There’s no sense in putting off the inevitable for the Cleveland Browns. Veteran Josh McCown isn’t the quarterback of the future and Johnny Manziel should be. So pull the trigger already and give Johnny the football. A report of dissension in the Browns locker room over the starter will only make a bad situation even worse for Cleveland football fans.
ODDS
San Diego hit the board as a 10-point favorite, but the betting public isn’t convinced the Chargers are that much better than the Browns. The line was quickly wagered down to -7.5. The total opened at 45. Cleveland is 5-2 ATS in its last seven as road underdogs while San Diego is 3-11 ATS in its last 14 overall.
KEY INJURIES
Craig Robertson – Will miss some time after spraining his ankle in last week’s loss to the Raiders. Cleveland’s starting inside linebacker will be replaced by Christian Kirksey.
Joe Haden – Suffered a bruised rib in last week’s loss to Oakland and is considered day-to-day moving forward. Pierre Desir is next up on the Browns depth chart at cornerback.
King Dunlap – Was one of three starting offensive linemen to miss practice with injuries. Dunlap has a concussion, left guard Orlando Franklin a sprained ankle and center Chris Watt a groin injury. Trevor Robinson is the only backup with an NFL start to his credit among the players projected to play in place of the injured linemen.
KEY MISMATCH
This could be a good time for rookie Melvin Gordon to show why the Chargers used a first-round draft pick on him. Gordon is the back to complement Phillip Rivers in the San Diego backfield, but has yet to have a breakout game. Gordon tallied 51 yards on 14 carries last week and leads the team with 190 yards while sharing time with Danny Woodhead and Branden Oliver. An improved running game would go a long way to helping the Chargers get a victory. Cleveland is last in the league in run defense after three games, allowing 158.3 yards per game. The Browns have yet to fix the problem that plagued them in 2014, when they gave up an average of 141.6 yards per game on the ground and ranked last in the NFL.
KEY STAT
9 – Consecutive games San Diego’s Phillip Rivers has thrown an interception. Rivers threw a pick-six last week to ice Minnesota’s win and also was intercepted to thwart a potential game-winning drive two weeks ago in Cincinnati.
BETTING ANGLE
Johnny Manziel is such a polarizing figure in the NFL that even his teammates have made their opinions on the second-year player known. Several reports out of Cleveland stated there is dissension in the Browns locker room over whether Manziel or Josh McCown should be the starting quarterback. The Browns of course deny the report but coach Mike Pettine knows where the fans’ allegiance lies after hearing chants for Manziel last week. Despite Manziel leading the team to its only victory and McCown being banged up, Pettine remains committed to starting McCown Sunday in San Diego. Pettine addressed the issues by saying, “Are we going to have one thousand percent agreement on how we’re using players? No. I’m confident there is no rift in the locker room.”
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
The Chargers haven’t played a clean game all year, with penalties and turnovers holding them back from playing to their potential. Playing the Browns at home sets up as a great opportunity to rebound. San Diego will try to expose Cleveland’s NFL-worst run defense by banging the ball early with Gordon, who is likely to have a big game. Success in the run game will also take some pressure off Rivers, who’s working behind a makeshift offensive line and has tossed at least one pick in nine straight games. The Browns are quickly becoming a mess with reports of dissension in the locker room over the starting quarterback, and that alone is enough to cripple a team. But the Browns have more issues than just that.
San Diego 33, Cleveland 21
The NFL online odds for this Sunday game were first available at BookMaker Sportsbook. The Chargers were pegged as 10-point chalk while the total opened at 45. Gamble on the game between every commercial break with BookMaker’s live betting feature. Along with an adjusted in-game moneyline, you can wager on what will happen on the next play or how many points will be scored in the next quarter. Live betting is the most exciting way to play!
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