It only took 240 games, but the 2024 NFL season finally saw its first shutout on Monday night.
The Green Bay Packers handled the New Orleans Saints, 34-0, in the final game of Week 16, marking the first shutout since Week 18 of the 2023 season, when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers blanked the Carolina Panthers, 9-0, according to NFL Research.
Head coach Matt LaFleur was appreciative of how his team was able to dominate in all three phases, let a lone on defense.
“I was really proud of our guys tonight," the Packers head coach said. "We talked about playing a complete game for four quarters. I thought for the most part, we did what we needed to do. Obviously, it’s hard to shutout an opponent in this league. From what I was told, it was the first one this season. So, I was really proud of our defense.”
The last time Green Bay held a team to zero points was in 2021 -- a 17-0 victory over the Seattle Seahawks. Monday night's performance was a testament to a much improved Packers defense that entered Week 16 ranked ninth in yards allowed per game (321.8) and eighth in points per game (20.3).
Against an undermanned Saints team with Derek Carr and Alvin Kamara out with injury, the Packers held the Saints 196 yards of offense, a good portion of which gained with the game already in hand during garbage time.
Still, as evidenced by it being the first occasion after 240 games played this season, what the Packers did against a Spencer Rattler-led unit was impressive.
“We’ve known this all along, the defense is a lot different this year," Packers quarterback Jordan Love said. "They’ve been making some big-time plays all year long. Anytime you can hold somebody to zero points in the National Football League is pretty awesome."
The Packers suffocated the Saints offense with a tremendous pass rush on Rattler, as eight different players generated multiple QB pressures, per Next Gen Stats. Devonte Wyatt, Brenton Cox and Keisean Nixon each found a sack while rookie linebacker Edgerrin Cooper cleaned up with a team-high eight tackles. Zayne Anderson secured the game's only turnover with an interception of Rattler to halt the Saints' best drive of the night.
Adding context to their impressive performance, the Packers defense did it all without injured starters Jaire Alexander and linebacker Quay Walker.
Monday night's dominant win also secured the Packers a second straight trip to the playoffs. Sitting at 11-4, the Packers are on the outside looking in at an NFC North title with the Detroit Lions (13-2) and Minnesota Vikings (13-2) heading toward a Week 18 showdown for division supremacy. But the Packers are still in play for the NFC's top wild-card berth, which would provide the most ideal matchup among road playoff teams in the Super Wild Card Round.
Not discounting the seamless win on Monday night, LaFleur is looking to improve their standing next week with a tougher test against a division rival.
“We got a big test next week to go on the road in a short week with a holiday," LaFleur said. "It’s never easy, especially, going into Minnesota. It’s one of the tougher places to play, against a team that’s playing as good as anybody in the National Football League. So, we got to flip the script here really quickly and get on to the Vikings.”