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A Christmas Present from the NFL! Don’t worry if you thought you read wrong and we’re looking for an article about the games the NBA had scheduled for Christmas day. Nope, the NFL has scheduled Christmas day games for the first time since 2017. Set to play are the Cleveland Browns traveling to the Green Bay Packers followed by the Indianapolis Colts at the Arizona Cardinals.
Since Christmas fell on a Saturday this year the league decided to pull a double-header. After all, they’ve often scheduled games for Saturday as the regular season started to wind down and there was a lack of college games to air besides Bowl matchups.
Here’s how the games are matching up. But be sure to check lineups for any changes due to Covid-19 that could affect your wagering decisions or fantasy lineups.
Browns vs. Packers Christmas Day Preview
Browns vs. Packers Predictions
4:30 p.m. ET – Fox/NFL Network/Amazon Prime/fuboTV
The Cleveland Browns are hitting the road to take on the Green Bay Packers after a disappointing last- second loss to Las Vegas. The Raiders put together a late drive for a field goal that dashed any hope the Browns had for making the post-season. The game was postponed several days by the NFL following problems the Browns had with players being put on the Covid IR list. That’s a completely different story.
Now the Browns are 7-7 on the season while going 4-4 over their last 8 games. That stretch also included a bye week. The big note over the last week for Cleveland was that they were short Baker Mayfield, his backup, and their head coach. Nick Mullens was tapped to take the snaps for the Browns and he went 20-30 for 147 yards and a touchdown. Nick Chubb ran for 91 yards on 27 carries.
The Green Bay Packers enter the week at 11-3 on the season following a 3-game winning streak over the Rams, Bears, and Ravens. That record is the best in the NFL heading into week 16. The win over Baltimore was a nail-biter as the final score landed at 31-30 in favor of Green Bay. Rogers threw for 268 yards with 3 touchdowns while completing 23 of 31 passes.
The Packers rushing game was almost non-existent. They only rushed for 98 yards as a team and that was with 4 different ball carriers. Aaron Jones was the rushing leader for Green Bay with 13 carries for 58 yards. A.J. Dillon had the only rushing touchdown for the team along with 7 carries for 22 yards.
The Packers should be able to push past the Browns this weekend without too much trouble. But it will be interesting to see how the Cleveland team plays following a tough week and tight loss. Baker Mayfield will be back taking snaps so the offense should open up some. Aaron Rogers is nursing his ailing toe injury and missed some practice this week but is expected to start.
But don’t be surprised if we see Jordan Love enter the game. The Packers are locked in and can get their future QB some experience and let their starter heal up heading into the playoffs. My pick? Packers win outright.
Best Bet: Packers -7.5 (-110)
Colts at Cardinals Christmas Day Preview
Colts vs. Cardinals Predictions
8:15 p.m. ET – NFL Network/fuboTV
The Indianapolis Colts would love to win this game against the Cardinals. Both teams are surging at the right time and making claims for a playoff spot in their respective conferences and divisions. The Colts are closing the gap in the AFC with an 8-6 record on the year. You can bet that the Titans and the Bolts are watching what happens in this game. And that’s even with the Titans having a tie-breaker advantage over Indianapolis.
The Colts come in after a 31-0 blowout win over the Houston Texans last weekend that. Carson Wentz tossed 1 touchdown and passed for 158 yards going 16 of 22 on the day. The Colts added 3 more touchdowns courtesy of Johnathan Taylor who carried for 2 on the day and Deon Jackson crossed into the endzone for a score of his own. The game plan was to win while eating up the clock and they did that against the Texans.
The Arizona Cardinals are now 10-4 on the season and 2nd in the AFC South while looking to solidify a hold on a playoff spot. Arizona seemed to be heading for a sure lock for post-season play but have dropped their last two games and gone 2-3 over their last 5 outings. Their last loss came at the hands of the Detroit Lions which gave Detroit only their 2nd win of the season. In the Loss, Kyler Murray threw 1 touchdown and 1 interception. The running game was held in check when it mattered and Detroit skated to a surprise win.
Two weeks ago you probably would have leaned heavily towards the Cardinals for this matchup but now it’s turned into a toss-up! Kyler Murray is missing some key targets and the running game for Arizona can’t seem to gain traction. Plus, as a home favorite, they have only covered two times in their last six tries. I’m thinking the Colts will hand the Arizona Cardinals their third straight loss one Christmas.
Best Bet: Colts Moneyline (-103)
