Cincinnati vs Cleveland (CIN -5.5, 41.5)
NFL ODDS, NFL PREDICTIONS, NFL PREVIEWS
Bengals vs Browns - Sunday, October 20, 2024
The Bengals enter Week Seven with a 2-4 record, winning two of their last three games after starting the season 0-3. While their only wins are against the Panthers and the Giants, we know what Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati offense are capable of, and we should still hold them to a higher standard than other two-win teams. They’ll be facing their division rivals, the Cleveland Browns, who have a 1-5 record and are dead last in the AFC North.
The Bengals are coming off a Sunday night victory against the Giants, where, until late in the fourth quarter, their only touchdown came on a 47-yard rushing touchdown from Joe Burrow. The offense was caught at a standstill for most of the game, but if you’ve been keeping up with them throughout the season, it’s probably nothing to be too worried about. The Bengals have the second-highest completion percentage in the NFL, completing 71.64% of their passes and averaging 249.7 passing yards a game, seventh in the NFL. Although they have just two wins, Burrow has the second-best QBR in the league at 75.1, trailing only Josh Allen of the Bills (79.3).
Burrow has also thrown twelve touchdowns with just two interceptions in 2024, and the Bengals have the fifth-highest third-down conversion rate in the NFL, converting just under 46%. The Browns, however, have been much less impressive on the offensive side of the ball. The Deshaun Watson-led passing game has been a failure through six weeks, ranking dead last in the NFL in yards per pass at 5.2. Cleveland has the third-lowest passing yards per game with just 143 and the fifth-worst completion percentage in the NFL (61.5%). They also only average 1.5 touchdowns a game on offense—not nearly enough to compete in the highly talented AFC North.
One thing the Browns may have going for them is their passing defense, which could be enough to compensate for their lack of offensive scoring. The Browns have held opponents to the second-lowest completion percentage in the NFL and rank inside the top ten in opponents' yards per pass and passes a game. One thing they will need to improve on is stopping the run, where they rank in the bottom half of the league in almost all categories. The Browns have allowed 137.6 rushing yards per game, which is 21st in the NFL, and allow 1.3 rushing touchdowns a game (27th in the NFL).
As the Bengals and Browns gear up for their Week 7 showdown, it's clear one team is trying to climb back into contention while the other is just trying to find its footing. The Bengals aren’t necessarily known for their run game, usually relying on star receivers Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins to win games—so maybe we’ll see a good matchup between them and the Browns' secondary.
J.A. Cavalier NFL Triple Crown 6-0 NFL Guarantee. 3 straight, 3 parlays. One Week NFL $99 must go 6-0 or entire NFL season free. Straight through Super Bowl.
Get free NFL Picks and NFL Predictions for the top games on the weekly 2024 NFL schedule from JA Cavalier, one of the industry's premier expert NFL handicappers. J.A. Cavalier has been bringing the NFL betting community the best NFL free picks and predictions for nearly three decades. Visit daily for the best NFL moneyline and run line odds and game totals.
Junior Browne Free PICK
Bengals -6