Fact Check: Are the Packers Getting Investigated by the NFL and the Feds for Match Fixing After Losing to the Browns?

The Green Bay Packers made a massive coup just before the start of this season, landing top-five pass rusher Micah Parsons in a trade with the Dallas Cowboys. And, after winning their first two games handily, the Packers bandwagon started to look like a Mumbai train. Overcrowded.

The wins gave them so much confidence that left tackle Rasheed Walker even suggested they could go “undefeated” after just two wins. And nobody batted an eye. Talk about premature.

Green Bay crashed back down to earth through an ugly 13-10 upset loss to the previously winless Cleveland Browns, who had lost 41-17 just the previous week. Green Bay was a -7.5 favorite on the point spread, and no doubt sportsbooks across the country had a whole lot to lose if the Packers did win or cover the spread.

Claim: That loss sparked wild rumors online. NFC North News, an NFL news account on X with 29.4k followers, “reported” that the league and “federal investigators” were looking into the potential that the sportsbooks and the Packers colluded to fix this game and ensure they didn’t have to pay out on any Packers bets.

“BREAKING: The NFL is cooperating with Federal Investigators over potential match fixing by the #Packers. This play, in particular, is what is raising red flags. A total of 1.1 BILLION was on Packers Moneyline, a record amount for the NFL. Yikes,” the post read.

Verdict: The rumor that investigators are looking into match-fixing in the Packers vs Browns game is false.

There was surely a lot of money on the Packers. If you bet on sports or have any friends who are sports bettors, odds are you got “pummelled” this weekend or heard about it. And the Packers were the main culprits every time.

The play in the tweet above was a critical third-down moment, right before the end of the third quarter. Instead of letting the clock run out (it was at one second when the ball was snapped) and using that extra time to set up the right play, Packers QB Jordan Love snapped the ball, rolled to his right, and was crushed by a Browns defender. The sack pushed them back 11 yards

While the play was ill-advised, it doesn’t warrant this type of investigation. Apart from this obscure NFC North News page, there have been no reports from any reputable sources that the NFL or federal authorities are looking anywhere near this game for match-fixing or point-shaving.

The “1.1 billion dollars bet on the Packers” figure is likely a fake number as well. Green Bay was a big -7.5 favorite, but that’s not even the biggest spread this year: The Ravens were -11.5 favorites against Cleveland the week before, and they covered that and then some.

Meanwhile, fans on X came up with a few hilarious reasons that this type of upset might have happened. “The browns are so bad that when they win, it causes an investigation,” wrote one. “I looked into this and it turns out that actually Jordan Love just sucks lol,” joked another.

“Where are those same investigators for all of the Chiefs’ games the past 3 seasons?” pointed out a third, referring to the many theories about the Kansas City Chiefs being pushed to success by the NFL.

“It should be illegal to put the ‘BREAKING:’ tag before anything made up by dumb fan sites,” said a fourth, whom we happen to vehemently agree with.

The real reason the Packers lost? The Browns’ elite defense frustrated them all day long. A timely interception by the secondary late in the fourth quarter set Cleveland on its way to a comeback. Green Bay’s inability to stop rookie Quinshon Judkins in that final frame — he had 62 of his 91 yards and his TD in the fourth quarter — turned out to be a fatal flaw as well.