Philadelphia at Cleveland
Time: Noon (EST), FOX
Spread: CLE -2.5
Total: 47
Odds c/o 5dimes
The Cleveland Browns are 6-3 and trail only 9-0 Pittsburgh in the AFC North standings. The Browns enter this week as 2.5-point favorites over the visiting Philadelphia Eagles. The game will air at Noon (EST) on FOX, and the over-under is set at 47 total points according to oddsmakers at 5dimes.
CLE
Cleveland rallied a 10-7 win over the Houston Texans last week but still has lost 2 of its last 4 overall. The Browns went 1-1 at home the last two weeks, and this week will be its final at home before taking to the road to face Philadelphia and Tennessee.
The Browns possess the third-best rush offense in the NFL at 159.0 yards per game. Its passing game lingers bottom-five at just 188.8 yards per game. The Browns generate 23.8 points per game itself, while the defense surrenders 27.1 on average, accounting for the Browns’ negative point differential of -3.3.
The story offensively mostly revolves around quarterback Baker Mayfield. Mayfield has changed the fates of the Browns, and in turn helped to change the culture, to that of a winning atmosphere. He has 1,646 passing yards this season with a 61.3 percent completion ratio to go along with 15 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He has been sacked 1.33 times per game for an average loss of eight yards per game, and his passer rating is decent, at 90.0. Mayfield has added another 66 yards on his 22 rush attempts, but he has also rushed for five first downs this season. Lead backfield options Kareem Hunt and Nick Chubb are feasting on having a competent offensive line. Hunt has 633 yards on 134 attempts and three touchdowns, while Chubb leads all rushers in yards-per-carry at 6.1 and also leads the team in touchdowns (five).
Jarvin Landry and Odell Beckham Jr are the top-two receivers. Landry has 448 yards and 20 first downs, both of which lead the Browns, but he has no touchdowns. Beckham trails him with 319 yards and second-best three touchdowns. Hunt leads the team in receiving touchdowns, coming out of the backfield to have caught 21 of 29 targeted looks for 141 yards and 10 first downs. Between Hunt and tight end Harrison Bryant, the Browns possess up to six competent receivers, and seven players are better than 100 yards in fact. Rashard Higgins is a versatile third-receiver with 225 yards and two touchdowns, but he has been targeted just 19 times (having caught 15).
PHI
The Philadelphia Eagles are 3-5-1 this season but rank atop the NFC East, a division that is not resident to a single team with a winning record. The Eagles even have a slight lead on the 3-7 second-place New York Giants. Despite this, Philadelphia has been outscored 232-203 this season and it struggled last week against the Giants, too, putting up just 17 points while the defense allowed 27.
The Eagles do possess the No. 10 rush offense at 122.8 yards per game, but it trails in passing yardage at No. 27, with just 209 per game. The Eagles are mediocre overall, accordingly, scoring 22.3 points per game while giving up 25.8. A -2.8 point differential befits a 3-5-1 team, of course, but if the Eagles are to take seriously the notion that it can win its way into the playoffs merely by going above .500, it could begin to do more damage than it has thus far even.
Carson Wentz has thrown for 2,091 yards, but he has thrown 12 interceptions and been sacked 35 times, nearly four times per game. His passer rating is just 73.1, and his completion ratio is below 60 percent (58.2). The veteran certainly has had brighter seasons in times ago. He has been bailed out by the voracious rushing of Miles Sanders. The Eagles’ top backfield performer has 519 yards while making good on a six yard-per-carry average. Additionally, the team averages 5.1 yards-per-carry with 10 touchdowns via the rush.
The receivers add 12 more touchdowns, with Travis Fulgham and Greg Ward accounting for seven of those.
