The Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns meet Monday in week 8 NFL action at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Cincinnati Bengals look for a win after winning 4 of their last 5 games. The Cleveland Browns look to snap a 4-game losing streak.
The Cincinnati Bengals have split their last 4 road games. Joe Burrow is completing 68.9 percent of his passes for 2,097 yards, 15 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. Ja’Marr Chase and Tyler Boyd have combined for 1,060 receiving yards and 9 touchdowns, while Tee Higgins has 31 receptions. The Cincinnati Bengals ground game is averaging 87.4 yards per contest, and Joe Mixon leads the way with 405 yards and 2 touchdowns. Defensively, Cincinnati is allowing 18.9 points and 321.1 yards per game. Germaine Pratt leads the Cincinnati Bengals with 50 tackles, Trey Hendrickson has 3.5 sacks and Vonn Bell has 3 interceptions.
The Cleveland Browns have lost 3 of their last 4 home games. Jacoby Brissett is completing 62.7 percent of his passes for 1,584 yards, 6 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. Amari Cooper and David Njoku have combined for 840 receiving yards and 5 touchdowns, while Donovan Peoples-Jones has 26 receptions. The Cleveland Browns ground game is averaging 163.6 yards per contest, and Nick Chubb leads the way with 740 yards and 8 touchdowns. Defensively, Cleveland is allowing 26.6 points and 346 yards per game. Jacob Phillips leads the Cleveland Browns with 46 tackles, Myles Garrett has 6 sacks and Denzel Ward has 1 interception.
The Bengals are 8-1 ATS in their last 9 road games and 13-3 ATS in their last 16 games overall. The Browns are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 home games and 2-6 ATS in their last 8 Monday games. The under is 10-2 in Bengals last 12 games overall. The over is 5-2 in Browns last 7 games overall. The Bengals are 7-1 ATS in their last 8 meetings in Cleveland and 12-3 ATS in their last 15 meetings. The underdog is 5-0 ATS in their last 5 meetings.
You can make a case for the Cleveland Browns in the underdog role at home as they're in a must win spot, they're playing a hated rival and there's still talent on this team with the fourth best rushing attack in the league. With that said, the Browns have been awful during this losing stretch, mainly on the defensive side where they can't stop the run, and they're 29th in scoring defense. The Cincinnati Bengals are playing their best ball of the season, and they're a balanced club that's top 10 in scoring offense and scoring defense. We're not being asked to lay anything crazy. I'll grab the Bengals by a touchdown.
AUTHOR: Randy Chambers
Follow Randy Chambers on Twitter @WizardOf0dds