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The Bears will be favored, but not necessarily because of Trubisky. While he has had some good moments in his rookie campaign, he has yet to make a huge impact and the jury is still out as to whether he will be a franchise quarterback. The Browns have a subpar defense and Trubisky would love to take advantage of that in this showdown.
Cleveland took a quarterback in the second round and DeShone Kizer will get his chance to prove his worth in this one. Kizer has had a rough season and he faces a good defense, so it won’t be an easy situation to excel.
Watch this regular season Week 16 matchup live on Sunday, December 24, 2017, at 1 p.m. ET at Soldier Field.
Opening NFL Odds at BookMaker.eu
Cleveland Browns +6.5
Chicago Bears -6.5
Over/Under 38.5
Odds Analysis
The Bears come in as solid favorites, although the spread has dropped a half-point since it was released late Sunday. More than 70 percent of the action is on Cleveland to cover, as this line does seem quite high considering the Bears have struggled to move the ball on offense this year.
The scoring total could be the lowest in the NFL this week, but the “over” has been the more popular selection.
Injury Report
Josh Sitton — The Bears’ veteran guard is listed as questionable heading into this Week 15 matchup against the Browns after an injury to his right ankle. The four-time Pro Bowler suffered the injury in the second quarter Chicago’s loss to the Lions on Saturday and was replaced by Bradley Sowell.
Adrian Amos — Chicago’s safety missed Saturday’s loss to the Lions with a hamstring game. It was the third game in a row he was inactive, and it remains to be seen if he can get back for this one. Cleveland doesn’t have a good passing attack, but the Bears want as many playmakers as possible on the back end.
Coaching Situation
Word came out on Sunday that Bengals coach Marvin Lewis doesn’t plan to return in 2018. There was then speculation that Cincinnati wants to bring in current Browns coach Hue Jackson as his replacement.
However, Jackson is under contract and the team has said it plans to keep him next year. The Browns don’t need any distractions as they look to somehow win one game some way, somehow this season, but the week could be dominated by talk of Jackson’s future.
Keep an eye on that situation, and if there are any developments. Jackson would probably prefer that he didn’t become the story, but may not be able to stop the speculation from reaching a fevered pitch.
In Chicago, meanwhile, John Fox could be on the hot seat as the team has had another losing season. A win here and some signs of progress would help him.
Free ATS Pick
Neither of these offenses have looked very good this year, and this one figures to be a defensive battle. The Bears are rightly favored, but it looks too high. Don’t be shocked if this one devolves into some ugly football with plenty of ineptitude.
The Browns have not had much success this season, but this is a prime opportunity to finally get a win. While most are ready to pencil in the winless 2017 campaign, look for Cleveland to surprise in this one. The Browns are an easy pick to cover this spread, and they could very well pull an upset.
Cleveland will finally make enough plays to pick up a win as Trubisky will show his youth in this game. A Browns upset would be a lucrative choice on the moneyline.
NFL Odds: Browns 20, Bears 16
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