If Green Bay wins, they’re in the postseason
It’s win and in for the Green Bay Packers. It’s that simple.
With one win in their final three games of the season, the Packers will clinch a playoff spot for this year. Those are the stakes for this matchup against the New Orleans Saints tonight.
The banged-up Saints aren’t going to let the Packers just steamroll them, though. While preferred starting quarterback Derek Carr, preferred starting running back Alvin Kamara and number one receiver Chris Olave are out for New Orleans, the Saints have dropped the “We don’t know who will start at quarterback” act and have named rookie Spencer Rattler the starter for this game.
Part of Rattler’s prep included a trip to the Saints’ cafeteria freezer, where he was asked to act out the team’s script for this week. Apparently, this is going to help him adjust to the cold weather that is expected at Lambeau Field tonight.
Rattler doesn’t have much NFL experience. Of the four games that he’s played in during his career, three came in the Superdome and the only road game he’s played was in Inglewood at SoFi Stadium, an indoor-outdoor facility.
His years in the Big 12 and SEC didn’t help him for this moment, either. Neither did his prep years in Arizona. To put it frankly, Spencer will probably be a fish out of water tonight.
Still, the Saints are rallying around former special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi, who was named the team’s interim head coach at mid-season. Over the last six weeks, New Orleans — despite its lowly 5-9 record — has played in five one-score games. Don’t expect them to go down without a fight.
Jump down to the comment section below to participate in the conversation in the first half of this game, and look out for the second-half thread coming later.