Houston Texans vs. Cleveland Browns Odds & Game Pick (2021)

Sep 17, 2021 - 10:50 AM

The Cleveland Browns looked good against the Kansas City Chiefs. They gave up a last-second score to lose, but overall they looked like a great team. Baker Mayfield looked great, and both running backs were fantastic. The defense looked great against one of the top offenses in the NFL. Cleveland Browns are a legit football team this year and proved that they have a chance to win every game they play this year. 

Houston surprised everyone last week. Without DeShaun Watson, teams were uncertain of what would happen in this game. Jacksonville is a very inexperienced team. They will grow as the year goes on, but the Houston Texans ran the ball well, and their defense got turnovers. Tyrod Taylor has plenty of experience and is a quarterback that can win games. Houston still has some questions going into the season, but they looked better than expected. 

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Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook

Details

• Opening Lines: Cleveland Browns  -13.5, Total 46
• Last Game: November 15, 2020, Cleveland Browns 10-7
• Winning Streak: Cleveland Browns (1)

Overview

The Houston Texans offense put up 37 points last week. Without Deshaun Watson, that is an enormous step for the offense. Tyrod Taylor looked great. He took care of the football, made great throws, and Brandin Cooks was a deep threat all game. The running game looked great with Mark Ingram leading the backfield. Houston has the potential to be a decent team this year. They played a young Jacksonville team, but they showed they are better than initially advertised. 

Defensively, Houston had its ups and downs. They caused three turnovers, but Jacksonville threw the ball 51 times with a rookie quarterback. Don’t expect three turnovers every week for this Houston Texans defense. Houston is going to get more pressure on the quarterback. They had a sack on Trevor Lawerence, but with quarterbacks becoming more mobile, they will need to create more ways to get pressure. Upfront, this defense is going to have to do better to stop these Cleveland running backs. 

The Cleveland Browns looked like a top-tier team this year. Making the Kansas City Chiefs plan to the very last minute to win that game. Baker Mayfield played hard. He threw 21/28 for 321 yards but had one interception. Their running game looked amazing. The Cleveland Browns have weapons on offense and are going to score points in this game. Baker will take care of the ball better than Trevor Lawerence, which will take away points from Houston.

Cleveland’s defense gave up points to the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs are one of the top offenses in the NFL. Tyreek Hill, Travis Kelce, and Patrick Mahomes will score points every week. Defensively this team is better than they showed in Week 1. Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney will be able to get to the quarterback. During the offseason, they beefed up their secondary. Expect this team to give up fewer points to the Houston Texans than the Kansas City Chiefs.

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Bottom Line

I like teasing this line up to 50 then grabbing the under. With Cleveland’s running game and their defense, Houston will score less than they did last week. Houston handed the ball off a lot last week. That will continue this week. Both of these teams are going to eat the clock with their running game. With the pressure from Myles Garrett and Jaedevon Clowney, expect Tyrod Taylor to check down to short passes in the throwing game. The under hits in this one, but feel free to tease it for a more sure bet.

Pick: Teaser: Total Under 50 (-140)

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Cameron Lynch is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Cameron, check out his archive and follow him @captron26.

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