CLEVELAND — After a heartbreaking loss to the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday, the Cleveland Browns have a short week before traveling up to Green Bay to take on the Packers on a special Christmas Day NFL matchup this Saturday.
A win, and the Browns would very much still be alive in the AFC North race. A loss, and things remain the same as they are right now: pretty bleak.
This weekend, the Browns will be spending their Sunday scoreboard watching, needing wins from both Kansas City and Cincinnati to boost any hopes of playing beyond Week 18.
Here are three keys to an unlikely win over the Packers:
Don’t let Davante Adams win
Packers wide receiver Davante Adams has an argument as the best in the NFL, and is having another fantastic season. This week, he was named to his fifth straight Pro Bowl. Adams is the go-to option for quarterback Aaron Rodgers, which means slowing him down is the top priority for Cleveland’s defense.
Last week in Green Bay’s win over Baltimore, the Ravens would often dedicate two members of their secondary to Adams at a single time, helping to dictate Rodgers looking elsewhere in passing situations. That led to just six receptions for 44 yards for Adams, his second-lowest output of the season, with the only game he finished with fewer yards coming while Rodgers was out with COVID-19.
While the Browns have a better secondary than Baltimore does, it’s a group that is currently riddled with injury and COVID-19 questions. If things don’t get better for the Browns in the back end, this could be an option for Browns defensive coordinator Joe Woods to deploy.
Win the turnover battle
The Cleveland Browns have not won a game this season in which they’ve lost the turnover battle, going 0-4 in such contests. Even in games the Browns have won the turnover battle, they are just 4-3, but it’s difficult to envision the Browns snapping their streak of losing the turnover battle and actually winning a game against a team as good as the Packers.
Green Bay has lost the turnover category just twice this season -- only once with Rodgers playing -- and has lost both games. The Browns protecting the football and forcing a couple of takeaways would go a long way towards creating a victory, but it will certainly be no easy task.
Hope the rest helped
This Saturday should be the healthiest that Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield has been since initially dislocating his shoulder back in Week 2 against the Houston Texans. Thanks to time on the COVID-19/reserve list and the team’s bye week, Mayfield has played just one game in the entire month of December. Mayfield admitted that the game against the Ravens following the bye week was the healthiest he had felt in a long time, and after more time off, that should only be increased.
The same should be said for other guys that spent time on the COVID-19/reserve list, at least regarding their physical state. Obviously, at this time it is unclear who was symptomatic and feeling the impact of the virus and who wasn’t. But the time off should have been good for Jarvis Landry’s knee that has been bothering him all season long, as well as other bumps and bruises that numerous Browns players.