ClutchPoints
Week 3 of the 2025 NFL season is nearly upon us. Thus far, there have been plenty of surprises, including the defending AFC Champion Kansas City Chiefs starting 0-2. Meanwhile, the Green Bay Packers have arguably looked like the best team in the league.
They soundly defeated the Detroit Lions to open the season, 27-13. The game was not even as close as that score indicates. Then on Thursday Night Football, the Packers smothered the Washington Commanders, 27-18. Similar to the Week 1 win, a garbage-time touchdown made the game look closer than it really was.
This week, the Packers hit the road for the first time. They will face the 0-2 Cleveland Browns.
Cleveland is coming off a 41-17 drubbing at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens. Yet, the week prior, the Browns nearly pulled off a huge upset against the Cincinnati Bengals. And that was before the Bengals lost quarterback Joe Burrow with turf toe.
Now, they’ll look for their first win in front of their home crowd. So, let’s get to our Packers-Browns predictions for Week 3.
Josh Jacobs has somewhat picked up where he left off last season. A year after rushing for 1,329 yards and 15 touchdowns, Jacobs has 150 yards on the ground thus far this year and two scores. But he has struggled with efficiency, averaging just 3.5 yards per carry.
Meanwhile, the Browns’ rush defense has played lights out this year.
They held Bengals tailback Chase Brown to 43 yards on 21 carries. That was impressive. But what they did last week really turned heads.
Derrick Henry posted one of the worst games of his career last week. Cleveland’s front held the future Hall of Fame running back to 23 yards on 11 carries. That is despite Baltimore holding a double-digit lead for essentially the entire game.
The Cleveland defense appears to be legit, at least up front. They are also healthy going into this matchup. Strong safety Grant Delpit is the only starter on defense who may not suit up.
Vegas has Jacobs’ over/under for rushing yards at 73.5. I love the under. This game will be ugly, and running room will be hard to come by on both sides. Look for Jacobs to struggle and finish with less than 60 yards rushing.
I already laid out the case why the Packers will struggle to rush the football. But that pertains to Jacobs and his fellow running backs.
Jordan Love, on the other hand, may end up leading the team in that category. He only has 16 rushing yards this season on six attempts. But he is more than capable of using his legs to extend drives.
I envision that happening at least a few times, with Love breaking off a couple of long runs.
Browns’ defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz is known for being aggressive with blitz packages. That leaves...
