Packers attempting to continue their surge as they host the Saints on Monday night

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers don’t want to have to wait as long as they did last season to clinch a playoff berth.

The Packers (10-4) have performed well enough that a little help could enable them to earn a postseason invitation on Sunday. If that doesn’t happen, the Packers still can wrap up a playoff spot by beating the injury-riddled New Orleans Saints (5-9) on Monday night at Lambeau Field.

Last season, the Packers sneaked into the playoffs only after beating the Chicago Bears on the final Sunday of the regular season.

“It definitely is a better position than having to try and win every game and fight for that last position not knowing what might happen,” Love said. “I think we did a better job this season winning some games early on and putting ourselves in a better position."

The Packers have won eight of their past 10 games, with the only two losses in that stretch coming against the Detroit Lions. Green Bay remains behind Detroit and Minnesota in the NFC North.

A loss or tie by the Atlanta Falcons coupled with a loss or tie by either the Los Angeles Rams or Seattle Seahawks would lock up a playoff spot for the Packers before Monday night’s game. The Falcons host the New York Giants, the Rams visit the New York Jets and the Seahawks host the Vikings on Sunday.

New Orleans’ long-shot chances of reaching the playoffs could vanish by the time Monday’s game begins. The Saints’ only path to the postseason is to win all their remaining three games while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Falcons lose their final three games. Tampa Bay plays at Dallas on Sunday night.

The Saints could be playing this game without usual starting quarterback Derek Carr and five-time Pro Bowl running back Alvin Kamara.

Carr has an injury to his left (non-throwing) hand that prevented him from playing in the Saints’ most recent game — a 20-19 loss to the Washington Commanders — though Saints interim head coach Darren Rizzi hasn’t yet ruled him out for Monday. Kamara left the Commanders game with a groin injury that likely will sideline him for this matchup.

If Carr is unable to play, the Saints would turn to Spencer Rattler, who came off the bench and led four straight scoring drives in the loss to the Commanders.

“We have the players that we have,” Rizzi said. “Everybody across the league right now is dealing with injuries, some more than others. I think the best teams in the league are the teams that are able to overcome those, regardless of the position. That's really how we've been approaching it.”

After struggling to protect the football during the first half of the season, Love has thrown seven touchdown passes without an interception over his past four games.

Love had thrown 11 interceptions in his first eight starts of the season.

Saints defensive end Tanoh Kpassagnon could make his 2024 season debut on Monday night.

He has been back at practice for about two weeks since recovering from an offseason Achilles tendon rupture. Rizzi said Kpassagnon was nearly activated for last week’s game against Washington.

Kpassagnon, 30, is in his eighth NFL season. He played in all 17 games in a reserve role in 2023 and had 3½ sacks.

Packers rookie linebacker Edgerrin Cooper's performance in a 30-13 victory at Seattle on Sunday earned him NFC defensive player of the week honors for the second time this season. The second-round pick from Texas A&M had a sack, intercepted a pass and had two tackles for loss and two passes defended.

Cooper is the first Packer since Clay Matthews in 2010 to be selected as the NFC defensive player of the week multiple times within the same season.

With Kamara’s status up in the air, the Saints signed former LSU star running back and Louisiana native Clyde Edwards-Helaire.

Edwards-Helaire recently was waived by the Kansas City Chiefs, with whom he has spent his entire NFL career since being drafted in 2020.

Edwards-Helaire, who hasn’t played this season, started the week on the practice squad.

He joins a position group with the Saints that also includes Kendre Miller, former Packer Jamaal Williams and Jordan Mims on the active roster.

The Packers are outscoring opponents 95-34 in the first quarter, thanks in part to Josh Jacobs’ productivity early in games.

Jacobs has run for 688 yards in the first half of games, which represents the most first-half rushing yards by any NFL player. Kamara ranks second with 601 first-half yards rushing.

He has 235 yards rushing in the opening drive of games, the most by any Packer since at least 2000.

Jacobs has rushed for 1,147 yards overall to rank third in the league, behind Philadelphia’s Saquon Barkley (1,688) and Baltimore’s Derrick Henry (1,474) entering Week 16.

AP Sports Writer Brett Martel contributed to this report.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Green Bay Packers' Kingsley Enagbare reacts to a sack during the second half of an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Green Bay Packers' Romeo Doubs celebrates his touchdown catch with Jordan Love during the second half of an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)

New Orleans Saints interim head coach Darren Rizzi yells on the sideline in the first half of an NFL football game against the Washington Commanders in New Orleans, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

New Orleans Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler (18) throws a pass in the second half of an NFL football game against the Washington Commanders in New Orleans, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

Green Bay Packers' Jordan Love throws during the second half of an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)

Green Bay Packers' Jordan Love throws during the second half of an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)

A debate over the debt ceiling is at the center of a dispute over funding that is pushing Washington to the brink of a federal government shutdown.

President-elect Donald Trump has demanded that a provision raising or suspending the nation's debt limit — something that his own party routinely resists — be included in legislation to avert a government shutdown. “Anything else is a betrayal of our country," Trump said in a statement Wednesday.

Republicans quickly complied, including a provision in a revamped government funding proposal that would suspend the debt ceiling for two years, until Jan. 30, 2027. But the bill failed overwhelmingly in a House vote Thursday evening, leaving next steps uncertain.

Here's what to know about the debate over the debt ceiling and the role it's playing in the shutdown saga:

The debt ceiling, or debt limit, is the total amount of money that the United States government can borrow to meet its existing legal obligations. For the Treasury Department to borrow above that amount, the limit must be raised by Congress.

The federal debt stands at roughly $36 trillion, and the spike in inflation after the coronavirus pandemic has pushed up the government’s borrowing costs such that debt service next year will exceed spending on national security.

The last time lawmakers raised the debt limit was June 2023. Rather than raise the limit by a dollar amount, lawmakers suspended the debt limit through Jan. 1, 2025. At that point, the limit will be automatically raised to match the amount of debt that has been issued by the Treasury Department.

The debt limit vote in recent times has been used as a political leverage point, a must-pass bill that can be loaded up with other priorities.

Trump has tied a demand for dealing with the debt ceiling to the dispute over government funding, saying one should not be addressed without the other.

When he rejected the spending proposal on Wednesday, Trump said that he wanted the debt ceiling debate settled before he takes office next month.

Warning of trouble ahead for Johnson and Republicans in Congress, Trump told Fox News Digital, “Anybody that supports a bill that doesn’t take care of the Democrat quicksand known as the debt ceiling should be primaried and disposed of as quickly as possible."

There's actually no need to raise the debt limit right now. On Jan. 1, when the debt limit is triggered, the Treasury Department can begin using what it calls “extraordinary measures” to ensure that America doesn't default on its debts.

Some estimate these accounting maneuvers could push the default deadline to the summer of 2025 — but that's exactly what Trump wants to avoid, since an increase would then be needed while he is president.

Lawmakers have always raised the debt ceiling in time because the consequences of failure are stark. Without action, the government would go into default on its debts, a first-ever situation that Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and economic experts have said could be “catastrophic" for the economy and global markets.

Raising or suspending the debt limit does not authorize new spending or tax cuts; it merely acknowledges past budgetary decisions — that is, current budget law — and so allows the federal government to meet its existing legal obligations. For that reason and others, some have advocated doing away with the limit altogether.

Dealing with the debt ceiling could have ramifications for Johnson, as he angles to keep his job in the new Congress that begins on Jan. 3.

Trump said early Thursday that Johnson will “easily remain speaker” for the next Congress if he “acts decisively and tough” in coming up with a new plan to also increase the debt limit, a stunning request just before the Christmas holidays that has put the beleaguered speaker in a bind.

The last House speaker, Kevin McCarthy, worked for months with President Joe Biden to raise the debt limit. Even though they struck a bipartisan deal that cut spending in exchange for additional borrowing capacity, House Republicans said it didn’t go far enough, and it ended up costing McCarthy his job.

Now, Trump is looking for Johnson to pass a debt ceiling extension just hours before a partial government shutdown.

After meeting with his caucus, Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries rejected any possibility that his members would bail out Republicans as the shutdown threat looms.

“GOP extremists want House Democrats to raise the debt ceiling so that House Republicans can lower the amount of your Social Security check,” Jeffries posted Thursday on social media. “Hard pass.”

Jeffries and other Democrats say Republicans should honor the spending agreement that was negotiated before Trump got involved. He called the new GOP plan "laughable.”

Kinnard reported from Charleston, South Carolina, and can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP

FILE—Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., takes questions from reporters after presenting his final version of an interim pending bill to his caucus, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. President-elect Donald Trump has now abruptly rejected the bipartisan plan to prevent a Christmastime government shutdown. Instead, he's telling House Speaker Mike Johnson and Republicans to essentially renegotiate — days before a deadline when federal funding runs out. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)