Green Bay Packers v. New Orleans Saints: Week 1 Final Predictions

It’s here. We made it. Week 1 of the NFL regular season is upon us as the Green Bay Packers open up against the New Orleans Saints down in Jacksonville.

For the Green Bay Packers, it is clear as day that they are all-in on the 2021 season. We don’t know what the future holds for Aaron Rodgers, but given the 2022 cap situation, there will be some difficult decisions and changes that take place next offseason.

Meanwhile, the Saints are in a bit of a transition as they move from future Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees to Jameis Winston and have a mix of some familiar faces along with several new contributors on this roster.

In preparation for this game, I’ve spent the last week previewing this upcoming matchup, but now it’s time to share our final predictions for the Green Bay Packers.

Matt LeVene (0-0)

Led by Jameis Winston and Alvin Kamara, the Saints’ offense will not hesitate to take a chance and take advantage of any blown coverages. I am excited to see how the new defensive coordinator, Joe Barry, will gameplan for the explosive weapons. I expect that the Green Bay playmakers will show up and limit the New Orleans’ offense.

Aaron Rodgers will need to continue his MVP form for the Green Bay Packers to be Super Bowl contenders in 2021. He has a golden opportunity to start the season on the right foot against a depleted Saints secondary. However, with new faces on the offensive line, Green Bay’s success may ride and die with this young unit. I think they will be ready for the test and allow both Rodgers and Aaron Jones to have their way.

Bold prediction: Kylin Hill scores his first career touchdown.

Packers 31 – Saints 23

Kenny Jilek (0-0)

Defensively, the Packers struggled heavily with Alvin Kamara last season when he racked up 197 all-purpose yards and two receiving touchdowns in their week three matchup. The linebacking core that has to deal with him is largely the same, so those concerns are still there. The good news is that the mistake-prone Jameis Winston, not Drew Brees, will be under center, and hopefully, they can get enough turnovers off of him to win the game.

On the offensive side, the biggest concern is Cam Jordan at defensive end. Without David Bakhtiari, Green Bay struggled to keep top rushers, especially from Tampa Bay, off of Aaron Rodgers at the end of last year. It will be a tall task for Elgton Jenkins and Billy Turner. The running game should fare well, though, with the interior defensive line is very depleted for the Saints. At the end of the day, number 12 is back.

Packers 27 – Saints 24

Paul Bretl (0-0)

The key for the Green Bay Packers defense is to slow down Alvin Kamara while on the offensive side of the ball; it is the play of the offensive line.

As I’ve said this week, chances are Kamara is going to break off a big play or two — he’s just that good — but the Green Bay defense can’t let him take the game over. If this Packer defense can contain Kamara, this is a Saints team that is very thin at wide receiver, and I’m not sure how they will consistently move the ball.

On the other side of the ball, Elgton Jenkins and Billy Turner will be up against a very good edge rusher unit and will be tested. Meanwhile, along the interior, the Green Bay Packers will be starting two rookies–although, as Kenny mentions, this Saints interior defensive line looks a bit different than it did in 2020.

If the Packers can find success on the ground, we’ve seen how difficult this offense is to stop when opposing defenses don’t know whether to defend against the run or the pass. On top of that, just like the receiver position, the Saints lack some serious depth at cornerback, which could mean a big day for Aaron Rodgers and his receivers.

Packers 34 – Saints 24