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Green Bay Packers v. Saints: 3 Week 1 X-Factors

By Paul Bretl

ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 28: Josh Myers #71 of the Green Bay Packers runs on the field prior to a game against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium on August 28, 2021 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Bryan Bennett/Getty Images)
ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 28: Josh Myers #71 of the Green Bay Packers runs on the field prior to a game against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium on August 28, 2021 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Bryan Bennett/Getty Images) /
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Continuing on with my preview of the Green Bay Packers Week 1 matchup with the New Orleans Saints, I will be taking a look at my three key X-Factors.

The term X-Factor can be subjective, but it is defined as “a variable in a given situation that could have the most significant impact on the outcome.”

So for me in determining who — or in one case, what — my X-Factors are, I picked what I believe are three crucial elements to the Packers winning this game and which players can have the greatest effect on those matchups.

Green Bay Packers
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – SEPTEMBER 27: Alvin Kamara #41 of the New Orleans Saints runs past Ty Summers #44 of the Green Bay Packers on his way to a touchdown during the second half at Mercedes-Benz Superdome on September 27, 2020 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images) /

X-Factor No. 1: How well the Green Bay Packers can tackle

Obviously, tackling is crucial to winning every week, but the reason that I chose it for this matchup with the Saints is because of one particular player, Alvin Kamara, and it’s going to take this entire Green Bay Packers defense to contain him.

Last season against Green Bay, Kamara ran wild, totaling 195 yards, including 139 as a pass-catcher with two touchdowns, and he forced a number of missed tackles along the way. On Wednesday, when meeting with reporters, Packers’ defensive backs coach Jerry Gray was asked how to stop Kamara, and Gray replied with, “you hope he catch a cramp.”

As Gray alluded to, there really is no stopping Kamara, he is going to break a big play or two and put up some numbers, but you hope that you can contain him. And for the Green Bay Packers to do that, it’s going to take all 11 defenders swarming to Kamara when he has the ball and sound tackling–which is easier said than done.

New Orleans is already without Michael Thomas, so if Green Bay can slow Kamara, it’s going to be difficult for this Saints offense to move the ball.

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