Saints-Packers Betting Odds Week 7: Green Bay 4.5 Home Dog With Rodgers Out

The significance of Aaron Rodgers being injured cannot be overstated.  They are a rare home underdog of +4.5 points hosting a resurgent New Orleans Saints team.  To put this in some perspective, the Packers have only been a home underdog of between 3.5 to 7 points on ten occasions dating all the way back to 1992, covering the spread in seven of those.

Without Rodgers, third-year pro Brett Hundley will make his first NFL start. Hundley threw three interceptions in relief of Rodgers in Sunday's 23-10 loss at Minnesota. His career passer rating of 40.9 is the lowest among quarterbacks with at least 40 career passing attempts since the start of the 2015 season. On the other hand, his passer rating of 107.3 is the highest among quarterbacks with 100-plus passing attempts over the last three preseasons.

Coach Mike McCarthy, with three years invested in Hundley, is confident in his new starter as Green Bay (4-2) tries to extend its playoff streak to nine years.

"Great personality. Always has a smile on his face. He's a joy to coach, joy to work with, so that part's fun," McCarthy said. "When you look in a quarterback's eyes during the course of a game, I think the road that he rode in Minneapolis, with the adversity that he was under, the number of times he was getting hit, the number of breakdowns that occurred in the game and the way he played all the way to the final whistle, I think that's very, very encouraging. That's something that I feel great about because that's what I'm building off of. For as bad as the moments were at that particular time of the game, he just kept playing. He was playing with great energy, didn't blink. Frankly, I can't support this with statistics, but I felt like he got better. He got better in that game. That's my belief."

Green Bay would have been the -2.5 favorite with Aaron Rodgers in the game.  This means Rodgers absence has resulted in a 7 point shift.

As for the Saints, they now would pay out $225 for every $100 bet to win the NFC South.

Drew Brees has completed 68.9 percent of his passes with 10 touchdowns, two interceptions and a 103.2 rating. In six career games against the Packers, Brees has topped 300 passing yards every time.

NFL Week 7 Betting Odds

- Ean Lamb, Gambling911.com