3 bold predictions for Packers against Saints in Week 3
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The Green Bay Packers suffered a heartbreaking, yet inexcusable, loss to the Atlanta Falcons last Sunday. Matt LaFleur's young team looked like they were on their way to an impressive 2-0 record. However, 13 unanswered points put an end to those hopes.
The Packers need to focus and regroup for a matchup this Sunday against the New Orleans Saints. New Orleans, who are favorites to win the NFC South, took care of business Monday night against their division rivals, the Carolina Panthers.
Needless to say, LaFleur was not happy in his postgame press conference, and that lingered into his Monday press conference. Will Green Bay make the changes to improve? Or will the veteran-led New Orleans Saints be too much? Let's take look a three things we will see come Sunday afternoon.
1. Jordan Loves throws for less than three touchdowns
Over the first two games of the season, Jordan Love has certainly surpassed my expectations. The fourth-year pro, but first-year starter, has thrown for six touchdowns so far, and zero interceptions. Despite the level of competition, Love has answered the call and has looked impressive.
Sunday is going to be different. The Saints feature two studs in their secondary, with Marshon Lattimore and Tyrann Mathieu. To makes matters more difficult, New Orleans' defense also hails All-Pro defensive end Cameron Jordan and veteran Demario Davis.
The Saints' defense is all-around a very challenging group to prepare for. There is a lot of talent across the board, making it tough for any NFL quarterback to go against. I think that the hot streak for Love will end, but overall, I will not be terribly concerned if he struggles a bit on Sunday.
2. Tony Jones Jr. rushes for over 100 yards
The New Orleans Saints are extremely thin at the running back position. Alvin Kamara is still serving his three-game suspension and Jamaal Williams will be out due to injury. This leaves Tony Jones Jr. as the featured back. Jones did not put up impressive statistics Monday, with 34 yards, but two touchdowns.
The Packers' run defense against Atlanta was nothing short of atrocious. It was consistent bad habits by individuals, on top of poor coaching. I am not confident or convinced that this will change Sunday. Joe Barry's defense was a mirror-image of the 2022 defense, and if Green Bay wants to win games, that image needs to be changed immediately.
3. Packers drop their second consecutive game
This is not a knock from last week's performance. Prior to the season starting, I was not sold that Green Bay would win this game. However, the performance from the defense did not really rise any expectations for that matter.
Until we are solely confident that Joe Barry can make adjustments and coach to the defense's strengths, it is hard to see the Packers as favorites going into a vast majority of their games. Needless to say, we are going to find out a lot about Matt LaFleur as a coach after Sunday's matchup.
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