two more seasons and will count $51.4 million against the salary cap in 2025 if the Saints choose to keep him without restructuring his deal.

Most Surprising Performance: The offense was always going to have a challenge without their starting quarterback, running back (Kamara) and big play receiver (Chris Olave). But the defense simply did not show up. The Packers were able to pick apart the unit at will, and the Saints didn’t help themselves with missed tackles, penalties and explosive plays — the story of their season.

QB breakdown: The Saints returned Rattler as their starter after Jake Haener was benched last week after one half and 39 net yards of offense. Rattler was able to make some plays with his feet and had a few nice throws against the Packers, but the offense certainly didn’t pick up where it left off against Washington last week. He has now been sacked 17 times in his five games this season. — Katherine Terrell

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