The Green Bay Packers will travel to Cleveland, Ohio, to face the Cleveland Browns at Cleveland Browns Stadium in week 1 of the 2024 NFL Preseason. The game will start at 4:25 PM ET on Saturday afternoon.
Both teams made the playoffs in the 2023 NFL season, but neither won their respective division. The Green Bay Packers started the 2023 NFL season sluggish, going 2-5 through their first seven games. However, they would win seven of their final ten games, including six of their final eight games, to finish with a record of 9-8 and earn a trip to the NFC Playoffs as the 7 seed in the conference.
The Packers became the first team to win a playoff game as a 7 seed by defeating the Dallas Cowboys on the road in dominating fashion by a score of 48-32. They led the majority of their divisional playoff game against the San Francisco 49ers before losing 21-24. Green Bay's ATS matched their regular season record at 9-8 and went 6-5 ATS on the road.
The Packer's most significant change in the offseason would be signing Josh Jacobs and releasing Aaron Jones who would sign with a division rival, the Minnesota Vikings, as well as signing Jordan Love to a long-term extension.
The Cleveland Browns play in one of the toughest divisions in the AFC, the AFC North. Although they were competitive last season, they are projected to take a step back this season after winning 11 games and finishing second in the division. The Browns enter the 2024 NFL season with an over/under win total of 8.5 games and, based on Vegas odds, are projected to finish behind the Baltimore Ravens and the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Browns made the AFC Playoffs last season. However, they had an awful showing in the Wild Card round, losing to the Houston Texans on the road by a score of 14-45. Cleveland was one of the better teams in the NFL at covering the spread last season. They would finish the regular season tied for the fourth-best record ATS at 10-6-1, which included a record of 8-1 ATS at home, which was the best home record ATS in the NFL last year.
DeShaun Watson is unlikely to see much time, if any, in the first preseason game, and Jameis Winston will also likely see limited action. Tyler Huntley and Dorian Thompson-Robinson will likely be battling it out in the preseason for a roster spot at the quarterback position.
The Packers and Browns play only once every four years in the regular season. Their last matchup was in the 2021 NFL season, which resulted in a 24-22 win for the Green Bay Packers on the road. Green Bay has won five of the six matchups since Cleveland returned to the NFL in the 1999 NFL season and has outscored the Browns by an average of 27.83 to 15.33 points per game while going 4-2 ATS in those matchups.
Both teams were playoff teams last season. However, Cleveland only had a lot of success once Joe Flacco took over the starting role when DeShaun Watson was injured and would eventually win the NFL Comeback Player of the Year. Dorian Thompson-Robinson struggled last season in the regular season, and Jameis Winston is also inconsistent as a starter.
The Packers have dominated the series since the Browns came back to the NFL in the 1999 season. They have won five of the six meetings while covering the spread in four of the six matchups, which is why I am taking the 3 points with the Green Bay Packers when they travel to face the Cleveland Browns on Saturday afternoon.
