This week, the Green Bay Packers are headed to Cleveland for the first time since 2017 to take on the Browns.
While a lot has changed since then for the Browns, a few things have remained the same. The Browns still play strong defense, try to run the ball, have poor quarterback play, and don’t win a lot. Of course, it’s because of the defense and the ground game that no team in the NFL can take them lightly.
But the ground game in Cleveland isn’t what it once was behind the efforts of Nick Chubb. And, all things being equal, the Browns haven’t played a defense that is quite as talented as the one the Packers employ.
The Packers' defense is already set up to be too much for Cleveland
ESPN recently took a look at the biggest surprise each NFL team has encountered throughout the season and determined, after two weeks of play, whether that surprise was real or a mirage. The Browns’ surprising success on the ground was easily dismissed as a mirage by ESPN reporter Daniel Oyefusi.
Cleveland ranks near the bottom of the league in total yards and average yards per carry. Meanwhile, the Packers have the second-best rushing defense in the league, trailing only the Browns.
If the Browns can’t run the ball against Green Bay, they’re going to have a tough time keeping things competitive. Without a ground game, a now completely healthy Micah Parsons will be let loose on Joe Flacco or whichever Cleveland QB is unlucky enough to stand in the pocket.
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Of course, it is only two weeks’ worth of data to draw such a conclusion. Rookie runner Quinshon Judkins made his debut with the Browns last week and put up 61 yards on 10 carries, giving the team its only explosive run of the young season. Judkins missed a lot of time with his legal troubles, but if he’s going to provide more reliability and explosiveness, the Cleveland ground game might have some room to grow.
However, Judkins isn’t the first promising rookie the Packers have faced this season. After picking up 82 yards on 10 carries in the season opener, Jacory Croskey-Merritt had just 17 yards on four carries against the Packers last week.
Green Bay also held Detroit’s dynamic rushing duo of Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery to just 44 yards combined in the season opener.
With all of this in mind, the Packers carry a seriously lopsided advantage heading into their Week 3 contest. Sure, other factors will weigh into the final outcome of the contest, but such an advantage plays into Green Bay’s hands so well that Cleveland will have to be mighty creative to overcome it all.