Christmas Day at Lambeau Field will feature the Cleveland Browns against the Green Bay Packers in what should be a doozy. Cleveland is one of 10 teams in the AFC currently either 8-6 and 7-7 in the standings. Green Bay sits atop the NFC at 11-3, but the Dallas Cowboys, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Arizona Cardinals, and Los Angeles Rams are all within shouting distance.
Here are two Packers dreams and one Browns nightmare for Saturday.
Green Bay finally closes out a good team in dominating fashion
Cleveland sits at 7-7 and is very much in the playoff picture in the AFC. This game means as much to them as it does to the Packers as far as the standings go. In the first dream scenario for Green Bay, they can finally pull away comfortability from a good team.
It appeared as though Green Bay was going to do that last week against the Baltimore Ravens before the game came down to a final two-point conversion. A couple of weeks before that, the Packers built a three-possession lead over the Rams only to see it disappear before winning by eight. There’s reason to believe they could finally win by a comfortable margin against the Browns on Christmas Day.
The Browns are dealing with a full-blown COVID outbreak. It got so bad late last week that the league pushed their game back from Saturday to Monday evening. They’re working on a short week and still won’t have several players back from the COVID/Reserve list yet. It creates a huge opportunity for Green Bay.
Cleveland still has a puncher’s chance in this game, but the scales are tipping heavily in Green Bay’s favor. The Browns don’t even know who will be playing quarterback for them this week. If it’s Nick Mullens again, it’s hard to envision a scenario in which Green Bay would lose.
It may come with a slight asterisk, but if the Packers can win this game convincingly, it will give the fanbase one week where they don’t have to be seated next to a defibrillator.
The defense starts to get its swagger back
Early in the year, Green Bay’s offense struggled to find a rhythm while the defense found a vibe from Week 3 and carried it forward in the weeks that followed. Now the reverse has happened. Aaron Rodgers and the offense have put up 31 or more in four consecutive games, and the defense has hit a wall.
The Cleveland game could be a big pivot point back in the right direction for Joe Barry’s unit. The Browns will have Nick Chubb ready to go. Outside of that, it’s a lot of wait-and-see with many of Cleveland’s key pieces.
Green Bay’s defense needs to figure it out and fast. A confident group playing with a major edge has reverted into a unit giving up big-yardage plays and playing softer coverages. It’s time to tap back into the aggressiveness, find that boost, and get going before the postseason arrives. A test against a roster weakened by COVID absences is as good a chance as they’ll get before the playoffs start.
The Packers’ defense has shown it can be as good as any in a shutout of the Seattle Seahawks. They held the Kansas City Chiefs to just 13 points at Arrowhead Stadium earlier in the year. They need to get back to being that unit.
Cleveland gets fairly healthy and plays like a hungry dog
The nightmare scenario for Green Bay is that the Browns get many of their core pieces back, including Baker Mayfield, and play like their hair is on fire from the opening kickoff.
Green Bay can control their own fate and take the No. 1 seed in the NFC, so they still have plenty to play for. But the playoffs are assured already for them, which is not the case for the Browns. That could lead to the hungry dog running faster.
Cleveland will be an underdog in this game no matter who is in or out of the lineup. Still, they’ve notched some impressive road wins this year against the Cincinnati Bengals and Minnesota Vikings. Beating Green Bay would be the cherry on top.
A loss would pretty much end any playoff dreams Browns fans might have, while a win would put them right back in the mix not only for the wildcard but for the AFC North crown as well.
Green Bay will be ready to go. It’s impossible to look past a nationally televised game on Christmas, and expect Cleveland to be just as ready.
