It’s been a rough year for the Cleveland Browns. They won two of their first three games, but they have since lost four straight contests. Four of their five losses this season have been by three points or less, so they could easily be over .500 heading into their game with the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday Night Football. However, if they lose this game, they will go into their bye week at 2-6, and that might lead to the Browns being sellers ahead of the NFL trade deadline on Tuesday.
The Cincinnati Bengals have yet to beat the Cleveland Browns this decade. Cincinnati will look to change that on Monday Night Football on Halloween at Paycor Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio. Kickoff is slated for 8:15 p.m. ET on ESPN.
NFL Week 8 Betting Odds
Cincinnati Bengals -3.5
Cleveland Browns +3.5
Total 47.5
Money Line: Bengals -175, Browns +151
Odds Analysis
Initially, the Cincinnati Bengals were a three-point road favorite in this game. Early action immediately pushed the line to Cincinnati -3.5, but the number has remained static since that point. There has been no real movement with the total either as the number has stayed firm at 47.
Cincinnati Bengals
When Joe Burrow has time to throw, he can shred opposing defenses. That has been very evident this year, as the Bengals got off to an 0-2 start after Burrow was sacked a whopping 13 times in the first two weeks of the season. Cincinnati’s offensive line has looked better since that point, surrendering 11 sacks in the last five games, allowing Burrow to thrive. He is coming off his best game of the season last week against Atlanta, completing 34 of 42 passes for 481 yards and three touchdowns in a 35-17 beatdown of the Falcons.
Burrow has the best trio of receivers in the league. Ja’Marr Chase, Tyler Boyd, and Tee Higgins are all on pace to finish with over 1,000 receiving yards, and all three wide outs are big play threats. That’s been needed this year since Joe Mixon is averaging just 3.3 YPC and hasn’t been effective on the ground.
Cincinnati has a better defense than you might think given there are no stars on this side of the ball. The Bengals rank 7th in scoring defense (18.9 PPG) and 11th in total defense (321.1 YPG). They are surrendering just 5.2 yards per play, and the secondary has done a very good job of limiting big plays. Vonn Bell has three interceptions and could be a Pro Bowl pick, but the bad news is that the front seven has been hit or miss at stopping the run.
VIDEO Cleveland Browns
Nick Chubb is the NFL’s leading rusher through the first seven weeks of the 2022 campaign. Chubb has been the most underrated running back in football since he was taken early in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft, as he has averaged at least 5.0 YPC every season. He has run for 740 yards and eight touchdowns while averaging 5.9 YPC so far this season.
That has taken the pressure off Jacoby Brissett, but he has not been great under center. Brissett is completing just 62.7% of his passes for 6.8 YPA with six touchdowns and five interceptions. He only has three targets in the passing game, but it’s clear that this team would be in much better hands with Deshaun Watson under center.
Cleveland ranks 28th in scoring defense (26.6 PPG) this season but is a league average squad when it comes to total defense (346.0 YPG). The Browns have one of the best pass rushers in the game in Myles Garrett who has six sacks and seven tackles for loss, but he is the only truly elite player on this side of the ball.
Bengals at Browns Free Pick
The ‘Over’ is the play in this game because Burrow should be very effective against Cleveland’s secondary, while Chubb runs for 100+ against a Cincinnati front seven that has had some issues.
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