The Cincinnati Bengals (4-3) visit the Cleveland Browns (2-5) for an 8:15 p.m. ET kickoff in the Week 8 Monday Night Football game on ESPN. Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Bengals vs. Browns odds, and make our expert NFL picks and predictions.
The Bengals offense has started to roll after a slow start, amassing 65 total points over the past 2 games. Cincinnati could hit a speed bump, though, as it lost WR Ja’Marr Chase to a hip injury. While it seems he’ll avoid the reserve/injured list, the dynamic wideout is expected to miss 4-6 weeks.
Bengals QB Joe Burrow is 0-3 in his short career vs. the Browns, including 0-2 during his rookie season of 2020. In just the 2nd game of his career, he lost a 35-30 thriller under the lights in Cleveland on a Thursday night despite throwing for 316 yards and 3 TDs. Five games later, he lost 37-34 in Cincy despite 406 passing yards and 4 TDs (3 passing, 1 rushing). Last season in a 41-16 home loss, he threw for 282 yards with 2 INTs, and he didn’t play at Cleveland in Week 18 as the Bengals already secured their playoff spot.
The Browns have a dismal 2-5 record this season, but 4 of the losses have come by a total of 9 points, including 23-20 at Baltimore in Week 7 as 6.5-point underdogs. Cleveland is 1-3 straight up and against the spread (SU/ATS) in 4 home games, but it won its only prime-time matchup there this season, beating the Pittsburgh Steelers 29-17 in Week 3 on a Thursday night.