The Cleveland Browns won’t be favorites very often this year, so even though this is the preseason, they may as well enjoy it. The team is a slight field-goal favorite to knock off the Chicago Bears in Week 4 of the preseason. Neither team is expected to play starters so this will be a battle of players scratching to make it on to 53-man active rosters.
This Week 4 preseason matchup will be held on Thursday, September 1, 2016, at 8 p.m. ET at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio.
NFL Odds at BookMaker.eu
Bears +3
Browns -3
Over/Under 37
Odds Analysis
The Browns are being wagered on heavily, as 75 percent of the bettors are taking them as the three-point favorites. Cleveland’s odds have moved up to -120 but the professionals still like them. The “under” on the 37 point scoring total has been the more popular play.
Quarterback Rotation
The Browns won’t need to see anything from Robert Griffin III, who has cemented the starting quarterback gig with a nice showing this preseason. Austin Davis was recently released, leaving Cleveland with two other signal-callers on the roster.
Josh McCown is the veteran. He is 11-of-22 passing this preseason with 118 yards without a touchdown or interception. He has plenty of experience and doesn’t necessarily need to play in the fourth preseason game.
The player who should benefit from it is Cody Kessler. The rookie is 9-of-11 passing for 52 yards in the preseason with a touchdown. He has taken a back seat as the starting quarterback job was ironed out but should now be able to get extensive snaps.
The Bears will keep Jay Cutler on the sideline. He hasn’t done much this preseason but doesn’t need to as the team knows his capabilities. Brian Hoyer is the veteran backup who also wouldn’t benefit a ton from the work.
This could have been a nice opportunity for Connor Shaw but he broke his leg in the last preseason game and could be out an extended amount of time. Shaw was 11-of-16 passing for 127 yards and two touchdowns.
David Fales could be the guy who gets the work. He is just 4-of-8 for 30 yards passing in the preseason. Fales hasn’t played for two straight games so this could be his final work with the team with cuts looming.
Coaching History
Chicago coach John Fox has a preseason record of 31-28. He is heading into his second season as the Bears coach and after going 3-1 last year, is now 0-3 heading into this Week 4 matchup in Cleveland. The last time Fox went 0-4 in the preseason was in 2009 with the Carolina Panthers.
Cleveland coach Hue Jackson has yet to win a preseason game in his career. He finished at 0-4 as the head coach of the Oakland Raiders in 2011 and is 0-3 so far this year in his first year with the Browns.
Free ATS Pick
The Browns might be in better shape with their quarterback situation. Shaw was showing some promise and would have benefitted from playing in this one but will be out. Fales hasn’t shown much thus far and could have trouble in Cleveland.
Kessler, meanwhile, has looked solid in his time on the field. He will be going against a collection of Bears backups, and Kessler may be able to sustain multiple scoring drives. The combination of the home field advantage and a better quarterback taking the majority of the snaps should be enough to keep the Browns ahead in this one.
NFL Odds: Browns 20, Bears 16
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