This one's easy

It was way back in the spring when the Browns' 2021 schedule was released by the National Football League that the season began to take shape regarding how the club would finish. 

It's an annual rite for some of us avid followers of the team to grab the schedule, study it carefully (sort of) and go down the list game by game marking Ws and Ls next to the games with no knowledge other than the Browns' 11-5 finish last season. It's a fun guessing/prediction game that gets us in an NFL frame of mind.

Since 1999, I have been more correct than I wanted. No boasting here. The difference between realism and idealism was the great decider. It was easy assigning more Ls than Ws. Many more Ls for sure because it was not difficult being right considering how bad those teams were. 

Coming up with guesses of 3-13 and 4-12 were no-brainers. The team rarely proved me wrong. Most notable were the 2002 (9-7) and 2007 (10-6) teams that surprised even the most ardent fans. And of course, last season's stunning season that led to the playoffs for the first time since 2002.

Then there was the lamentable Hue Jackson era (2016-17). My most pessimistic self tried but couldn't bring me to forecast anything less than three victories in those two campaigns. In the NFL, it is damn near impossible not to stumble into at least a victory or two along the 16-game journey. 

Producing just one victory during those two very forgettable seasons was well beyond embarrassing for the once-proud franchise, And that one -- a three-point victory over San Diego in game 15 -- would have gone into overtime had a veteran kicker not missed a field goal as time expired.

So what does that have to do with predicting the outcome of Saturday's game in Green Bay between the Browns and Packers? As I went down the schedule that came out in the spring and marked my Ws and Ls, I remembered arriving at the Christmas Day date in Green Bay.

The Browns were healthy and coming off the best season since the resurrection in 1999. The Packers, on the other hand, had trouble convincing quarterback Aaron Rodgers to continue playing for them, He tried everything to force the team to trade him. 

Nevertheless, I picked the Packers to win mainly because the game was in Green Bay, where the Packers are as invincible as any team in the NFL can be at home, and figured Rodgers would cave and play at least one more season.

So here we are after 14 games. The Packers are 11-3, posting winning streaks of seven and three games, are the only team in the league to clinch a playoffs and Rodgers, who caved, is having his best season with 30 touchdown passes and four interceptions.

The Browns are a mediocre 7-7, coming off a gut-wrenching loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, dealing with a major COVID-19 outbreak that is playing havoc with the roster and fading fast in their quest to make it two straight seasons in the postseason. 

For the record, I had the Browns at 10 Ws and 4 Ls at this point in a season that went to crap on the offensive side of the ball after a major shoulder injury to quarterback Baker Mayfield in week two and a defense that has played well enough to win, but has not been rescued by the offense.

Even though they are stumbling to the finish line, there is still a slim chance to qualify for the playoffs. Too mary variables to go into here. Even if (when?) they lose to the Packers, they must knock off the Steelers on the road  in week 17 and Cincinnati in the home finale in week 18 to at least have a chance. 

The Packers are unbeaten at home in seven games this season, outscoring opponents, 215-132, at Lambeau Field. They are also a lot healthier than the Browns. Their next incentive: Clinching the first-week bye in the playoffs. 

The Browns, meanwhile, get Mayfield back from COVID prison, but he has missed every practice the last two weeks. He'll also be playing behind an offensive line that will have a rookie at right tackle and a second-year center who has never made an NFL snap replacing COVID-reserve bound JC Tretter.

Wide receiver Jarvis Landry also escapes COVID, along with cornerback A.J. Green and defensive end Ifeadi Odenigbo. But the club's best pass rusher pulled a groin muscle against the Raiders and will be well under 100% if he suits up against the Packers. What makes that even more deflating is Myles Garrett at 50% is better than anyone else along the line at 100%. That's if he doesn't re-aggravate it.

Little or no pass rush means a heavier load to pull for a secondary already decimated by COVID. It would have been a problem with Rodgers even if Garrett was completely healthy. 

He has arguably the best receiver in the NFL in Davante Adams with 96 receptions for 1,248 yards and eight touchdowns. The Baltimore Ravens, in a display of sheer respect, triple-teamed him last Sunday and he still managed to score. Randall Cobb is a solid secondary receiver with five TDs.

Rodgers also has the luxury of handing off or throwing to two versatile running backs. Aaron Jones and A. J. Dillon have combined for 1,909 total yards from scrimmage, 1,293 on the ground, with 15 touchdowns, seven on the ground.

This is a loaded football team with a very opportunistic defense picking off 14 passes, including a pair of pick sixes. Their +12 turnover ratio tells you they rarely make mistakes on offense. Two of their three losses were by a total of nine points.

This one screams rout. The Browns' offense, which began the season carrying a scary label, is fractured beyond repair. The defense is showing signs of wear and tear. Combine that with Rodgers having a dream season in what could be his final season with the Packers and it's difficult to come to any other conclusion.

Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski returns from COVIDSaturday just in time to witness up close and personally exactly what a scary football team looks like. Rodgers throws another three scoring passes and departs after three quarters when the outcome become obvious. And the defense shuts down a Cleveland offense that has scored more than 24 points in a game only once in the last nine games and averages just 15 per in the last four. Make it:

Packers 34, Browns 13