The Los Angeles Chargers (-1.5) are heading east to visit the Cleveland Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium. CBS owns the TV rights and the game is scheduled to get underway at 1:00 p.m. ET. When the two franchises met last year, Los Angeles won by three field goals 19-10.
Los Angeles Chargers at Cleveland Browns Betting Preview
In this Sunday AFC game, Los Angeles is projected as the favorite and is currently giving up 1.5 points. The Chargers are also receiving -125 moneyline odds while the Browns are +105. Vegas has placed the over/under (O/U) at 44 points, and should one squad can create a bunch of points early, it’ll likely create a worthy in-game betting scenario.
The game’s O/U was placed originally at 46.5, but early action has leaned to the under.
The Chargers are 2-3 against the spread (ATS) and have gained 0.4 units so far. The team has posted an O/U record of 4-1. The Browns are up 0.4 units for moneyline bettors this season. They’re 4-1 ATS and have an O/U record of 2-3.
The Chargers have gone 3-2 straight up (SU) in 2018 while the Browns are 2-2-1 SU.
The Bolts are coming off a resounding 26-10 win over Oakland last week where their D allowed the Raiders to air it out for 268 yards. Martavis Bryant had a productive day for the Raiders in that one with 91 yards on three catches. On the offensive side of the ball, Philip Rivers completed 22-of-27 passes for 339 yards and two touchdowns. Melvin Gordon III (just 58 rushing yards on 19 attempts, one TD) led the ground attack while Keenan Allen (eight receptions, 90 yards) and Gordon III (four catches, 62 yards) manned the receiving duties in the win.
The Cleveland Browns just earned a 12-9 win over Baltimore a week ago. The team’s defense allowed the Ravens to rush for 116 yards on 25 attempts. Javorius Allen had a productive showing in the defeat, recording 44 yards on six catches for Baltimore. For Cleveland, Baker Mayfield completed 25-of-43 passes for 342 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Carlos Hyde (63 yards on 17 rush attempts) mounted the running game as David Njoku (six receptions, 69 yards) and Jarvis Landry (five catches, 69 yards) led the pass-catching corps in the win.
Los Angeles has run the ball on 42.0 percent of its offensive possessions this year while Cleveland has an overall rush percentage of 45.1 percent. The Chargers have produced 116 rush yards per game and have three touchdowns on the ground this year. The Browns are averaging 145 rushing yards per game and have eight total rush TDs.
It seems like the Chargers ought to hold an advantage when it comes to applying pressure. Their offensive line has yielded just 18 sacks while the D-line registered 43 sacks. The Browns offensive line has allowed 50 sacks and their defense has sacked opposing QBs on just 34 occasions.
The Bolts offensive scheme has averaged 299 yards in the air overall and has 13 passing scores so far. The Browns have produced 260 pass yards per outing and have five total pass TDs.
Los Angeles has allowed opponents to run for an average of 96 yards and pass for 284 yards per game. The Cleveland D has allowed 296.4 yards per game to opposing passers and 116.6 yards per game to opposing runners. The Browns are giving up an adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) of only 5.03 to opponents, while the Chargers have allowed a 7.35 ANY/A.
Offensively, Rivers is up to 1,245 passing yards this season, and has completed 97-of-135 attempts with 10 passing scores and only one interception. He has a sparkling 9.77 adjusted net yards per pass attempt, including 9.26 over the last two games.
Baker Mayfield has completed 42-of-66 passes for 543 yards, one TD and one INT for Cleveland. His ANY/A stands at 6.56 for the year and 5.58 over his last two outings.
RELATED: Week 6 NFL Betting Odds and Predictions
Free Prediction: Chargers at Browns
SU Winner – Chargers, ATS Winner – Browns, O/U – Under
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Notes
Betting Trends
The Browns have made seven pass plays of 30+ yards while the Chargers have accounted for four such plays.
The Los Angeles defense has allowed five pass plays of 40 yards or more, while Cleveland has given up two such plays.
Both teams have produced six rushing plays of 20 yards or more. The Los Angeles offense has recorded 22 running plays of 10+ yards while Cleveland has accounted for 23 such plays.
The Chargers defense has allowed two rushing plays of 20 or more yards, while the Browns have given up three such runs.
The Cleveland defensive unit has produced 14 sacks on the year while Los Angeles has 11.
As a team, Los Angeles has averaged 4.43589743589744 yards per carry over its past three games and 3.5 over its last two.
Cleveland has averaged 4.9 yards per carry over its last three outings and 5.4 over its past two.
Over its last three matchups, Cleveland is 2-1 ATS and the under cashed in two of those three.
Los Angeles was favored by 6 points in its last game and the Over/Under was set at 51.5. The under cashed and Los Angeles covered in the 26-10 victory over Oakland.
In its last three contests, Los Angeles is 1-2 ATS and the over cashed in two of those three.
Cleveland was getting 4 points in its previous match and the Over/Under was set at 44.5. The under cashed and Cleveland covered in the 12-9 triumph over Baltimore.
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