When the Packers play the Saints in Sunday’s season opener, it pits two of the top teams in the NFC for the past decade-plus, and it features one quarterback who’s trying to enhance his legacy and another who’s trying to prove his worth as a former No. 1-overall draft pick.
Aaron Rodgers, who spent the offseason bellyaching about how he’d never play another game for the Packers, the only NFL team he has ever played for, will begin his 18th season with Green Bay — a season that may be his last there.
Jameis Winston will start his first game for New Orleans, for now the heir apparent to the retired Drew Brees, after five roller-coaster seasons in Tampa Bay.
Unlike Rodgers for whom it has seemingly become old for him to be in Green Bay, Winston is in search of a new beginning.
And though this is a Saints “home’’ game on the schedule, it’ll take place at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, Fla., because the Superdome in New Orleans isn’t ready as that city recovers from Hurricane Ida.
In a fascinating twist, a report from Jeff Duncan of The Times-Picayune in New Orleans said that the Saints, who have been practicing in the Dallas area, opted for Jacksonville instead of Arlington, Texas, because they believe it would be a more a difficult trip for Packers fans.
And few teams in the league, other than the Steelers, have a heartier traveling contingent than the Packers.
Winston, who beat out Taysom Hill for the starting job in training camp, has an amazing opportunity to resurrect his career under the tutelage of coach Sean Payton.
Jameis Winston and Aaron RodgersAP; Getty ImagesThe question is whether Winston can reduce his turnovers. He had 33 touchdown passes and 30 interceptions during his last season as a starter, in 2019. He, too, represents the opposite of Brees, who was a highly accurate passer and kept the turnovers to a minimum.
Winston will throw the ball down the field more often than Brees did, but will he throw it to the wrong uniform too often?
Winston has some skill-position talent around him, beginning with running back Alvin Kamara, a four-time Pro Bowler who ripped into the Packers last season, catching 13 passes for 197 total yards and two TDs. Kamara scored a total of 21 touchdowns in 2020.
With star receiver Michael Thomas on the PUP list, the top receiver is Marquez Callaway, who caught 21 passes as a rookie last season, but had a standout preseason.
Rodgers, the reigning NFL MVP, also has some great skill-position talent — starting with Davante Adams, whose 18 receiving TDs last season ranked first in the NFL.
At Rodgers’ request, the Packers brought back 11th-year veteran Randall Cobb, after two years away, and they have deep threat Marquez Valdes-Scantling.
“I love the versatility of those guys and the depth that we have,” Rodgers told reporters recently. “I feel good about different things we can throw at teams, and especially if they try and take Davante away the entire game.”
A year ago, the Packers beat the Saints, 37-30, in front of a sparse COVID-19 restricted Superdome crowd.
“This will be different, obviously not playing in New Orleans and with some of the changes on their roster, most notably the quarterback,’’ Rodgers said.
The Packers are 2-0 in season openers under coach Matt LaFleur, with both wins away from home (at Chicago in 2019, at Minnesota in 2020). Overall, the Packers have won six consecutive Week 1 games and 11 of their past 14.
