A pair of teams that finished in the basement of their respective divisions last season will look to put their best foot forward in their preseason Week 3 dress rehearsal on Friday night when Robert Griffin III leads the Cleveland Browns into Tampa Bay to battle Jameis Winston and the Buccaneers. Each franchise starts anew in 2016 with the front offices assembling new coaching staffs in hopes of better and more consistent results.
Week 3 of the preseason kicks off for both of these clubs at Raymond James Stadium on Friday, August 26, 2016, at 8 p.m. ET and the game can be taken in live on CBS.
NFL Odds at BookMaker.eu
Odds Analysis
Should Tampa Bay running back Doug Martin be available for this game after sitting out last week with a minor rib injury, expect the home standing Bucs to be favorites in the 3-4 point range. The teams have combined for three unders and one over, so a suppressed total is also likely.
Quarterback Rotation
After a wretched debut in Browns’ orange Week 1 in which he completed only half his passes for 67 yards and threw a goal line pick, Robert Griffin III gave the city of Cleveland a glimpse of what 2016 could look like after throwing for 96 yards and a pair of touchdown strikes to quarterback turned wide receiver Terrelle Pryor and tight end Gary Barnidge.
New head coach Hue Jackson doesn’t care whatsoever whether his offense scores by land or by air, so long as it scores. After posting a 39.1 QB rating in the opener and following it up with a 110.2 showing against the Falcons in Week 2, it shows RG III is making progress. He’ll get even more of an opportunity to show his stuff this week with him likely going into the fourth quarter with the starting offense. Hopefully rookie Corey Coleman and the beleaguered Josh Gordon are there to give him even more targets to get the pigskin to.
Jameis Winston will likely be counting the seconds until kick-off against the Browns after looking miserable against the Jaguars first string defense last week. He failed to complete a single pass against the unit, but did manage to rebound against the second string unit to end up 3 of 10 for 28 yards with a touchdown but threw his first interception of the exhibition season.
Look for the former No. 1 pick to go deep into the third quarter of this one and then be followed by either Mike Glennon or Ryan Griffin to close out the festivities.
Coaching History
Hue Jackson has been a head coach in a grand total of six preseason games. His respective teams are 0-6 in those contests. The Browns are yet to score a point in the fourth quarter this preseason which speaks poorly about the depth the team possesses. Look for that bagel to remain in the win column at the conclusion of this one.
Dirk Koetter is now 1-1 SU and ATS as a head coach in the preseason. After dropping an ugly 17-9 decision in Week 1, he got his backups to play some inspired ball late to pull out the win and cover against the Jags last week. His team has more depth which should lead to a Bucs win in their home debut.
Quick Pick
There are simply just too many unknowns on the Browns’ sideline heading into this dress rehearsal. RG III might finally have a full allotment of toys to play with, but once the starters and second stringers hit the sidelines, Cleveland will have a tough time competing. Tampa Bay has the more polished passer in Mike Glennon to close things out, while Cody Kessler has been a mess trying to adjust to the speed of the NFL.
NFL Odds: Buccaneers 23 , Browns 16
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook! Week 3 of the preseason kicks off for both of these clubs at Raymond James Stadium on Friday, August 26, 2016, at 8 p.m. ET.
