Packers will stay on the offensive against Saints

By GERY WOELFEL

VENICE, Italy – The Green Bay Packers are the youngest team in the NFL and, after two games this season, there are more questions than answers surrounding them.

To wit:

• Can the Packers effectively stop the run?
• Can they establish their own running game, especially with standout Aaron Jones already plagued by a hamstring injury?
• Will safety Darnell Savage, coming off a sub-par season, keep playing at an elite level?

But while those questions, and others, remain unanswered, one highly important question has seemingly been answered.

Despite the departure of Hall-of-Fame in-waiting quarterback Aaron Rodgers to the New York Jets, his successor, Jordan Love, and his offensive crew have convincingly shown they can be an explosive outfit.

The Packers rang up 38 points in their season-opening win against the Chicago Bears and then produced 24 points in a loss to the Atlanta Falcons last Sunday.

The Packers’ two-game scoring average of 31 points ranks second in the 32-team league, trailing only the Dallas Cowboys who are averaging an insane 35 points per outing.

And the Packers have lit up the scoreboard even with several key players AWOL Last week, for instance, Jones, receiver Christian Watson, offensive tackle David Bakhtiari and guard Elgton Jenkins watched all or most of the game from the sidelines.

And that may happen again against the Saints. Jenkins has already been ruled out, while Watson, Jones and Bakhtiari are listed as questionable.

Bakhtiari was withheld from practices all week, which isn’t unusual as he’s still battling knee issues, but Watson and Jones both went through limited practices Friday, an encouraging sign for the Packers.

The Packers will need close to a full complement of players against a Saints’ defense that has been surprisingly strong.

The Saints rank fifth in the league in total yards and sixth in points allowed at 16 a game. Of course, the Saints’ first two games – both wins – were against Tennessee (a solid team) and Carolina (a bad team). The Saints barely escaped with victories in both games, beating Tennessee 16-15 and Carolina 20-17

Maybe they’ll just sneak by the Packers, too. I highly doubt it. The oddsmakers have installed the Packers as 1-point favorites in their 2023 regular-season home debut at Lambeau Field.

I have the Packers prevailing as well but in a relatively easy fashion.

Prediction: Packers 27, Saints 20.