Green Bay Packers wilt in the Florida heat; will Detroit Lions provide a cure?
A quick recap of the Green Bay Packers’ 38-3 loss to the New Orleans Saints in their season opener at Jacksonville:
Big picture
It's only one game (and the Packers get an extra one this season with the NFL's new 17-game season). But Green Bay hadn't been blown out like this since losing 31-0 to the Lions in the final game of the 2018 season. The Packers played like they were still hung over from their upset loss to the Buccaneers in the NFC title game. A hard week of practice and a home game next Monday night against Detroit would seem to be just what the doctor ordered (although the Lions rallied from 28 points down Sunday against the 49ers to only lose by eight).
Turning point
One might argue that this game was decided when the Packers chose to rest virtually all their starters in the three preseason games while the Saints were among the teams choosing to put their starters out there to build cohesion. But after Sunday's game, Aaron Rodgers cited the red-zone interception he threw early in the third quarter as being the turning point. At the time, the Packers were trailing only 17-3 and appeared ready to pull within one score of the Saints. But Rodgers threw an unwise pass under pressure that was intercepted by cornerback Paulson Adebo and returned to midfield, halting Green Bay's momentum. Rodgers threw another pick on the Packers' next possession that set up a Saints touchdown that made it 24-3 and effectively sealed the deal.
Game balls
Saints quarterback Jameis Winston did a remarkable Aaron Rodgers imitation, throwing for five touchdowns with no interceptions. And this will be remembered as the game in which Packers backup quarterback Jordan Love made his regular-season NFL debut, relieving Rodgers early in the fourth quarter and completing 5 of 7 passes for 68 yards in garbage time.
5 things to watch revisited
A look at how Tom Silverstein's five keys to the game turned out:
1. Running back Alvin Kamara could be an issue for defense
The Packers were determined to avoid what happen in their game against the Saints last season, when running back Alvin Kamara made five Packers miss on a 52-yard touchdown run. "We have to be able to tackle in open space because they got a guy that's very dangerous in space,” passing game coordinator Jerry Gray said last week. “And if you give him any room, then you're going to be in trouble.” The Packers, as it turned it, were in trouble from the get-go. The Saints came out running the ball behind their outstanding offensive line and the Packers' defense couldn't keep up in the Florida heat. New Orleans dominated first-half time of possession, and Kamara piled up 83 yards rushing on 20 carries.
2. Can the Saints cover receivers?
Apparently so. The Saints had three outside corners at the beginning of the week and one of them, veteran Ken Crawley (hamstring), was hurt and didn’t play. The other was third-round pick Paulson Adebo. They later signed veteran Desmond Trufant, who had been idle for five weeks. Marshon Lattimore was asked to help lock up Davante Adams, and the Packers' top receiver was limited to five catches for 56 yards. None of Green Bay's other leading pass catchers made an impact, with Marquez Valdes-Scantling being held to three receptions for 17 yards and Allen Lazard two for 16. Rodgers favorite Randall Cobb's one catch for 32 yards came late, ironically on a pass from Love.
3. Packers rookies on offensive line could be lucky this week
Rookies Josh Myers and Royce Newman saw plenty of action in the preseason but on Sunday they were facing a team that had studied their tendencies and weaknesses and were playing within a scheme designed to stop their offense. The pair was fortunate that the Saints were hurting at defensive tackle with stud David Onyemata suspended and up-and-coming Jalen Dalton on injured reserve. But it was still a long day for every member of the Packers' offensive line, with Rodgers frequently pressured and forced to hurry his throws. Afterward, Rodgers had praise for the line's performance under difficult circumstances.
4. Defending quarterback Jameis Winston
The Packers knew Saints quarterback Jameis Winston would throw it deep and that he was susceptible to being intercepted. In 70 starts coming in, Winston had thrown 88 interceptions. This was a whole new Winston. He wisely threw the ball away when necessary rather than throwing it up for grabs. And he did find success going deep, hitting Deonte Harris on a 55-yard TD comb to complete the rout.
5. Things could get interesting on special teams
With veteran kicker Wil Lutz on the injured list, the Saints waited until Saturday to promote camp kicker Aldrick Rosas off the practice squad. New Orleans' return game was in good hands with Deonte Harris, who averaged 12.2 yards per punt return and 27.3 per kick return last year. The Packers released punter JK Scott and traded for Rams for Corey Bojorquez, who was a non-factor (four punts for 176 yards). The Packers went with a pair of rookie returners with running back Kylin Hill taking kickoffs and receiver Amari Rodgers handling punt returns. Hill bobbled one kick and failed to get it out to the 20.