How to Watch Packers vs. Saints
GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers and New Orleans Saints will kick off their 2021 NFL seasons on Sunday in Jacksonville. Kickoff is 3:25 p.m.
Joe Buck and Troy Aikman – favorites of Packers fans – will be on the call.
Here’s how to watch and what you need to know.
How to Watch
TV: FOX – Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Erin Andrews/Tom Rinaldi (field reporters). As its Game of the Week, the game will be broadcast to much of the nation.
Entering Year 20, the Buck-Aikman tandem is second in longevity among NFL broadcasting teams to the legendary duo of Pat Summerall and John Madden.
Stream: On fuboTV,
Sirius: 138 (GB), 83 (NO) | XM: 380 (GB), 225 (NO) | SXM App: 811 (GB), 822 (NO)
The Line
Packers by 3.5 at FanDuel, with a total of 49.5 points.
History
The Packers lead 17-9, including 2-0 on Kickoff Weekend. Green Bay scored a 37-30 win at the Superdome in Week 3 of last season. With Davante Adams sidelined by injury, Aaron Rodgers completed 21-of-32 passes for 283 yards, with touchdowns to receiver Allen Lazard and tight ends Robert Tonyan and Marcedes Lewis. Lazard had a huge night with six receptions for 146 yards. Saints quarterback Drew Brees also threw three touchdown passes, including two to running back Alvin Kamara, who had 197 total yards. With the game tied at 27 in the fourth quarter, the Saints stuffed Aaron Jones on a fourth-and-1 near midfield. That set up the Saints for the go-ahead score. Instead, Za’Darius Smith’s sack and strip of Taysom Hill set up Mason Crosby’s 49-yard field goal. Tonyan’s touchdown clinched the victory.
Injury Reports
Za'Darius Smith is questionable; New Orleans will be down two starters.
The Quarterbacks
Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers last season became the sixth player to win the AP’s MVP award three times. He led the NFL with a career-high 48 touchdown passes, tied for the fifth-most in NFL history, and a 121.5 passer rating, second-best in NFL history behind his 122.5 in 2011. He’s got a chance to make some history. Rodgers has 51,245 career passing yards. With 231 passing yards vs. the Saints, he would pass Hall of Famer John Elway (51,475) for 10th-most in NFL history. He ranks seventh with 412 touchdown passes.
Jameis Winston will make his first start for New Orleans as the successor to Drew Brees. He’s faced the Packers just once. While with Tampa Bay on Dec. 3, 2017, he threw for 270 yards and two touchdowns but he fumbled twice and was sacked seven times. The Packers, with Brett Hundley at quarterback and Aaron Jones scoring on a 20-yard touchdown in overtime with his only carry of the game, won 26-20. In 2019 with Tampa Bay, Winston led the NFL in passing yards (5,109) and interceptions (30).
Scoring Machines
Packers receiver Davante Adams led the NFL with 18 touchdowns, tied with former Packers great Sterling Sharpe for third-most in NFL history. Over the last five seasons, he has a league-high 58 receiving touchdowns. Saints running back Alvin Kamara led the NFL with 21 total touchdowns. His 59 touchdowns in his first four NFL seasons trail only Hall of Famers Terrell Davis (61) and LaDainian Tomlinson (60).
Did You Know?
The Packers have won a league-high 58 games on Kickoff Weekend. They’ve won six consecutive opening games, tied with Kansas City for the longest current streak. The Saints are 19-35 in their openers but have won two straight.
Quote to Note
From Davante Adams, on the team’s championship aspirations: “This is probably the hungriest team that I’ve ever been around, honestly, just because we have been so close a number of times now. So, I feel like everybody in the back of their mind, they know how reachable it is and realistic we are to getting to that final step.”
