The 0-10 Browns have become nothing more than against the spread fodder, but on the road they are 0-4 ATS. The Bengals are currently 2-2 straight up and 1-3 against the spread at home.
This might actually be the Browns best shot at a victory this season. They only have two more games at home the rest of the way and Aaron Rodgers might be back when they host Green Bay. Cleveland is the lowest scoring team at 15ppg. The drafted a QB this season but DeShone Kizer has been a disaster to date.
The offense is laughable. The only real threat is Isaiah Crowell at RB. He is a hard runner and behind that bad line he fights for every yard. Future HOFer Joe Thomas is out for the season. It says a lot about the Browns that their most productive receiver this season has been a converted RB Duke Johnson. It is still too early to see Josh Gordon. The offense might be half decent if Kizer could hit the right coloured jerseys. Incompletions do not kill you as much as interceptions do.
Top pick Myles Garrett has been in an out of the lineup. You can see how he could become an elite player with 4 sacks in 5 starts. The defense allows a lot of points but not a lot of yards. That discrepancy is thanks to an offense that can’t hold onto the ball. Sometimes this group is put in some really bad spots. Cincinnati is far from a dynamic offensive force and this group will have to continue to stand up for the Browns to have a shot at that one victory.
The Bengals might have got the Broncos at just the right time last week winning a close one on the road. Now they have a really good shot at back to back wins. They won at Cleveland in October. The Bengals offense is only marginally better than Cleveland’s. They are averaging 17ppg and are last in the league in yards per game. They should no be that bad.
Andy Dalton is coming off back to back strong games. He is not elite and at times they ask him to do to much. Give him credit for not wilting after mistakes. A.J. Green has been a no show in too many contests. Dalton should force it to him a little bit more and he should be a little more like Julio Jones in his ability to go and get the ball.
Similar to Cleveland the Bengals defense is way ahead of the offense. They are able to stop teams from moving the ball and thus keep themselves in games. If the Bengals don’t make a lot of mistakes they should win this one. Notice I said a lot of mistakes, against Cleveland you can make a few and survive.
Writer’s Prediction:
This is a game that someone has to win and someone has to lose. That number is big but it is the Browns. It is possible the Browns find it in them to play a mistake free game but I am not counting on it. On the road against a bad team, but still one that is better than they are, they will lose. Perfect teaser spot. Pick: Cincinnati (-8)
