Cleveland vs Oakland Betting?
Browns Head to Oakland in Battle of the 3-8 Teams
The Oakland Raiders continue what has been a very disappointing season this Sunday when they host a Cleveland Browns team with exactly the same record but has a littler optimism going forward. Cleveland appears to have a few pieces of the puzzle in place – Brandon Weeden, Trent Richardson and an emerging defense appear to be the polar opposite of an Oakland team with an aging, fading quarterback, a running game that just can’t get going and with a defense that has seriously underachieved so far this season. Both teams have struggled but the Browns have been by far the more competitive of the two teams week-in and week-out all season long.
Cleveland Browns (3-8) vs. Oakland Raiders (3-8)
Date/Time: Sunday, December 2, 4:25 PM ET
Venue: O.Co Coliseum
Broadcast: CBS
Browns vs. Raiders Betting Lines from betonline.com
Spread: Raiders -1 1/2
Moneyline: OFF
Over/Under: 45 points
Cleveland is not a good offense – just sayin’. They are 23rd in passing and a surprising 26th in rushing in the NFL – they score just 19 points per game – 27th in the league.
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But Brandon Weeden, who should play despite a concussion last week, has shown signs of improvement and the centerpiece of the offense Trent Richardson is the real deal. The rookie out of Alabama has rushed for 755 yards and added another 316 as a receiver on a team-high 41 receptions, and he has found the end zone a total of seven times on the campaign. He will get the honor of facing Oakland’s 28th ranked rush defense – a unit that seems to be getting worse as the season has worn on.
Cleveland’s defense has also been poor statistically but they too have shown signs of improvement – they did force eight turnovers last week! Truth be told, this unit is better than their 21st ranking against the pass and 19th rank versus the run. They won’t have to be great against Oakland; they just have to be decent.
What is going on in Oakland? The offense is one dimensional and fading and the defense has been absolutely dreadful as of late. The team has allowed – get this, 42.3 points per game during their four game losing streak and they made Benjarvus Green-Ellis look like a star last week.
Oakland enters Sunday’s contest with the 8th ranked passing game although Carson Palmer has been under siege lately – he simply can’t throw the ball 45 times per game anymore. Teams are catching on, playing to stop the pass and totally disregarding the threat of the run. The Raiders absolutely need their 29th ranked running game to kick into gear – this group is completely ineffective and is killing the Raiders. Darren McFadden could return this week – a sarcastic Yippee from this guy! [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Oakland’s defense – BAAAAD! They are 24th against the pass, 28th versus the run and they are dead last in the league in points against – a whopping 32.36 point per game allowed this season – OUCH!
Betting Prediction: A few trends to consider:
• Cleveland is 5-0-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Oakland
• The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Cleveland’s last 5 games
• The total has gone UNDER in 11 of Cleveland’s last 16 games on the road
• Cleveland is 6-2-1 ATS in its last 9 games on the road
• The total has gone OVER in 7 of Oakland’s last 9 games at home
• The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Oakland’s last 6 games when playing Cleveland
• Oakland is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing Cleveland
• Oakland is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games at home
The Cleveland Browns are better than their 3-8 record – they have played absolutely everybody tough this season. With Brandon Weeden gaining confidence and Trent Richardson looking like the next big thing, Cleveland has the offensive edge in this game. With Joe Haden and a defense that kicked it into a different gear last week, the Browns also have the obvious edge on offense. The Raiders stink right now – take the Browns to win their fourth game with season in impressive fashion!
Pick: Cleveland Browns +1 1/2
