Canal Street Chronicles
Can Spencer Rattler play like he did in relief last week?
The New Orleans Saints will travel to Green Bay to face the Green Bay Packers this Monday night in Lambeau Field.
The Saints offense was very stale early in the game last week, but once Spencer Rattler entered, he got the ball rolling. He completed just under 50% of his passes, but he threw for 135 yards and a touchdown while leading four consecutive scoring drives, including the one that nearly won them the game. This week, he’ll get a Packers defense that has likely been preparing for him all week, so it will be a much tougher challenge.
The Packers defense has been pretty solid this year, allowing 20.5 points per game, which ranks eighth in the NFL. They’ve been great all year long and have helped lead them to a 10-4 record.
As a unit, the Packers defense isn’t the greatest against the pass. They allow 215 yards per game (15th) and a 67.5% completion percentage but give up 1.4 passing touchdowns per game (11th).
As I mentioned earlier, Spencer Rattler is going to start at quarterback, and he’s had an up-and-down start to his career. He’s had some electric moments but has a 57.5% completion percentage and a 2-2 TD:INT ratio through four games. He’s also had a bit of a sack problem, which wasn’t helped by the offensive line play, but he’s been sacked six more times in 3.5 games than Derek Carr has been in 9.5. He’ll need to play the best game of his career against the Packers if they want to upset them in Lambeau.
The Packers have been great against the run this year, giving up just over 100 yards per game. The Saints will be without Alvin Kamara on Sunday, which means Kendre Miller will get a lot of work. The second-year RB out of TCU has been injured for most of his career, but since returning a couple weeks ago, he’s looked really good, rushing for 78 yards on 19 carries in the last two weeks. We’ll see if he can put it together against a really good Packers defense.
We’ve highlighted some of Rattler’s sack problems, and he will be tested this week. The Packers’ 2.9 sacks per game ranks 7th in the NFL, and their front seven is great at applying pressure on the QB. Rattler’s going to need to get rid of the ball early and make sure he’s not letting the pressure force him into some bad decisions. The Saints offensive line will also need to have one of their best games of the season if they want to give Rattler a chance to succeed.
Overall, it’s going to be a tough game for the Saints offense, but Rattler provides some hope. He showed what he’s capable of last week in the second half, and if he can stay upright, he may be able to have a similar performance. They’ll need a big one from...
