The open competition for the Buffalo Bills starting quarterback job continues when they visit the Cleveland Browns Thursday on ESPN. A rare three-way scrum has Tyrod Taylor, Matt Cassel and E.J. Manuel battling to lead Rex Ryan’s club. All three will get a chance once again to prove he’s the man with Taylor first up.
ODDS
The Browns get their second straight home game to start the preseason and opened as 2.5-point chalk in search of their second exhibition win in six tries under head coach Mike Pettine. The total came in at 40.
QUARTERBACK ROTATION
Following Buffalo’s preseason loss to Carolina on Friday, head coach Rex Ryan announced that Tyrod Taylor will start at quarterback against the Browns. Taylor led touchdown drives on his first two possessions against backup defenders, completing 5 of 8 attempts for 49 yards and adding 47 rushing yards on six carries. He took a few shots down the sideline, one of which slipped through the hands of a receiver in the end zone. What is less clear at this point is which quarterback will follow Taylor in the rotation. Matt Cassel, the Week 1 starter, was 7 of 8 for 45 yards in two drives before being replaced by Taylor. E.J. Manuel, playing with the third team offense, completed 4 of 8 passes for 77 yards, including a 51-yard scoring pass. He was plagued by a couple of drops and also had to cover a pair of bad snaps.
Cleveland’s Johnny Manziel seems to be making progress from the pocket after completing 7 of 11 attempts for 42 yards in the preseason opener against Washington. Veteran Josh McCown is firmly entrenched as the No. 1 quarterback and was flawless on his opening drive, leading the Browns to a touchdown, and hasn’t cracked the door an inch yet for Johnny Football. Third-stringer Connor Shaw, however, will miss some time after sustaining a thumb injury in the preseason opener. Shaw will have surgery on the digit and be out for an indefinite period. Veteran Thaddeus Lewis moves up to the No. 3 spot on the depth chart and will get some work against the Bills.
COACHES' MOTIVATION
Head coach Mike Pettine knows the Browns are largely invisible in a division that sent three other teams to the playoffs last season. He also knows that Cleveland lacks its version of Tom Brady, choosing to use this offseason to strengthen both lines through the draft, deepen the secondary and find a hard-working stopgap under center in veteran Josh McCown. Some consistency would help, too. The three coaches before Pettine never made it to their third season. The Browns have burned through seven coaches since 1999. The Steelers and Ravens have just two over that span, while Marvin Lewis has been with Cincinnati since 2003.
QUOTE TO NOTE
“Let people think this is a dumpster fire. Let them think this is completely dysfunctional. Let them drive by to see if the building is on fire every day, whereas internally, it could not be a more different reality.” – Browns coach Mike Pettine denying rumors of a fractured relationship with general manager Ray Farmer.
POSITION BATTLE TO WATCH
The Buffalo Bills still have a battle for their starting quarterback job. Three weeks of training camp, one preseason game, minicamps and OTAs haven’t decided a thing for Rex Ryan and his staff. Ryan did say it was a competition that likely wouldn’t be decided until the end of camp and so far he’s spot on. Matt Cassel, Tyrod Taylor and E.J. Manuel all showed something positive last week against Carolina. Taylor is taking first-team reps and will start against the Browns. His ability to diversify the ground game could give him an edge over Cassel while Manuel has seemingly fallen into Ryan’s doghouse. “This isn’t ideal, obviously, but you have three guys battling. You want it to be a hard decision with all three guys that all three are playing to a good level,” Ryan said.
INJURIES
The Bills will be without defensive tackle Jarius Wynn, who suffered a knee injury in the preseason opener, and Ryan said the veteran could be lost for the season if an ACL tear was confirmed.
Third-string quarterback Connor Shaw is out of the Browns rotation with a thumb injury he sustained in the second half of Thursday’s preseason opener. Shaw will undergo surgery and be out indefinitely.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
As much as the Browns say they’ve improved it’s just hard to take them seriously with the revolving door at quarterback over the years. Johnny Manziel may be the guy but he has flopped in his brief time with the club and, as well as Josh McCown played in the preseason opener, there’s a reason why he’s on his eighth team since being drafted in 2002. The Bills have stiff competition for their quarterback spot and probably couldn’t go wrong with whomever they choose. Buffalo has a much deeper roster and with first and second stringers getting more reps this week, the Bills will get their first victory for Rex Ryan.
Buffalo 29, Cleveland 17
The NFL odds for this Thursday contest were first released by BookMaker and the Browns were positioned as 2.5-point favorites with a total of 40. Since this game can be seen by anyone with a TV, BookMaker will have a multitude of wagering options available for it. Outside of the normal lines, you can gamble on real-time odds and player props during the game. Live betting is open during every commercial break!
Access live betting lines from your mobile device or tablet at BookMaker sportsbook! You can wager on sporting events as they unfold on television with BookMaker’s live betting platform. Real-time spreads, totals, props and moneyline odds are all available by clicking here so start betting with BookMaker today! The matchup between the Buffalo Bills and Cleveland Browns will start at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday, August 20, 2015, at FirstEnergy Stadium. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN.
