Last season, the Cleveland Browns came to Paul Brown Stadium and whooped up on the Cincinnati Bengals 24-3 in a shocking upset. Even though they're double-digit underdogs, it's not out of the realm of possibility that they pull off another stunner. If they do, the fantasy football clash between Josh McCown and Andy Dalton could end up being a pretty darn good one.
On one blush, it seems obvious that Dalton should be the choice of these two players when it comes to fantasy football. McCown is the type of guy who had a couple really great games but is generally just a stiff who should probably still be a backup quarterback somewhere. Dalton has been massive this season and has a tremendous set of skill players surrounding him.
However, go back and look at the raw numbers from this year. Dalton is averaging 26.2 fantasy points per game by BookMaker's scoring standards. McCown isn't far behind at 21.7 fantasy points per game.
McCown is coming off of a game against Arizona in which he threw for three touchdowns against an awesome secondary, proof enough to us that he can indeed get things going against this Cincinnati secondary.
The Bengals have only allowed a total of three touchdown passes in their last four games, but they haven't exactly played against great quarterbacks in that stretch. In that span, Cincinnati has faced Alex Smith, Russell Wilson, E.J. Manuel and a banged up Ben Roethlisberger playing in his first game in a month after sitting out with an MCL problem.
The Cleveland defense ranks No. 29 in the league against the pass, and it has a big problem that it is going to have to overcome in this game. The Browns almost certainly won't have either their best cornerback in Joe Haden or their best safety in Donte Whitner, both of which are going to have to get through concussion protocol quickly in order to play on a short week.
That's going to create a huge problem. Haden was concussed against the Cardinals last week, and after he was sent to the locker room, Carson Palmer started to find open receivers down the field. Larry Fitzgerald and Michael Floyd had massive second halves, and Palmer hit a total of five passes for at least 30 yards in the game.
That's really good news for the prospects of Dalton in this game. Not only does he have one of the best deep threats in the game in A.J. Green, but he also has an innovative offensive coordinator in Hue Jackson who isn't afraid to get Marvin Jones and Mohamed Sanu involved in the vertical passing game when the time is right for it.
But that's why we really love Dalton in spite of the fact that he's going to be a big favorite and a rather public play in this prop bet. The Bengals are going to spread things out and force the Browns to use what little depth they have in their secondary. We wouldn't be surprised if a ground game involving Giovani Bernard and Jeremy Hill ends up taking a back seat in this game in spite of the fact that Cleveland also ranks dead last in the league against the run.
If that turns out to be the case, we'd be willing to lay at least seven or eight in this fantasy matchup with Dalton, though it's always scary to go against a quarterback on a team which has zero running game whatsoever.
BookMaker opened the spread for this Thursday soiree at -10.5 in favor of the Cincinnati Bengals. The NFL odds total surfaced at 47.5. Minute-by-minute spreads, totals and props are available for this game using the live betting platform at BookMaker.
Load your betting bankroll from your smartphone or tablet with BookMaker’s new cashier feature! Depositing and withdrawing funds from your account has never been easier. BookMaker's live betting platform means you always have access to odds and lines to every sporting event. Click here and start wagering today! The game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns is scheduled for Thursday, November 5, 2015, at 8:30 p.m. ET at Paul Brown Stadium. The game will be broadcast regionally on CBS and the NFL Network.
