A pair of struggling teams will meet on Thursday Night Football when the Denver Broncos take on the Cleveland Browns in a key AFC matchup. The Broncos (3-3), who opened the season on a roll, have now dropped three in a row following Sunday’s 34-24 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. The injury-depleted Browns (3-3), meanwhile, have lost two in a row following Sunday’s 37-14 defeat to the Arizona Cardinals. Denver is just one game out of first place in the AFC West, while the Browns are two games behind the first-place Baltimore Ravens in the AFC North standings. Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield (shoulder) and starting running backs Nick Chubb (calf) and Kareem Hunt (calf) will not play.
Kickoff from FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland is set for 8:20 p.m. ET. Cleveland is a two-point favorite in the latest Broncos vs. Browns odds from Caesars Sportsbook, while the over-under for total points scored is 41.5. Before making any Browns vs. Broncos picks, be sure to see the NFL predictions from SportsLine’s Emory Hunt.
Hunt is the founder and CEO of Football Gameplan, which has been supplying analysis of all levels of football since 2007, and a former running back at Louisiana-Lafayette. He knows the game from a player’s perspective.
Hunt has had a lot of success in games involving the Cleveland Browns. He went 10-2 in his last 12 against-the-spread NFL picks in Cleveland games, returning $780 to $100 players. Anyone who has followed him is way up.
Now, Hunt has broken down Browns vs. Broncos from every angle and just locked in his NFL expert picks. You can head to SportsLine to see Hunt’s picks. Here are the NFL odds and betting lines for Broncos vs. Browns:
- Broncos vs. Browns spread: Cleveland -2
- Broncos vs. Browns over-under: 41 points
- Broncos vs. Browns money line: Denver +115, Cleveland -135
- DEN: Broncos are 11-3 against the spread in their last 14 Thursday games
- CLE: Browns are 5-2 ATS in their last seven games following an ATS loss
Featured Game | Cleveland Browns vs. Denver Broncos
Why the Browns can cover
The Browns are 3-3 against the spread at home and, despite the rash of injuries, will play in front of their home fans. Case Keenum will start for the Browns in place of Baker Mayfield (shoulder) in a revenge game of sorts. In 16 games played for the Broncos in 2018, Keenum tossed 18 touchdowns and threw for almost 4,000 yards. He also rushed for a pair of scores.
For his career, Keenum has thrown 75 touchdowns and has a 62.3 completion percentage. Backup D’Ernest Johnson will serve as the team’s early-down back in place of Chubb. In a game against Dallas last year, Johnson rushed 13 times for 95 yards, averaging a brisk 7.3 yards per carry.
Why the Broncos can cover
Despite that, Cleveland is not a lock to cover the Broncos vs. Browns spread. That’s because Denver has had Cleveland’s number, winning 12 of the last 13 meetings. Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater is off to a solid start to the season, but took a beating on Sunday against the Raiders and was sacked five times.
When he was upright, he completed 35-of-49 passes (71.4 percent) for a season-high 334 yards and three touchdowns. He was also picked off three times. In three road games this year, Bridgewater has 880 passing yards (293.3 per game) and six touchdowns and one interception for a 110.9 rating.
How to make Broncos vs. Browns picks
For Thursday Night Football, Hunt is leaning over the point total, but he also has identified a critical X-factor that makes one side of the spread a must-back. He’s sharing what it is, and which side to back, only at SportsLine.
So who wins Browns vs. Broncos on Thursday Night Football? And what critical X-factor makes one side a must-back? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the spread you should be all over, all from the expert who is 10-2 on NFL picks involving Cleveland, and find out.
