Johnny Football moved up the Browns’ depth chart this week but remains on the bench in favor of Austin Davis as Cleveland looks to end its six-game slide.
The Bengals got back on track with a dominant showing last week and are the best bet in the NFL going 9-1-1 ATS.
NFL Odds at BookMaker.eu
Cleveland Browns +12
Cincinnati Bengals -12
Over/Under 43.5
ODDS ANALYSIS
Favorites haven’t produced for their bettors when the AFC North rivals meet. Favored teams are just 2-13-1 in the last 16 meetings between the clubs. Could be a reason why the line was wagered down to Cincinnati -9.5.
KEY INJURIES
Chris Lewis-Harris – The Bengals lost their backup cornerback to a first half rib injury and he is questionable to play on Sunday. Adam Jones returned to the lineup last week after missing time with a foot injury, so that softens the blow a little bit.
Tyler Eifert – Left last Sunday’s game in the fourth quarter with a pinched nerve in his neck and didn’t participate in practice early this week. There is little reason to believe he will miss time beyond this week. Tyler Kroft could see increased action if Eifert is out.
Josh McCown – Will miss the rest of the season after fracturing his collarbone during Monday night’s game. The Browns will hand the starting quarterback duties to Austin Davis, leaving Johnny Manziel as the backup. Davis replaced McCown Monday and hit 7 of 10 passes in his Browns debut.
KEY MISMATCH
Bengals’ defensive coordinator, Paul Guenther said he believes tackle Geno Atkins deserves to be in the conversation for this year's Defensive Player of the Year. After all, Atkins' defense is one of the league's best. Atkins leads all defensive tackles in sacks with eight. The glamour stat for front-seven defenders, sacks are one area where Atkins and the Bengals struggled in 2014. That has changed this year, with Atkins helping prop up a unit that through 11 games has 29 sacks, good enough for 10th in the NFL. Tackles are usually the ones creating gaps in the line of scrimmage for ends and linebackers, not forcing them open for themselves. His presence is opening opportunities for others. It's no surprise that Carlos Dunlap has 8.5 sacks, and fellow linemen Michael Johnson and Domata Peko have three each. Some of their quarterback pressures have been the result of offensive lines adjusting blocking patterns to double-team Atkins, thereby leaving other defenders free. After being generally ineffective last season, some 10 months after he went through ACL surgery, Atkins has his old explosion back.
KEY STAT
+6 – Cincinnati’s turnover margin. The Bengals rank fourth in the NFL in his category and face a Browns team that is minus-3 in differential with 20 giveaways on the year.
BETTING ANGLE
Benched for bad behavior, Manziel will remain on the sideline after Browns’ coach Mike Pettine picked Davis to start Sunday. Manziel was recently stripped of his starting job by Pettine after a video surfaced of him partying in Texas during the team's bye week. With McCown done for the season, Pettine had to promote one of his backups and chose Davis, who came off the bench in the fourth quarter of Monday night's loss to Baltimore. Pettine is only committing to Davis, who went 3-5 in eight starts for St. Louis last season, as his starter for this week. Manziel was active for Monday's game, serving as the No. 3 quarterback. But the backup role isn't what he envisioned or what the Browns had in mind when they selected the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner in the first round of the 2014 draft. Davis is the 24th quarterback to start for the Browns since 1999, turnover that underscores the franchise's woes.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
Not only did the Browns lose their starting quarterback last week, they lost the game in devastating fashion to the Ravens on a blocked field goal returned for a touchdown with no time left. That kinda sums up the season for the Brownies. They now charge ahead against the top team in the division. Cincinnati looked impressive in last week’s dismantling of St. Louis and the Browns were destroyed by the Rams earlier. It doesn’t look good for Cleveland, especially with Davis getting the nod over Manziel at quarterback. The Bengals destroyed Cleveland in their first meeting, posting a 31-10 victory in Week 9, and outscored the Browns 61-10 in winning the past two meetings. The Bengals are only one game back of New England for the best record in the AFC but are tied with Denver. Not having to play a first-round playoff game is huge for Cincy and they won’t let this one slip away.
Cincinnati 28, Cleveland 16
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Real-time spreads, totals, props and moneyline odds are all available by clicking here so start betting with BookMaker today! The matchup between the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns will start at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, December 6, 2015, at FirstEnergy Stadium. The contest will be broadcast regionally on FOX.
