The AFC North will see its third and fourth place competitors square off this week. The Cincinnati Bengals will play host to the winless Cleveland Browns. A week ago the Browns suffered their sixth straight loss, this time in a two-point loss on the road in Tennessee. Meanwhile, the Bengals lost their second straight game. This time it was a blowout loss to Tom Brady and the Patriots.
The Browns may not have a win this season, but they have played in their handful of close games. They took the Dolphins to overtime in week three, after only a five-point loss in week two at home to the Ravens. Then last week on the road they were less than a field goal away from a win. So while their defense is pretty bad, they find a way to stay in games every so often. Terrelle Pryor is one of the team’s most dangerous weapons, but he is dealing with a hamstring issue. If he plays, he could get a lot of action this week against the Bengals.
I have said it before and I will say it again. I never trust the Bengals as big favorites. They always seem to disappoint, and I do not feel comfortable laying ten with them. Marvin Lewis loves to run a conservative offense. So even if Andy Dalton and AJ Green put the team up big early, the team will go into prevent mode. That will lead to the Browns scoring a few times, and at the end of the day, they could very well be within 10 points. The Bengals do have a solid defense, but I am banking on Marvin being Marvin.
For all week seven NFL Spreads and Over/Under’s, check out our NFL week 7 Betting Odds master-sheet here.
Line: Bengals -10, O/U: 48.5
Pick: Browns and the over
Result: Cin 31 – Cle 17, Bengals and the under