Cleveland Browns vs. Green Bay Packers Odds, Preview, Picks, and Prediction
Browns vs. Packers Odds
| Browns Odds | +7.5 |
| Packers Odds | -7.5 |
| Over/Under | 46.5 |
| Date | Saturday, Dec. 25 |
| Time | 4:30 p.m. ET |
| TV | FOX |
The Cleveland Browns and the Green Bay Packers will partake in a special, Christmas edition of NFL action on Saturday afternoon evening at Lambeau Field. Cleveland will be forced to play this game on extremely short rest after having their Week 15 matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders postponed to Monday. Though many of their starters did not play against the Raiders due to COVID-19 related issues, a short week of practice, coupled with a number of injuries is likely to result in a difficult trip to Green Bay. The Packers control their own destiny to a first round bye in the NFC playoff picture. Oddsmakers are anticipating Green Bay taking care of business in this holiday affair, pricing the Packers as a touchdown favorite on the spread.
Browns +7.5
Baker Mayfield deserves respect for playing through numerous serious injuries this season. However, he must still be held accountable for extremely poor play from the quarterback position. Mayfield has only a 62.8 completion percentage, 13 passing touchdowns, and seven interceptions in 12 games played this fall. Amongst qualified signal callers, Mayfield ranks 25th in QBR. Though Mayfield is certainly more talented than his play on the field has suggested this year, he is certainly inhibited tremendously by the fact that he is not healthy. Kareem Hunt is not expected to suit up for this contest, further limiting the creativity that this offense will be able to deploy. Simply, this is a unit dealing with a significant amount of injuries, missed practice time, and low morale. This group is likely to struggle once again on Christmans.
Perhaps most notably for the Browns, Myles Garrett did not practice at all this week, carrying a ‘questionable’ designation into the final injury report. Garrett appeared to hurt his groin near the end of Monday’s affair against the Las Vegas Raiders, but remained on the field until the final whistle. If Garrett is unable to go in this one, it could have devastating implications for this defense. When Garrett is on the field, Cleveland is able to flirt with being a top-10 unit on this side of the ball, but his absence would unquestionably hurt the Browns in both the run and pass game.
Packers -7.5
Green Bay’s offensive line is increasingly becoming a concern with left tackle David Bakhtiari and right tackle Billy Turner both ruled out for Saturday’s action. Yet, even with numerous injuries last week against the Baltimore Ravens, the Packers’ offensive line allowed only seven pressures, per Pro Football Focus. Aaron Rodgers continues to play at an MVP-caliber level, despite dealing with a nagging toe ailment that has caused him to miss the majority of Green Bay’s practices over the last month of action. As long as Rodgers and Davante Adams are on the field together, bettors should have few concerns about this offense being able to put points on the board–especially against a banged-up Cleveland defense.
According to Pro Football Focus, Green Bay totaled 18 pressures and two quarterback hits in their Week 16 victory against the Ravens. Adrian Amos and Rasul Douglas continue to play exceptionally in the secondary. De’Vondre Campbell is forcing himself into discussions when talking about the best linebacker in the NFL. In 2021, the Packers are allowing a mediocre 4.5 yards-per-carry on the ground, but this unit has been strong against the pass–allowing only an 87.2 passer rating and 6.6 yards-per-attempt, which ranks fourth in the league. It would be surprising to see Cleveland’s offense do much damage against Green Bay in this one.
Saturday Night Football Prediction
In Cleveland’s last four games, they have scored 13 points, 10 points, 24 points, and 14 points. Whether Mayfield has been under center or not, this has been an offensive attack that has fallen far short of preseason expectations–something that is not likely to change over the final three weeks of the season. Green Bay has one of the better pass defenses in the NFL, making it likely that Cleveland is going to struggle to move the ball efficiently through the air in this one. If the Packers are able to slow down Mayfield on Saturday, they will have the added benefit of being able to stack the box to stop Cleveland’s lone strength on the offensive side of the ball. A lower-scoring affair could be in store for this Christmas special.
PICK: Under 47 (-120)
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