NFL Football Betting: Cleveland Browns at New England Patriots
Ugly early start NFL game on Sunday as the Cleveland Browns head to Foxboro, MA to take on the New England Patriots. The Patriots have been playing well of late-and particularly at home-while the Browns have been a horror show. Cleveland’s biggest issue is at quarterback where injuries have taken a significant toll. The team thought they’d found their franchise quarterback with Brian Hoyer but after a season ending injury to him they’ve been forced to make do with Jason Campbell and Brandon Weeden-both of whom have had their own injury issues.
The New England Patriots are a tough team to figure. The mainstream sports media spent the first few weeks of the 2014 season prattling about ‘what is wrong with the Patriots’. Given the dire urgency of the talking heads prognostications of impending doom for New England you’d think they were destined for a losing record. That hasn’t been the case. New England does have some issues to deal with-Brady is still gaining a rapport with the upheaval in his receiving corps but the team has taken care of business posting a 9-3 record on the season. They haven’t been great on the road going 3-3 SU, 1-5 ATS but they’ve been dominant at home going 6-0 SU, 5-1 ATS.
Cleveland’s biggest problem has been at the quarterback position but that’s far from their only problem. Their defense isn’t bad but they’re overworked due to their inconsistency on offense. On paper the Pats’ defense can be exploited but it requires a team with a strong rushing game to do that the Browns definitely don’t have one. Just hard to see Cleveland being able to stop Tom Brady and the Patriots’ offense and they certainly can’t trade points with them. Never easy to lay points in the NFL but it’s hard to see anything other than a Patriots win/cover. Cleveland isn’t in good form at the moment having lost six of their last seven games straight up going 2-5 against the pointspread in that run. Pats’ defense leaves the back door open but the Browns’ sputtering offense can’t be trusted. New England should win/cover with ease here.
BET NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS -9′ OVER CLEVELAND BROWNS