Cleveland at NY Giants
Time: 7:20 PM EST, NBC
Spread: CLE -7
Total: 44.5
Odds c/o 5dimes
The Cleveland Browns are 9-4 and in 2nd place in the AFC North, trailing the Pittsburgh Steelers by two full games. It travels to face the New York Giants as 7-point favorites in NFL action Sunday night at 7:20 PM on NBC. The over-under is set at 44.5 points according to NFL Oddsmakers at bookmaker 5dimes.
CLE
Cleveland had won four straight leading into last week’s 42-47 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. It had held three opponents of its last four under 25 points leading to surrendering 35 two weeks ago in a 41-35 win over the Tennessee Titans, but the 47 points to Baltimore did prove unsurmountable for Cleveland. Lamar Jackson had a brilliant game in the loss, throwing 11 of 17 for 163 yards and a touchdown, in addition to rushing just nine times but gaining 124 yards and two rushing touchdowns, as well as a long rush of 44-yards. JK Dobbins rushed 13 times for 53 yards and a touchdown, while Gus Edwards added 49 yards on just seven carries. Mark Andrews had a big receiving game with 78 yards on his five catches, while Marquise Brown added a 44-yard catch and another with a touchdown on his six targeted passes.
The Ravens’ defense surrendered 355 passing yards and 138 on the ground, as the Baltimore Ravens were outgunned by a count of 385 to 493. The Browns were pleased with Baker Mayfield’s 28 of 47 passing and he had two touchdowns with one pick.
Mayfield dodged all sacks, and he rushed five times for 23 yards including a rushing touchdown. Nick Chubb had two rushing touchdowns and Kareem Hunt had another on his six carries for 33 yards. Hunt caught six passes for 77 yards and a touchdown, while Rashard Higgins added the other touchdown on his six catches for 68 yards. Cleveland fell to 5-2 at home in the loss. The Browns are still five games above .500, and Mayfield has been mostly a huge positive with 222.7 yards per game on 62.3 percent passing, 23 touchdowns, and eight interceptions,. He has been sacked 17 times in 13 games and his passer rating is an outstanding 96.6.
Chubb has been great in the backfield and is averaging an exceptional 5.9 yards-per-carry on his 150 attempts with nine touchdowns and 44 first downs. Hunt has rushed for 4.4 per-carry on 177 attempts, a team-high, to go with five touchdowns and 41 first downs. Mayfield has done fairly decent, but he manages just 2.5 yards-per-carry on 41 attempts with one rushing touchdown. He can definitely work on extending his yardage as an area of focus for the remainder of this season. Jarvis Landry has thrived in Cleveland, leading the team with 60 receptions for 728 yards and two touchdowns, along with a team-best 39 first downs. Rashard Higgins has 468 yards, while Odell Beckham Jr. has played just seven games this season and ranks No. 3 in yardage. Tight end Austin Hooper has contributed 30 catches for 286 yards, two touchdowns, and 16 first downs.
NYG
The New York Giants are 5-8 and in second place in the NFC East, trailing the Washington Team by one game in the division standings. The Giants will look to potentially close that gap as it hosts the Browns as 7-point dogs. New York enters having lost its last outing 7-26 to the Arizona Cardinals but having defeated four straight opponents before that last loss. The Seattle Seahawks, Cincinnati Bengals, Philadelphia Eagles, and Washington were all limited to 20 points or less, before giving up 26 last week in the loss.
The Giants overall rank excellent defensively, allowing just 22.4 points per game. The issue is an offense that manages just 18.3 per outing, ranking near the bottom in passing yards and middle-of-the-pack in rush offense. Heading the fifth-worst pass offense is the talent that is Daniel Jones. Jones has had issues adapting to the speed of the NFL, and he has thrown nine interceptions to his eight touchdowns, while also having been sacked over three times per game, with a passer rating of just 78.2
There are some positives. He has a solid 62.6 percent completion ratio and averages 238,8 yards per game, but overall he has a lot of work to do,. The backfield has had similar struggles, but Jones has done excellent in his 55 rushes this season, picking up over seven yards-per-attempt and having managed 17 first downs and a touchdown. Wayne Gallman averages 4.6 yards-per-carry and has six rushing touchdowns with his team-leading 561 yards. No other Giants are that effective, though Alfred Morris has shown promise in the six games he has appeared with 4.6 yards-per-carry, nine first downs, and a touchdown.
