For many, Christmas is a time of joy and relaxation. A time to count the year’s blessings and prepare for the new year. As an Ohio-based Packers fan, I’ll be dealing with my Browns fan friends and relatives being mean to me all day. On Christmas Day, the 11-3 Green Bay Packers take on the 7-7 Cleveland Browns at a potentially snowy Lambeau Field.
Both teams are in different places this season. The Packers are the best team in the league right now, even with their shoddy special teams. Thanks to a narrow win over the Browns’ rivals in Baltimore while other top NFC teams tasted the bile of defeat, Matt LaFleur’s squad looks to tighten their grip on the NFC’s top seed and the conference’s lone bye week. Cleveland sits at the bottom of the AFC North, but not by much. In a division anyone could win, the Browns are fighting through adversity to land a playoff spot.
The Browns haven’t lived up to their offseason hype for multiple reasons, and via oddsshark.com, the Packers are a seven-point favorite at home. To make matters worse for the Dawg Pound, their team is dealing with a massive COVID outbreak, which forced the NFL to move their game against the Las Vegas Raiders back two days. Cleveland was still without its top two quarterbacks, head coach, and multiple starters. It’s still too early to say who will return for the game. Head coach Kevin Stefanski recently told reporters Baker Mayfield and Case Keenum remain in COVID protocol.
So the red-hot Packers will host a struggling team on the national stage on a cold Christmas Day. While this sounds like an easy win for the Packers, the team can’t let this become a trap game. After barely surviving a battered Baltimore Ravens team, it’s clear that “any given Sunday” still reigns supreme. Like the canines the Browns emulate, Cleveland has a lot to fight for, and a cornered dawg can be dangerous.
There were good reasons to believe the Browns would be one of the darlings of the AFC going into the season. Stefanski won Coach of the Year last season, and he seemed to be taking the team in the right direction. Andrew Barry made savvy moves, knowing how to target roster weaknesses without overpaying. Both the offense and the defense are stacked with talent. And, best of all, it appeared the Pittsburgh Steelers, who dominated the division (particularly the Browns), were trending downwards. The AFC North, and the AFC in general, looked to be Cleveland’s to conquer.
Unfortunately for long-standing Browns fans, the team took a step back this season. Despite being one of the least fun teams to watch in the NFL, Pittsburgh is winning games. Meanwhile, the Ravens are overcoming injuries to remain one of the top teams in the AFC (even giving the Packers a run for their money), and the Bengals took a massive leap.
“The Browns make me sad,” Browns fan Justin Rivello confided.
Injuries have plagued the Browns all season, including quarterback Baker Mayfield. After the franchise spent so long in quarterback hell, Mayfield is trying to prove he can be the guy and earn a long-term extension. Injury and inconsistency leave Browns fans on the fence about this claim. As a result, the offense has become stale, even with one of the league’s best running back combinations.
With Mayfield’s inconsistency and the team’s lack of a deep threat, defenses have countered the Browns by focusing on the run and daring them to throw. Joe Barry’s defense has been mostly good against the run, and hopefully, Kenny Clark will make his Christmas return. But the Packers can’t underestimate an offense with Nick Chubb. He is one of the best running backs in the league, even behind a battered offensive line and missing Kareem Hunt.
But the real threat for Green Bay will be the Browns’ vaunted defense, helmed by Myles Garrett, one of the most dangerous and handsome pass-rushers in the league. With a 92.1 PFF grade and 17 sacks on the season, Garrett is a serious candidate for Defensive Player of the Year and will be a true challenge for Adam Stenavich and the Packers’ offensive line. Stenavich is one of the Green Bay MVPs this season and has done a phenomenal job rearranging the line to overcome injuries in a way other teams couldn’t. But Garrett will be the biggest test this Saturday.
On Tuesday, Matt LaFleur told reporters not to anticipate David Bakhtiari’s return, meaning it’ll be Yosh Nijman’s job to protect Rodgers from Garrett. Nijman has been outstanding for a third-string left tackle. His name hasn’t been heard much, and that’s one of the best compliments an offensive lineman can earn. He’ll face his most Herculean task yet against Garrett.
Aaron Rodgers acknowledged Garrett’s threat on his Tuesday Zoom conference. “He’s just a monster. [Garrett is] a fantastic player. He legitimately has gold jacket possibilities in his future,” he said.
Fortunately for the Packers, Garret could miss the game to a groin injury, though Garrett claimed, “Everybody’s fighting through something, and you’re going to have to kill me to take me off that field, or you’re going to have to break my leg. You’re going to have to take me completely out because I’m going to go out there until I can.”
Cleveland also lost DE Takk McKinley for the rest of the year with a torn Achilles. Even with the injuries, Cleveland still has Jadeveon Clowney and a dangerous pass rush, and their secondary has been coming alive. Garrett’s status and who is able to return from the COVID/Reserve list will be worth monitoring leading to the game.
The Browns may not be the team they appeared to be in August, and they’re dealing with a huge COVID outbreak. But with elite players on both sides of the ball and a sense of fight-or-flight kicking in, Cleveland is not a team to be underestimated. The Browns have a lot to fight for, and this won’t be an easy win. But the Packers get to play at Lambeau Field on Christmas Day while Aaron Rodgers aims for the franchise’s passing TD record. The game may be challenging, but it’s a game the Packers should win.
