The New Orleans Saints venture to Titletown for a Monday Night Football matchup with the Green Bay Packers.
The pregame narrative: New Orleans is beat up, and I’m not expecting this contest to be close. Green Bay should lean heavily on the run in a game where its opponent likely won’t be able to muster up much offence. I’m taking the over on Josh Jacobs and Jordan Love’s rushing yards props.
Check out my Saints vs. Packers prop picks for Monday Night Football on Dec. 23.
Saints vs. Packers prop picks
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Best Bet: Jacobs over 90.5 rushing yards (-117)
The Saints are absolutely decimated on offence.
Here’s the list of starters who won’t be playing on Monday:
- Derek Carr (hand)
- Chris Olave (concussion)
- Alvin Kamara (groin)
- Rashid Shaheed (meniscus)
- Taysom Hill (knee)
Entering a game with Marquez Valdes-Scantling as your No. 1 wide receiver — a guy who wasn’t even on the roster to begin the year — is a troublesome scene.
But why does any of this matter?
Well, a skeleton crew makes New Orleans a pretty harmless group offensively.
That will surely impact how Green Bay calls plays on offence.
The Saints don’t pose much of a threat which means we’ll likely see a conservative offensive game plan from the Packers.
The team has been willing to run the offence through Jacobs and that should be the case again in primetime.
Jacobs has been an absolute workhorse for the Packers. Here are his numbers over the last seven games:
- 145 carries
- 607 rushing yards
- 11 rushing touchdowns
New Orleans is ceding the ninth-most rushing yards per game (104.9) to opposing backs and I expect Jacobs to feast.
Key stat: Jacobs has topped this total in four of his last seven games.
Quick pick
Love over 4.5 rushing yards (-121): Love is by no means a rushing quarterback.
Green Bay’s QB has 23 carries for a minuscule 75 rushing yards on the campaign and has fallen short of this mark in three of his last four games.
So why do I like Love to go over his rushing yards prop?
Well, New Orleans struggles to keep opposing QBs in the pocket. The Saints are allowing the sixth-most rushing yards per game (26.2) to opposing passers.
Love recently played against the Detroit Lions, who allow the fourth-most rushing yards per game (27.9), and he smashed this mark. He totalled four carries for 23 yards in that showing.
Green Bay’s gunslinger isn’t afraid to chuck it deep, but there’ll be no need in this contest. Expect him to pull the ball down and take the easy yards against New Orleans.
Picks made at 12:32 p.m. ET 12/22/2024.
Stevie’s an avid NFL, NHL, and tennis bettor who has no problem talking himself into the underdog. His previous stops include Yahoo! Sports Canada and Toronto Metropolitan University, where he received a degree in Sport Media.