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Trap games are real. NFL coaches and players will tell you that the only thing that matters is the next game on the schedule, but they're not fully being honest. The Green Bay Packers have one of those games in Week 16 against the New Orleans Saints.
To make matters more intense for the Packers, this is a matchup on Monday Night Football, which means the eyes of the NFL will be watching to see if Jordan Love and company can swiftly take care of business. It's not even one of those unnecessarily “double header” Monday Night Football games either, so the pressure will be on Green Bay.
That's not to say the Packers have to blow out the Saints for this to be considered a good win. Nobody cares about “good wins” versus “bad wins” at this point of the season, anyhow. All that matters is getting the wins ahead of you on the schedule, and they count whether you win by 24 points or one point.
The point is, though, this is a game the Packers need to win, and this is a game they can't afford to take lightly.
The temptation to look past the Saints will be there. Green Bay is 10-4 and with a win, the Packers would clinch a playoff spot. Head coach Matt LaFleur and his squad have bigger goals in mind than just beating New Orleans in Week 16. This is a team that feels it can compete with the Philadelphia Eagles, Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings for the right to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl.
With that in mind, not only are the Packers trying to gear up for the playoffs, but looming large on their schedule after the Saints are those 12-2 Vikings, who are making a run at the Lions for the NFC North Crown.
As such, this is a classic trap game for the Packers. They're basically not in the running for the NFC North title barring epic collapses from Detroit and Minnesota. But beating the Vikings in Week 17 would be a massive feather in their cap as well as a signal to the rest of the contenders in the NFC that the Packers shouldn't be taken lightly in the playoffs.
Week 17 will be a big moment and a huge game for the Packers as they look to round into playoff form, but any playoff momentum they'd get from a potential win over the Vikings would be viewed as just catching up if the Packers can't take care of the Saints in Week 16. Especially at this point of the season, it's a week-by-week proposition, and no team in the NFL — no matter their record or circumstance — can be overlooked.
These are all professionals, remember, and if nothing else, pride will be on the line for the Saints.
Jordan Love, Packers appear focused
If you're a Packers fan, the good news is that the team seems focused. Even after a rather convincing win over the Seattle Seahawks on the road in Week 16 on Sunday Night Football, Love spoke like a quarterback who understands that the mission at this point of the season is to keep the pedal to the metal, via Jason Reid of Andscape.
“I feel really good. We’re in a really good spot,” Love said. “Just finish this season off and be where we’re gonna be for playoffs. But I like where we’re at. We just have to keep figuring out ways to get better. Keep pushing each other to get these wins and finish the season.”
At the end of that comment is the key to focusing on this Week 16 matchup with the Saints. The Packers are good at 10-4 and the Saints are not so good at 5-9. That doesn't mean the Packers are a perfect team, though. They've been beaten four times this season, after all, and it's more than notable to point out that all four of their losses have come to the teams currently seeded higher than them in the NFC playoffs.
They've lost to the Eagles, Vikings and Lions (twice).
In order to keep focused on the Saints and not get lost in the trap game mentality, the Packers need to keep zeroing in on the fact that there are still things they can improve.
They've been rolling offensively, but despite Josh Jacobs being one of the best running backs in the league and Love having a plethora of weapons surrounding him, they do have a tendency to get out of rhythm at times.
Defensively, the Packers are top 10 in points given up per game (20.5) and yards given up per game (321.8) and they're Top 5 in takeaways with 26. With that said, they do have a tendency to give up big plays over the middle of the field in the passing game and they've had a hard time at times getting off the field on third downs.
There's plenty of tuning up that still needs to be done, and the Saints should provide the Packers with just enough pushback to ensure growth. The only thing that can't happen for Green Bay is a loss, which is why the Packers can't get caught looking ahead of this Monday Night Football matchup.
