Hoping to extend their undefeated record, the Cincinnati Bengals (7-0) take on the Cleveland Browns (2-6). The game will air Thursday, Nov 5 at 8:25 p.m. ET on NFLN.
The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is sitting at 47 points and the Browns are a big 10-point underdog.
Sitting at 7-0 Straight Up (SU) and 6-0-1 Against The Spread (ATS), the Bengals will look to improve heading into Week 9. They are averaging 29 points per game at home, fifth-best in the league. Cincinnati will look to make the running game a priority. They face a Cleveland run defense that ranks last in the league with 147 yards allowed per game. Turning to the Bengals defense, there are several areas to keep an eye on. The Browns will need to stop Cincinnati’s defense from getting to their quarterback in order to be successful in this game. The Bengals rank fifth in the league in sacks with 2.9 per game. In the first quarter, Cincinnati strikes early, putting up 7.4 points in the first 15 minutes. Cincinnati has a formidable special teams unit that averages 101.3 return yards per game, ranking fifth in the NFL.
Shifting to the opposition, the Browns head into Week 9 with records of 3-4-1 ATS and 2-6 SU. Over their last five games, the Browns have a SU record of 1-4 and a 2-2-1 record ATS. It is likely that Cleveland will continue to rely on its passing attack, where its 313.2 passing yards per road game ranks third in the league. Cleveland’s offense should seek to control the game clock this week. The team averages a time of possession of 35:12 per away game, the second-highest in the NFL.
Predictions: SU Winner – Cin, ATS Winner – Cin, O/U – Under
Notes
Cincinnati is 6-0-1 ATS in its last 7 games.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Cincinnati’s last 5 games.
Cincinnati is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games.
Cincinnati 17-3-1 SU in its last 21 games at home.
Cincinnati is 15-4-2 ATS in its last 21 games at home.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Cincinnati’s last 5 games at home.
Cincinnati is 2-4-1 ATS in its last 7 games when playing Cleveland.
Cincinnati is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Cleveland.
Cleveland is 1-0 SU when leading at the start of the fourth quarter this season. Cincinnati is 5-0 SU when carrying a lead into the fourth quarter.
Cleveland has drawn an average of 8.1 penalties per game on opponents this season, while Cincinnati has drawn 8.7 per game on opponents. Cleveland is only 1-3 SU when receiving at least eight penalties in a game. Cincinnati is actually a perfect 4-0 SU when getting penalized at least eight times.
Cincinnati is rated higher in the ground game on both sides of the ball. Its 14th-ranked rushing attack will face the bottom-ranked run defense of Cleveland, while its 17th-ranked run defense will look to contain the 31st-ranked rushing game of the Browns.
