The Las Vegas Raiders visit the Cleveland Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium on Sunday at1 p.m. ET. Here’s our Raiders-Browns Betting Guide.
Las Vegas Raiders (3-3) at Cleveland Browns (5-2)
All odds and lines from PointsBet, current as of Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. ET.
Raiders-Browns Betting Guide
Raiders-Browns Odds and Betting Lines
- Against The Spread: Browns -2.5 (-115)/Raiders +2.5 (-105)
- Moneyline: Browns(-145)/Raiders(+125)
- Total: 52.5 — Over 52.5 (-110)/Under 52.5 (-110)
- Implied Team Totals: Browns 27.5, Raiders 25
The Raiders opened the season with two straight wins but are only 1-3 in their last four games. They will get a Browns team that has won five of its last six games since opening the year with a blowout loss to the Ravens.
Almost at the midway point of the season, this is an imperative matchup for AFC playoff implications.
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Raiders-Browns Injury Report
Raiders
- WR Bryan Edwards (ankle), Questionable
- OL Trent Brown (illness), Out
- DL Carl Nassib (toe) Questionable
- DB Lamarcus Joyner (hamstring), Questionable
Browns
- WR Odell Beckham Jr. (ACL), Out
- TE Austin Hooper (appendix), Out
- QB Baker Mayfield (chest), Questionable
- WR Jarvis landry (hip, ribs), Questionable
- TE David Njoku (shoulder), Questionable
Raiders-Browns Players to Watch
Browns QB Baker Mayfield was on the hot seat entering last week’s win over the Bengals, but as he normally does, the third-year signal-caller played some of his best football against his AFC North division rivals. It is the rest of the league that Mayfield performs inconsistently against.
While Mayfield has led the Browns to a 5-2 record, he has yet to throw for 300 yards in a game while passing for fewer than 247 yards in six games including four games in the 100s. Odell Beckham Jr.‘s season-ending injury will test this passing game.
Aside from last week’s pop game against Cincinnati, in which he threw for a season-best 294 yards and 5 touchdowns, Mayfield has thrown for fewer than two scores in every other game.
In his only other meeting with the Raiders, Mayfield threw for 295 yards with 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions while only completing 51.2% of his passes in a 45-42 loss back in 2018.
Raiders RB Josh Jacobs is off to a sluggish start six games into his sophomore campaign. While he is fifth in the NFL in carries (116), he is only 14th in rushing yards (394) while only averaging 3.4 true yards per carry, just 60th amongst qualifying backs.
However, the saving grace for Jacobs is his red-zone usage as he is the 11th best rusher in red-zone touches (22) and 10th in total touchdowns (five).
If the Raiders are going to get back on track, Jacobs must play a tremendous role as Derek Carr can’t get the job done on his own.
Jacobs totaled north of 105 yards in back-to-back games to open the season — both Radiers victories — but has totaled fewer than 85 yards in each of his past four games. The Raiders are 1-3 in that time period.
Raiders-Browns Weather Report
The weather report at FirstEnergy Stadium calls for a possible drizzle at the 1 p.m. ET kickoff with a 26% chance of precipitation. Wind gusts blowing south to norhwest at 26 mph are also expected.
The temperature for the game is slated to fall at 48 degrees Fahrenheit.
Raiders-Browns Betting Guide
BEST BET: Over 52.5 (-110)
Both the Raiders and Browns can put up points. The Browns and their 2020 opponents would have gone over this 52.5-point total in five of seven games this season. The Raiders and their foes would have gone over in all six of their matchups.
The Browns and Raiders are respectively averaging the 10th (28.6) and 11th (28.5) most points per game this season.
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CONSIDER: Browns (-145)
I am not in love with the point spread in this matchup. The game will be close, but while the Browns appear to be the superior team, they are not as good as their 5-2 record. On the other side, the Raiders are not as bad as their 3-3 record. This game is wide-open, as the Vegas line suggests.
The winner of this game will fall on the team that runs the ball better as both clubs are top 12 teams in team run plays per game, which is why I give the edge to Cleveland.
The Browns are yielding the fifth-fewest rushing yards per game (92.1) while rushing for the third most yard per game (157.0).
The Raiders are surrendering the 18th-most rushing yards per game (119.8) while gaining the 17th most rushing yards per game (117.5).
PASS: Browns -2.5 (-115)
The Browns are 3-7 against the spread in their last 10 games overall and 3-4 ATS this season. They are also 1-2 ATS when giving at least 2.5 points.
This is one of those games in which I would punt the point spread and attack the moneyline in the direction of whichever team you favor.
Anthony Cervino is 10-6-1 on his NFL Best Bets in 2020.
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