Sportsbooks have the Cleveland Browns as underdogs Week 4
By Dan Justik
After being favored to defeat the New York Jets, the Cleveland Browns return to their underdog role when they take on the Oakland Raiders.
Despite the change at quarterback and having one of the best defenses in the NFL this season, most sportsbooks have the Cleveland Browns as underdogs against the Oakland Raiders.
Cleveland entered their Week 3 game against the New York Jets as three-point home favorites for the first time since 2015, according to ESPN’s Ben Fawkes.
The Browns covered the spread in their 21-17 victory over the Jets after overcoming a 14-point deficit with Baker Mayfield leading the comeback.
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But even with Mayfield under center, the Vegas sportbooks determined that playing on the road with a rookie at quarterback will make it tough for the Browns to win on Sunday.
According to OddsShark, all but one sportsbook has the Browns as underdogs – the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook has the game as a pick’em.
Even though the Browns look to be much improved, they have not won a road game since Week 5 of the 2015 season, when they beat the Baltimore Ravens. So it is not a surprise that they are seen as underdogs for a west coast road game.
But at most, the Browns are only seen as three-point underdogs Sunday. That just proves how bad the Raiders have been this season.
Oakland entered the season with some lofty expectations with Jon Gruden returning as head coach. But after overhauling the roster, including trading Khalil Mack, the Raiders have struggled at the start of the season.
The Raiders have been solid on offense, but have lacked the consistency for all four quarters to win games. The defense has been a different story for the Raiders. It has been evident that they have been unable to replace the talent of Mack.
Next. Browns officially name Baker Mayfield as starting QB. dark
The Browns will be a popular pick as underdogs for most bettors. If they play at the level they did Thursday night when Mayfield entered the game, the Browns will help some people make money this Sunday.