GREEN BAY, Wis. — Though saying a bye comes at the right time is a well-circulated phrase among all NFL teams, Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy was paying more than just lip service Monday by agreeing with the saw.

“We’re 5-3, and we have time to heal as a team,” McCarthy said.

Green Bay experienced a few notable injuries during a 44-23 road loss to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday night.

Right guard T.J. Lang was lost for the rest of the game after just five plays. He hurt his left ankle while trying to hold a block on an improvised 70-yard touchdown throw from quarterback Aaron Rodgers to wide receiver Randall Cobb.

Then, early in the third quarter, Rodgers came up noticeably limping after he scrambled away from the Saints’ pass pressure for a 7-yard run to the sideline. Turns out Rodgers tweaked his left hamstring.

Rodgers remained in the game and wasn’t lifted until the waning minutes of the final quarter with the outcome already decided. He acknowledged afterward that his limited mobility forced McCarthy to junk some of potential play calls.

“It definitely grabbed on me a little bit,” Rodgers said.

Rodgers, who threw for a season-high 418 yards, clearly wasn’t the same after the injury. His first interception in 213 passes going back to the season opener came three plays after his fateful run, as a pass was tipped away from tight end Andrew Quarless in the end zone.

Rodgers had another pass picked off on the second play of the fourth quarter.

“If it would’ve been detrimental to my health for the season, I probably would have told Coach to take me out (after the injury), but I felt like I could still go,” Rodgers said. “If I felt (the hamstring), then I had to back off a little bit. We had to do a little more in the shotgun, but it wasn’t a big deal, ultimately.”

Players were back in at the team’s Lambeau Field headquarters Monday, but McCarthy said he hadn’t visited with Rodgers. However, an update provided by the medical staff to McCarthy was encouraging.

“So far, so good, I would say is how we’re looking at it,” McCarthy said. “They’re very confident with where Aaron is today.”

The players have the rest of the week off for the bye on the schedule. They are to report back the morning of Nov. 3 ahead of the next game, a Sunday night matchup against the rival Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field on Nov. 9.

Rodgers does not anticipate being in jeopardy for that game.

“I’m not going to miss any time,” he said Sunday night.

The Packers, who had their four-game winning streak end and also dropped into second place in the NFC North, went into the game against the Saints without the starting duo of cornerback Sam Shields (knee) and safety Morgan Burnett (calf).

McCarthy expressed optimism Monday that Burnett and Shields, who missed the past two games, will be OK next week.

As for Lang, McCarthy wouldn’t speculate about the veteran’s status for the Bears game. Untested second-year player Lane Taylor replaced Lang and had a key missed block on the Saints’ fourth-and-1 stop of halfback Eddie Lacy in the third quarter.

“He’s not doing very good today,” McCarthy said of Lang on Monday, “but I think he’ll feel better as the week goes on. … It’s a little too far out there for me, really, to give you an accurate reading.”

REPORT CARD VS. SAINTS

PASSING OFFENSE: B-minus — Aaron Rodgers threw for a season-high 418 yards, but he also doubled his season total for interceptions by having two picked off in the decisive second half. Both picks by the Saints came off deflections, none bigger than CB Corey White’s left hand getting in just in front of TE Andrew Quarless at the New Orleans 1-yard line. It was Rodgers’ first interception since the season opener, ending a career-best streak of 212 passes without a pick. Another would-be touchdown for Rodgers and the Packers went awry when LB Julius Peppers spoiled his season debut on offense by dropping a pass in the end zone on his slant route in Green Bay’s second series. The Packers dropped four passes from Rodgers, who finished 28-for-39 with one touchdown and the two turnovers for a passer rating of 93.8 before he exited the lopsided affair late in the fourth quarter.

RUSHING OFFENSE: C — RB Eddie Lacy amassed nearly 200 total yards in his homecoming in his native New Orleans. He generated 59 yards on 13 carries. Lacy powered his way to several extra yards by breaking tackles and dragging defenders with him on a few rushing attempts. His longest run was 19 yards, but Lacy was stopped for no gain on a pivotal fourth-and-1 call with the Packers at their own 40 with 3 1/2 minutes left in the quarter and down only a touchdown. The inexperienced Lane Taylor, who replaced an injured T.J. Lang at right guard after the first series of the game, missed his block on DE Tyrunn Walker, who teamed with Hawthorne to drop Lacy plenty short of the first-down marker. The Packers had only 19 run plays, one more than their season low.

PASS DEFENSE: D — QB Drew Brees is notorious for picking apart Green Bay defenses through the air, and the veteran kept the trend intact. Brees went a sharp 27-for-32 for 311 yards and three touchdowns and didn’t throw an interception for the fourth consecutive meeting against the Packers. This time around, Brees exploited a Packers secondary that was without the starting duo of CB Sam Shields and S Morgan Burnett. Six of Brees’ completions were for explosive gains of at least 16 yards, including deep balls of 50 yards for the go-ahead touchdown to speedy rookie WR Brandin Cooks, 45 yards to WR Kenny Stills and 22 yards for a touchdown to TE Jimmy Graham. Davon House, making a second straight start in place of Shields, struggled the most in coverage. Green Bay’s pass rush was lukewarm, producing just two sacks.

RUSH DEFENSE: D-minus — At least a dozen missed tackles by Green Bay’s anemic defense came on carries by RB Mark Ingram. The previously injured and underachieving Ingram took advantage by rushing for a career-high 172 yards on 24 carries for a robust average of 7.2 yards per touch. Ingram had explosive runs of 28, 21 (touchdown), 18 and 14 yards. The Packers allowed 193 rushing yards — their third-highest total of the season — at a per-carry clip of 6.2 yards.

SPECIAL TEAMS: B-minus — For the second time this season, Tim Masthay didn’t have one punt. Neither did Saints counterpart Thomas Morstead. Both teams also didn’t have any return yardage on kickoffs. While the Packers started all eight of their possessions at their 20 after touchbacks, Green Bay’s Mason Crosby had four touchbacks on his kicks as well. Crosby also attempted two onside kicks — one in surprise fashion after Green Bay’s second score of the game only nine minutes into play — but New Orleans gained possession on both. Crosby made all three of his field-goal attempts with a long of 49 yards.

COACHING: D — The strides made in recent weeks by Dom Capers’ previously languishing defense were vanquished by the double whammy inflicted by Brees’ pinpoint passing against a short-handed secondary and Ingram’s surprising dominance against a fundamentally challenged unit. A masterful game plan by New Orleans head coach/play-caller Sean Payton exposed the Packers’ vulnerability against the run when Capers insisted on staying in predominantly nickel coverage with no more than two linemen to try to counteract the Saints’ spread formations. Meanwhile, the lopsided outcome left Packers head coach Mike McCarthy open for all kinds of armchair criticism. McCarthy’s bold moves in a span of just a few plays early in the first quarter backfired: the failed pass for Peppers and the first failed onside kick.