NEW ORLEANS — The Saints certainly gave southeast Louisiana something else to be distracted by for three hours and it was well worth it as the Saints dominated the Packers 38-3 and the big story coming out of this was Jameis Winston.
In his very first career start with the Saints, he throws five touchdowns and no interceptions. He’s the first player in NFL history to do that in his first start with a new team. He’s the seventh overall quarterback to have five touchdowns and zero interceptions in a season opener.
He and the offense played so well against the Green Bay Packers. That offensive line dominated in Jacksonville. That heat and humidity was probably on their side as they wore down front with 171 yards rushing. They won up front, they won through the air and pretty much dominated on offense.
Meanwhile, the defense for the Saints was able to keep Aaron Rodgers, an MVP quarter back in check. He had one of the worst games of his career as his quarterback rating was 36.8.
The Saints defense did everything to disrupt him and he couldn’t get into any kind of rhythm.
The other big factor was the time of possession. They kept Rodgers off the field and when he did get there, he couldn’t do much as the Saints offense was the best defense against Aaron Rodgers.
There were two injuries of note in this game: Center Erik McCoy was injured. He had a lower leg injury. We don’t know the extent of the injury. Cesar Ruiz moved over from right guard to center to replace McCoy. We don’t know how long he could be out. Potentially there is enough depth there on the offensive line.
The other one was Marshon Lattimore. He was ruled questionable on Saturday after being ruled “good to go” on Friday’s injury report. Saturday he was downgraded to “questionable” with a knee injury.
He did go through warmups and played in this game, and then at the start of the second half, he stayed in the locker room because he was getting a cast on his right wrist. He was able to play the rest of the way but we don’t know if that injury may hinder him as we move on in the coming weeks. Whether it’s something that could keep him out or if he might have to wear that cast going forward.
Overall, a big win for the Saints as they shocked not only pretty much everyone here in southeast Louisiana, but the rest of the league with a convincing win over a team that is one of the favorites in the NFC.
Good start for the 2021 season for Sean Payton and company.