Baltimore Ravens (7-8) @ Green Bay Packers (9-5-1)
Saturday, December 27, 8:00 PM ET
It’s looking more and more like a lost season for the Baltimore Ravens, who couldn’t finish the job against the New England Patriots on Sunday night.
Folks are starting to turn up the heat on John Harbaugh, at least from the outside perspective, so it’ll be interesting to see how the Ravens operate after the season if this team fails to make it to the postseason. To be fair, the team does seem stuck. And they have really struggled in the playoffs the last few years, anyway.
Maybe there is a chance that we could see the Packers finish the job here. As banged up as Green Bay is this season, they are in a must-win situation after dropping one against the Chicago Bears in epic collapse fashion.
How do the Packers bounce back from that? Is Jordan Love going to be okay? On the flip side, what’s the status of Lamar Jackson going to be on a short week?
This is going to be a game dominated by the running backs, and this is why you go out and pay guys like Derrick Henry and Josh Jacobs. When you get to December and January, the temps drop, and those guys bring their physical style of play to help you win tight defensive battles in the elements.
Green Bay is a 2.5-point favorite to open the week, but I won’t be shocked if Baltimore goes on the road and pulls off the upset, as banged up as the Packers are. I’m still taking the home team in a low-scoring game.
Prediction: Packers win 19-16