With a 27-0 shutout against the New Orleans Saints, the Green Bay Packers secured their playoff ticket early at the end of Week 16 of the NFL. The shutout was the first ever this season.
Saints @ Packers: At a glance
- The Packers managed their first shutout of this NFL season and secured their early playoff ticket.
- Running back Josh Jacobs built an impressive streak and was the most productive player on the field despite only being a part-timer.
- For the Saints, the offense around rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler was once again disappointing across the board.
Saints @ Packers: The game report
Before they knew it, the Saints were hopelessly behind at Lambeau Field. The Packers scored touchdowns on their first three drives of the game and had everything under control before halftime. Jordan Love found Dontayvion Wicks for a 2-yard touchdown pass on the opener. Josh Jacobs then completed the second drive with a 2-yard touchdown run.
That drive was the longest of the Packers season, lasting 8:55 minutes and covering 96 yards. For Jacobs, it was also the sixth game in a row with a TD – only Paul Hornung had seven games in a row with a touchdown in 1960. In the middle of the second quarter, Chris Brooks increased the lead with a 1-yard TD to make it 21-0 at halftime.
The Packers were so dominant that head coach Matt LaFleur took Jacobs out of the game midway through the third quarter after he had previously announced that he would do exactly that if the Packers quickly added another score. This came in the form of a 55-yard field goal by Brandon McManus.
Meanwhile, backup quarterback Malik Willis orchestrated the final touchdown drive.
More injuries at Saints
And the Saints? They couldn’t get a foot on the ground. Led by backup QB Spencer Rattler (15/30, 153 YDS, INT), they totaled 196 total yards (Packers: 404) and committed two turnovers. To make matters worse, two top performers suffered additional injuries: Center Erik McCoy had to go out with an elbow injury, guard Lucas Patrick left the field with an unspecified injury. With the Packers, wide receiver Christian Watson injured his knee.
With this success, the Packers are in the playoffs for the fifth time in the six years under LaFleur and will be a wild card there after they can no longer win the NFC North.
New Orleans Saints (5-10) @ Green Bay Packers (11-4)
Result: 0:34 (0:7, 0:14, 0:3, 0:10) BOXSCORE
Saints @ Packers: Key stats
- It was the first shutout ever of this NFL season and we had to wait until Week 16 for it. Before the 2024 season, there had never been an NFL season in which the first shutout occurred later than Week 8.
- This is the 33rd time in their history that the Packers have won at least ten games in a season. This means they have more seasons with at least ten wins than any other franchise in the NFL.
- For the Packers it was the first shutout win since November 2021 against the Seahawks (17:0), while the Saints last had a shutout against the San Francisco 49ers (0:13) in November 2022. For the Packers, it was also their biggest win in the NFL since their 55:14 triumph over the Chicago Bears in November 2014.
The star of the game: Josh Jacobs (running back, Packers)
Although Jacobs only had 17 touches in the entire game and was largely rested in the second half, he was extremely productive until then. He had 108 scrimmage yards and a touchdown and once again showed how important he is to this offense.
The flop of the game: Spencer Rattler (quarterback, Saints)
Basically, you could take out every single offensive player, but Rattler is the quarterback and he played really poorly and was also responsible for both of his team’s turnovers (interception, fumble). Once again he failed to prove that he really should start in this league.
The highlight of the game
It wasn’t a scoring play, but it was still impressive and showed how strong Josh Jacobs is as an individual. Shortly before the Packers’ first touchdown, the running back made an impressive 20-yard run to the 2-yard line and delivered a remarkable stiff arm with which he pushed his opponent out of the way.