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| Cleveland Browns | New England Patriots |
After escaping from Houston with a come-from-behind victory last Sunday the New England Patriots hope to have a little easier time when they welcome in the 4-8 Cleveland Browns to Foxboro this Sunday afternoon.
The 9-3 Patriots own the two seed in the AFC; if they can make up one more game on top-seeded Denver they hold the head-to-head tiebreaker on the Broncos, having beaten them in Foxboro two weeks ago.
Meanwhile, Cleveland just lost at home to Jacksonville 32-28 to extend its losing streak to three games.
The last time these two teams met, three seasons ago, the Browns pulled a shocking 34-14 upset. But think back to how often New England loses in December - they are 28-2 SU in 30 recent games after the calendar flips from November.
In the early betting New England was favored by 10 points over Cleveland at Sportsbook. By Thursday, Sportsbook has the Browns at +13.
The Browns will try to spoil to the party on Sunday; they are 5-7 ATS against the number this season, while the Patriots are 6-6 ATS. Cleveland is 6-5-1 on the totals; New England is 6-6.
View Cleveland Browns vs New England Patriots Odds and Stats.
On the Sportsbook line for this matchup, the Patriots sat as 10-point favorites at shops such as Sportsbook. The total, meanwhile, has been pegged by the oddsmakers at Sportsbook at 45.
It's a betting matchup between the No. 7-rated Patriots and the No. 22-ranked Browns, according to the NFL Power Rankings here at Odds Shark. Predictive-scoring models run on this game indicate a potential 26-16 result in favor of the Patriots.
Cleveland was a 32-28 loser in its last match at home against the Jaguars. They failed to cover the 7.5-point spread as favorites, while the total score of 60 sent OVER bettors to the payout window. Tom Brady's 371-yard performance through the air was enough last time out, as New England earned a 34-31 win over Houston on Sunday at Reliant Stadium.
How They Match Up:
Offensively, the game matches up New England's No. 6-ranked offense (26.83 PPG) against a Browns defense that ranks No. 19 at 24.75 PPG. The Patriots passing attack has averaged 255 yards per game, more than the Browns give up through the air (207.83 YPG on average).
In comparing defenses, the Browns own the league's No. 19-rated front 7 in terms of stopping the run, allowing 115.8 yards per game when on the road. New England, on the other hand, rates No. 10 this week in generating rushing yards at home.
A few Browns at Patriots trends to consider:
Cleveland is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games
Cleveland is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games
Cleveland is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games on the road
Cleveland is 2-18 SU in its last 20 games on the road
New England is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of New England's last 7 games
New England is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games at home
New England is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
Next up:
Cleveland home to Chicago, Sunday, December 15th
New England at Miami, Sunday, December 15th
