The Cincinnati Bengals face off against the Cleveland Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium this week in a battle between division rivals. The game will begin Sunday at 1:00 p.m. ET and can be seen on FOX.
The Week 10 matchup between the Browns and the Bengals ended in a 24-3 loss for Cincinnati. Buster Skrine led the Browns defense in that game, recording three tackles and two interceptions. Terrance West had a big day as well, contributing 94 yards and a TD on 26 attempts.
Cincinnati is a slight two-point favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is 44 points. The Browns enter the game with records of 7-6 Straight Up (SU) and 7-5-1 Against The Spread (ATS) this season. Over their last five games, the Browns have records of 2-3 SU and 3-2 ATS. When the Browns pass the ball, they do so with authority. They average 3.6 yards each time they throw, first in the NFL. Averaging just 17.2 points per road game, Cincinnati might struggle against the Browns defense. The Bengals will be matching up against a stout Cleveland pass defense, which only allowed 198.4 passing yards over their last five matchups. If this game is going to be close, the Bengals need to watch out for Cleveland’s ball thieves. They average the third-most turnovers with two per game.
In the other locker room, the Bengals head into Week 15 with records of 6-6-1 ATS and 8-4-1 SU. The Bengals went 3-2 SU and 2-3 ATS over the last five games. Taking away the passing game shouldn’t be a difficult task for Cincinnati. The Browns have the league’s worst completion percentage at 55.4%. The Bengals have found a way to expertly avoid calls when playing on the road. Receiving the fifth-fewest away-game penalties in the league, Cincinnati averages just 7.3.
Predictions: SU Winner – CIN, ATS Winner – CLE, O/U – Under
Notes
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Cincinnati’s last 5 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Cleveland’s last 9 games.
Cincinnati is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games.
Cleveland is 8-16 SU in its last 24 games.
Cincinnati is 3-6-1 ATS in its last 10 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Cleveland’s last 5 games at home.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Cincinnati’s last 6 games on the road.
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Cleveland’s last 7 games when playing Cincinnati.
Cincinnati is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games on the road.
Cleveland is 6-14 SU in its last 20 games when playing Cincinnati.
Cincinnati is 5-9-1 ATS in its last 15 games on the road.
Cleveland is 4-1-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Cincinnati.
Cincinnati is 1-4-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Cleveland.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Cleveland’s last 5 games when playing at home against Cincinnati.
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Cincinnati’s last 7 games when playing Cleveland.
Cincinnati is 14-6 SU in its last 20 games when playing Cleveland.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Cincinnati’s last 5 games when playing on the road against Cleveland.
Cincinnati is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Cleveland.
Cincinnati is 7-1-1 SU when leading at the half this season. Cleveland is 4-2 SU when taking a lead into halftime.
Cincinnati is 8-1 SU when leading at the start of the fourth quarter this season. Cleveland is 5-2 SU when leading at the end of the third quarter.
This season, Cincinnati is 4-1 SU in games where it wins the turnover battle, and only 2-3-1 SU in games where it loses the turnover battle.
Cleveland is 3-3 SU in games where it wins the turnover battle, and also an even 2-2 SU when losing the turnover battle.
The Cleveland defense has forced an average of 2.2 turnovers over its last five games, but Cincinnati is 4-1 SU this season when turning the ball over at least 2 times in a game.
According to overall NFL pass rankings, Cleveland is rated higher on both sides of the ball. Its 15th-ranked offensive passing game will face the 21st-ranked pass defense of Cincinnati, while its ninth-ranked pass defense will look to limit the 20th-ranked aerial attack of the Bengals.
The Cleveland rushing attack is ranked 16th in the league, while the Cincinnati run defense is only ranked 27th. The Bengals’ rushing game is ranked 10th, compared to the 25th-ranked run defense of the Browns.
