Browns at Bengals
By Kevin Rogers
VegasInsider.com
All four teams in the AFC North have won at least five games this season. To put that in perspective, not one club in the NFC South has more than four victories. Two of the AFC North’s oldest rivals meet up in Cincinnati on Thursday night to kick off the Week 10 card, as the Bengals look to keep up their winning ways at Paul Brown Stadium.
Cincinnati (5-2-1) jumped out to a 3-0 start, but a winless three week stretch bumped the Bengals out of first place in the AFC North. Marvin Lewis’ team has rebounded of late with consecutive home victories over the Ravens and Jaguars to take back the lead in the division by percentage points over the Steelers (who Cincinnati hasn’t played yet). In this past Sunday’s 33-23 triumph over Jacksonville as 10-point favorites, the Bengals were in control for most of the way until the Jaguars trimmed the deficit to three points with eight minutes remaining. Jeremy Hill broke off a 60-yard touchdown run on the next play from scrimmage to give Cincinnati the 10-point advantage to improve to 4-0-1 at home.
The expectations on the Browns were once again to be in the cellar of this competitive division, but first-year head coach Mike Pettine has Cleveland in the thick of the race at 5-3. Looking deeper into the schedule, some may claim that the Browns have cleaned up on some of the league’s garbage, beating the Titans, Raiders, and Buccaneers over the last month, while getting tripped up by the previously winless Jaguars three weeks ago as a road favorite.
Cleveland held off Tampa Bay last Sunday, 22-17, but failed to cash as seven-point home favorites. These two clubs went back-and-forth as the Bucs held a 17-16 advantage in the third quarter, but the Browns went ahead for good in the fourth quarter on a Brian Hoyer touchdown pass to Taylor Gabriel. Cleveland rushed for just 50 yards against Tampa Bay, a slight improvement after putting up 39 yards on the ground in the previous victory over Oakland.
The home team has won eight of the past nine meetings in this series since 2009, as the Browns and Bengals split their two matchups last season. Cleveland tripped up Cincinnati as 3 ½-point underdogs, 17-6 last September, as Hoyer tossed a pair of touchdowns and threw for 269 yards in the win.
The Bengals returned the favor in the next matchup at Paul Brown Stadium in November by delivering a 41-21 thumping to cash as 4 ½-point favorites. Cleveland jumped out to a 13-0 lead, but Cincinnati responded with a 31-point spot in the second quarter, which included a defensive score and a blocked punt returned for a touchdown. Andy Dalton didn’t even reach triple-digits in yards (97), but threw three touchdown passes as the Bengals have won five straight home contests with the Browns since 2009.
VegasInsider.com handicapper Joe Nelson said this game can be won on the ground, “In terms of rushing yards allowed per game Cleveland and Cincinnati rank 30th and 31st respectively in the league as it seems likely that both teams will aim to attack on the ground Thursday night.” In Cincinnati’s two losses, the Bengals gave up 220 yards to the Patriots and yielded 171 yards at Indianapolis.
Nelson highlights Cleveland’s easy slate so far, but there is plenty of work to do for the postseason, “The Browns have not exactly played a difficult schedule at this point in the season as four of the last five games have come against teams that are 2-6 or worse, but the Browns will have winnable games the next three weeks (Houston, Atlanta, Buffalo) as well as this could really be a playoff team.”
Cincinnati’s domination at home extends back to 2013, as the Bengals have won 12 of their past 13 regular season contests. The lone blemish wasn’t even a loss, instead a 37-37 tie against Carolina back in Week 6, as Cincinnati owns a terrific 11-1-1 ATS record in this span. Obviously this is a key division battle, but if the Bengals can win, they would improve to 3-0 inside the AFC North as Cincinnati faces Pittsburgh twice in the final four weeks of the season.
Cleveland has taken care of business at home with a 4-1 record, but has struggled on the highway by dropping two of three road contests. The Browns fell behind the Steelers in the season opener, 27-3 at halftime before rallying to tie the game at 27-27 in the fourth. Pittsburgh eventually kicked the game-winning field goal, but the Browns managed a cover as 5½-point underdogs. The Browns needed to dig out of another major hole at Tennessee four weeks later, erasing a 28-3 deficit to shock the Titans, 29-28 in the biggest regular season road comeback in NFL history.
From a totals perspective, there is no advantage either way as both Cleveland and Cincinnati are each 4-4 to the ‘over.’ Five of the past six meetings have gone ‘over’ the total, including three straight at Paul Brown Stadium. Cincinnati started the season with three consecutive ‘unders,’ but the Bengals are currently on a 4-1 run to the ‘over.’ The Browns have been streaky in the totals department, cashing four straight ‘unders’ to begin the season, followed by four consecutive ‘overs.’
The Bengals are currently listed as six-point home favorites at most books, with several 6½’s hanging out there. The total is set at 44½, as temperatures are expected to be in the mid 40’s with a 30% chance of showers. The game kicks off at 8:25 PM and can be seen on the NFL Network.
By Kevin Rogers
VegasInsider.com
All four teams in the AFC North have won at least five games this season. To put that in perspective, not one club in the NFC South has more than four victories. Two of the AFC North’s oldest rivals meet up in Cincinnati on Thursday night to kick off the Week 10 card, as the Bengals look to keep up their winning ways at Paul Brown Stadium.
Cincinnati (5-2-1) jumped out to a 3-0 start, but a winless three week stretch bumped the Bengals out of first place in the AFC North. Marvin Lewis’ team has rebounded of late with consecutive home victories over the Ravens and Jaguars to take back the lead in the division by percentage points over the Steelers (who Cincinnati hasn’t played yet). In this past Sunday’s 33-23 triumph over Jacksonville as 10-point favorites, the Bengals were in control for most of the way until the Jaguars trimmed the deficit to three points with eight minutes remaining. Jeremy Hill broke off a 60-yard touchdown run on the next play from scrimmage to give Cincinnati the 10-point advantage to improve to 4-0-1 at home.
The expectations on the Browns were once again to be in the cellar of this competitive division, but first-year head coach Mike Pettine has Cleveland in the thick of the race at 5-3. Looking deeper into the schedule, some may claim that the Browns have cleaned up on some of the league’s garbage, beating the Titans, Raiders, and Buccaneers over the last month, while getting tripped up by the previously winless Jaguars three weeks ago as a road favorite.
Cleveland held off Tampa Bay last Sunday, 22-17, but failed to cash as seven-point home favorites. These two clubs went back-and-forth as the Bucs held a 17-16 advantage in the third quarter, but the Browns went ahead for good in the fourth quarter on a Brian Hoyer touchdown pass to Taylor Gabriel. Cleveland rushed for just 50 yards against Tampa Bay, a slight improvement after putting up 39 yards on the ground in the previous victory over Oakland.
The home team has won eight of the past nine meetings in this series since 2009, as the Browns and Bengals split their two matchups last season. Cleveland tripped up Cincinnati as 3 ½-point underdogs, 17-6 last September, as Hoyer tossed a pair of touchdowns and threw for 269 yards in the win.
The Bengals returned the favor in the next matchup at Paul Brown Stadium in November by delivering a 41-21 thumping to cash as 4 ½-point favorites. Cleveland jumped out to a 13-0 lead, but Cincinnati responded with a 31-point spot in the second quarter, which included a defensive score and a blocked punt returned for a touchdown. Andy Dalton didn’t even reach triple-digits in yards (97), but threw three touchdown passes as the Bengals have won five straight home contests with the Browns since 2009.
VegasInsider.com handicapper Joe Nelson said this game can be won on the ground, “In terms of rushing yards allowed per game Cleveland and Cincinnati rank 30th and 31st respectively in the league as it seems likely that both teams will aim to attack on the ground Thursday night.” In Cincinnati’s two losses, the Bengals gave up 220 yards to the Patriots and yielded 171 yards at Indianapolis.
Nelson highlights Cleveland’s easy slate so far, but there is plenty of work to do for the postseason, “The Browns have not exactly played a difficult schedule at this point in the season as four of the last five games have come against teams that are 2-6 or worse, but the Browns will have winnable games the next three weeks (Houston, Atlanta, Buffalo) as well as this could really be a playoff team.”
Cincinnati’s domination at home extends back to 2013, as the Bengals have won 12 of their past 13 regular season contests. The lone blemish wasn’t even a loss, instead a 37-37 tie against Carolina back in Week 6, as Cincinnati owns a terrific 11-1-1 ATS record in this span. Obviously this is a key division battle, but if the Bengals can win, they would improve to 3-0 inside the AFC North as Cincinnati faces Pittsburgh twice in the final four weeks of the season.
Cleveland has taken care of business at home with a 4-1 record, but has struggled on the highway by dropping two of three road contests. The Browns fell behind the Steelers in the season opener, 27-3 at halftime before rallying to tie the game at 27-27 in the fourth. Pittsburgh eventually kicked the game-winning field goal, but the Browns managed a cover as 5½-point underdogs. The Browns needed to dig out of another major hole at Tennessee four weeks later, erasing a 28-3 deficit to shock the Titans, 29-28 in the biggest regular season road comeback in NFL history.
From a totals perspective, there is no advantage either way as both Cleveland and Cincinnati are each 4-4 to the ‘over.’ Five of the past six meetings have gone ‘over’ the total, including three straight at Paul Brown Stadium. Cincinnati started the season with three consecutive ‘unders,’ but the Bengals are currently on a 4-1 run to the ‘over.’ The Browns have been streaky in the totals department, cashing four straight ‘unders’ to begin the season, followed by four consecutive ‘overs.’
The Bengals are currently listed as six-point home favorites at most books, with several 6½’s hanging out there. The total is set at 44½, as temperatures are expected to be in the mid 40’s with a 30% chance of showers. The game kicks off at 8:25 PM and can be seen on the NFL Network.
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