The Packers head to Cleveland this week to face off against the winless Browns in a matchup between two teams heading in completely opposite directions. Green Bay is 2-0 after comfortably taking care of both the Lions and Commanders, and they’re looking every bit like a team with real Super Bowl aspirations. Meanwhile, it’s shaping up to be another long season in Cleveland.
With that in mind, here are my three favorite player props for this marquee matchup:
Josh Jacobs Over 18.5 Rush Attempts (-115)
Thursday’s practice threw a bit of a curveball into Green Bay’s game plan. Budding star tight end Tucker Kraft left early with a knee injury, and while it initially looked scary, it sounds like he avoided anything season-ending. Kraft is expected to play Sunday, but it remains to be seen how effective he will be.
Kraft was coming off a breakout game—six catches for 124 yards and a touchdown—and had scored in back-to-back weeks. With Jayden Reed already sidelined for the next 6-8 weeks due to a shoulder injury, the Packers may lean heavily on the run in this one.
Enter Jacobs, who’s logged 19 and 23 carries in the first two games. The Packers have been in control from start to finish in both matchups, winning 27-13 and 27-18, which set up ideal spots for Jacobs to close things out on the ground.
This week feels like more of the same. Green Bay is favored by 8.5 on the road, and with one of the best defenses in the league, it’s hard to see Cleveland turning this into a back-and-forth affair. Jacobs should see another solid workload and clear this number.
Joe Flacco Over 38.5 Pass Attempts (-113)
Flacco has cleared this number easily in both of his starts, with 45 attempts against both the Bengals and Ravens. Week 1 was competitive; Week 2 was a disaster, with the Browns getting blown out 41-17 by Baltimore and leaning heavily on the pass to try and claw back.
This week sets up similarly. The Packers are expected to control the game, and if they’re up big in the second half, Flacco will have no choice but to keep airing it out. Last week, Jayden Daniels dropped back 42 times against this Green Bay defense, and Jared Goff hit 39 attempts in Week 1.
Another angle to this: Green Bay has completely shut down the run, allowing just 97 rushing yards through two games—second-fewest in the league, ironically behind the Browns. If Cleveland can’t get anything going on the ground, Flacco should be forced to keep slinging it.
Jordan Love Under 227.5 Passing Yards (-112)
After those first two plays, it makes sense to round things out with the under on Jordan Love’s passing yards.
Yes, he went well over this number last week against Washington, but Cleveland’s defense is on a different level. With Myles Garrett leading the charge, this Browns front can cause real problems, even for a quarterback playing as efficiently as Love.
The total for this game is just 41.5, and if Kraft is potentially limited for the Packers on top of already missing Reed, there’s even more reason to expect a ground-heavy, lower-volume passing approach. Love doesn’t need to air it out for the Packers to win comfortably, and that’s the exact kind of setup we’re looking for here.