The Jets (1-1) and the Browns (0-1-1) collide on Thursday night football in the first game of Week 3 (8:20 p.m., NFLN). Cleveland is holding as a three-point favorite at home, while the betting total is listed at 39. Here are odds for Browns Jets ahead of their Thursday night game.
The Browns could be 2-0 with a little more luck. They took the Steelers, who have had their number since the Cleveland franchise was resurrected in 1999, down to the wire and forced a tie before losing to the Saints in the Superdome by three points after kicker Zane Gonzalez missed two field goals and two extra points. Gonzalez was waived on Monday in favor of rookie Greg Joseph. You can bet on the Browns versus Jets right now by clicking here.
The Browns’ ground game, led by Carlos Hyde, is fifth in the NFL in rushing yards per game. Tyrod Taylor is the second-leading rusher on the team with over 100 yards on the ground already. They should be able to do enough to keep the ball moving in this one. Cleveland hasn’t excelled through the air (27th in yards per game), but rookie Antonio Callaway emerged with a couple of key catches against the Saints on Sunday. The Jets will have to study what little tape they have on him very carefully.
Here is more on odds for Browns Jets. Cleveland also has a potent pass rush led by Myles Garrett and Larry Ogunjobi, who had two sacks and two quarterback hits on Drew Brees in Week 2. The Browns rank fifth in the league through two games with seven sacks, and the Jets’ O-line has already let Sam Darnold go down five times this season. Pressuring Darnold could trigger another mistake from the rookie signal caller; he’s already thrown three INTs through two games.
The Browns’ defense has been a hazard to careless opponents, as they’ve picked off three passes and forced five fumbles through two contests. That’s contributed to a league-best plus-6 turnover differential in the early part of 2018.
The Jets haven’t been making their backers happy of late, as they’re 3-6-1 against the spread in their last 10 games away from home. They’ve enjoyed a seventh-best mark in time of possession through two games, but if the Browns control the clock on the ground, New York’s defense could prove vulnerable with fatigue weighting them down. For more on odds for Browns Jets head to Metro Bet.
Cleveland is in a peculiar position as betting favorites (they’ve been favored in just one other game since December of 2015), but they are endorsable off a 2-0 start against the spread. Per news.sportsinteraction.com, the Browns have covered in five of their last seven Thursday games. These short turnarounds can be troublesome for many teams, so that is an encouraging statistic. Expect the Browns to prevail in a relatively low-scoring contest.
Prediction: Browns win, 19-13
The play: Browns -3