NFL
Sports Interaction Staff
October 17, 2017

Saints vs. Packers Point Spread: NFL Week 7 Odds, Prediction

The NFL landscape was turned upside down when the Green Bay Packers lost quarterback Aaron Rodgers to a broken collarbone last Sunday. Now the Packers have to find a way to survive as a suddenly-hot New Orleans Saints team comes to town.

New Orleans Saints vs. Green Bay Packers

Point Spread: New Orleans -5.5
Date: Sunday October 22, 2017 – 1:00 PM ET
Location: Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin

Point Spread And Betting Analysis

The Saints opened up at -4 but we’ve already seen the line move up to -6. Much of that has to do with the fact that bettors have lost faith in Green Bay as they’re obviously without their star quarterback. The betting trends show that 53% of the early bets have been on New Orleans. The total opened at and currently sits at 48.

New Orleans Saints

In a matter of weeks, the New Orleans defense has gone from looking like a total bust to one of the more respectable units in the NFL. The Saints defense forced five turnovers and scored a franchise record three touchdowns in last week’s 52-38 win over the Detroit Lions. Although the Lions did give up 38 points, keep in mind that Drew Brees threw two pick-sixes and the Lions had a punt returned for a touchdown.

New Orleans has a winning record for the first time since 2013 and now they get the chance to play a Packers team that won’t have Rodgers available on Sunday. While the Saints defense will look to get after Hundley and force turnovers, their offense will attempt to pick up from where it left off against Detroit. Running backs Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara combined for 189 rushing yards and two touchdowns in the win over the Lions. New Orleans will turn to their backs and hope that they can produce big numbers once again this week on the road and open up even more space and time for Drew Brees and the passing attack to go to work.

Green Bay Packers

The Packers offense was an absolute mess without Rodgers on Sunday. Hundley completed 18-of-33 pass attempts for 157 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. He was also sacked four times. Meanwhile, running back Ty Montgomery was held to 28 yards on 10 carries as he continues to deal with broken ribs. The lack of a capable rushing attack will put even more pressure on Hundley and the passing game to try to move the football through the air against a Saints defense that has done an excellent job forcing turnovers over the past three weeks.

The Green Bay defense will also be put to the test. The Packers have allowed an average of 22.5 points per game this season and will need to find a way to slow down Brees and a capable running game in order to have a chance at Lambeau Field on Sunday. The challenge is that this team doesn’t have a particularly stellar ground game or defense, but now those are the two aspects that have to carry the team with Rodgers out.