By The Associated Press
(Game to be played at Jacksonville, Florida, due to Hurricane Ida)
INJURY REPORT: GREEN BAY: OUT: S Vernon Scott (hamstring). QUESTIONABLE: DT Tyler Lancaster (back), LB Za'Darius Smith (back). NEW ORLEANS: OUT: CB Ken Crawley (hamstring), WR Tre'Quan Smith (hamstring). QUESTIONABLE: T James Hurst (knee).
PACKERS PLAYER TO WATCH: All-Pro WR Davante Adams is star QB Aaron Rodgers’ favorite target. Adams led the NFL last season with 18 touchdowns receiving and also tied for second in the league with 115 catches. He tied for fifth with 1,374 yards receiving.
SAINTS PLAYER TO WATCH: RB Alvin Kamara was the centerpiece of New Orleans’ offense last season and should be again following the retirement of NFL all-time leading passer Drew Brees. In 2020, Kamara led the Saints with 932 yards and 16 TDs rushing and with 83 receptions for 756 yards. His 21 TDs from scrimmage led the NFL.
KEY MATCHUP: Adams against Saints top CB Marshon Lattimore. This marquee matchup didn’t take place last season because Adams sat out with an injury. Lattimore, the Saints top draft choice in 2017, when he was also Defensive Rookie of the Year, is now in the final year of his contract and looking to build on his credentials as an elite pass defender.
KEY INJURIES: The Packers are playing without All-Pro OT David Bakhtiari, who is opening the season on the physically unable to perform list after tearing his left anterior cruciate ligament on Dec. 31… The Saints will be without top WR Michael Thomas, who also is on the PUP list because of ankle surgery in June.
SERIES NOTES: The Saints have won two of the past three meetings, in 2014 and ’17, and are 4-2 against Green Bay with Sean Payton coaching (not counting a 2012 loss to the Packers when Payton was suspended)… Rodgers is 3-2 in career starts vs. New Orleans with 1,580 yards and 13 TDs passing against six INTs.
STATS AND STUFF: The game was moved out of the Superdome and to Jacksonville because the New Orleans area is recovering from Hurricane Ida. It’s the first Saints home game scheduled for the Superdome to be moved since Hurricane Katrina displaced the club in 2005. The only other Saints home game played outside the dome since then was part of the NFL’s international series in London… Rodgers won his third MVP last season and led the NFL in passer rating, touchdown passes, completion percentage and interception percentage. He was the first player to lead the league in all four categories since Steve Young in 1992… Packers K Mason Crosby has made 18 consecutive field-goal attempts. The only two longer streaks in team history also were Crosby’s. He made 23 straight from 2010-11 and 19 in a row from 2013-14… Green Bay has won its season opener each of the last six years, matching the Kansas City Chiefs for the NFL’s longest active streak… QB Jameis Winston, a 2015 first overall draft choice by Tampa Bay, is slated to make his first start for New Orleans since joining the Saints in free agency in 2020… Winston passed for 270 yards and two TDs vs. no INTs in his only start vs. Green Bay on Dec. 3, 2017… In 2019 with the Buccaneers, Winston led the NFL in yards passing with 5,109 and ranked second in TDs passing with 33, but also led the league with 30 interceptions… Saints DE Cameron Jordan had 7½ sacks in 2020 and ranks fourth in the NFL with 93½ sacks since 2012. He also is the only player with at least seven sacks in each of the past nine seasons… Saints LB Demario Davis has at least 100 tackles in each of his past four seasons. Davis and Tampa Bay’s Lavonte David are the only LBs with at least 400 tackles and 40 or more tackles for losses since 2017.
SEASON PREVIEW: GREEN BAY PACKERS (14-4)
NEW FACES: Defensive coordinator Joe Barry, LB De’Vondre Campbell, WR Randall Cobb, C Josh Myers OG Royce Newman, WR Amari Rodgers, CB Eric Stokes
KEY LOSSES: LB Christian Kirksey, C Corey Linsley, special teams coordinator Shawn Mennenga, defensive coordinator Mike Pettine, OT Rick Wagner, RB Jamaal Williams
STRENGTHS: Reigning MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers leads an offense that features All-Pro WR Davante Adams and Pro Bowl RB Aaron Jones. The Packers scored a league-high 31.8 points per game during the regular season. All-Pro LT David Bakhtiari tore his anterior cruciate ligament on Dec. 31 but will be back at some point to protect Rodgers’ blind side. Jaire Alexander is one of the league’s elite cornerbacks. OLB Za’Darius Smith has 26 sacks over the last two seasons. Adrian Amos and Darnell Savage form a quality safety tandem.
WEAKNESSES: The Packers lost an All-Pro center when Linsley left for the Chargers. Green Bay could be starting two rookie offensive linemen in Myers and Newman. Although K Mason Crosby made all his field-goal attempts last season, the Packers struggled so much in other aspects of special teams that head coach Matt LaFleur fired Shawn Mennenga as coordinator and replaced him with Maurice Drayton. Special teams remained an issue during the preseason. The Packers also lost two of their better special teams performers in camp when they placed Randy Ramsey and Will Redmond on injured reserve.
CAMP DEVELOPMENT: Packers fans breathed a collective sigh of relief when Rodgers reported to camp after skipping Green Bay’s organized team activities and mandatory minicamp in a standoff with team officials. Rodgers has said he doesn’t know whether this will be his final season in Green Bay. The Packers acquired Cobb at the start of camp after Rodgers suggested making that move. One camp surprise was the emergence of Newman, a fourth-round pick from Mississippi who seemed on the verge of locking down a starting guard spot.
EXPECTATIONS: The uncertainty surrounding their MVP quarterback’s future makes this year vital for the Packers as they chase the Super Bowl berth that has eluded them since their 2010 championship season. The Packers have lost in the NFC championship game four of the last seven years, including each of the last two seasons. This may be their best shot at reaching the Super Bowl for quite some time.
Tampa Bay 31, Dallas 29
SUNDAY’S GAME:
MONDAY’S GAME:
Las Vegas 33, Baltimore 27 (OT)
