R.J. Bell makes Cleveland Browns vs Titans his best bet of the week

R.J. Bell calls Cleveland Browns vs. Titans best bet of the week

R. J. Bell of Fox Sports’ Straight Outta Vegas made the Cleveland Browns his best bet of the week against the Tennessee Titans this Sunday, with Baker Mayfield‘s track record contributing considerably to his rationale.

As always, this writer cautions up front that he is not a gambler, and is not advocating any particular betting position to DPD readers. He does believe that the Vegas sports analysts are among the very best in the world and tend to get things about as right as they can be.

In that regard, Bell offered the following commentary on Baker Mayfield. He has had trouble against high-speed, high-pressure defenses like Pittsburgh and Baltimore, but Tennessee doesn’t fit into that category. The Pittsburgh Steelers are the No. 1 sack generating team in the NFL with 41. The Titans are not quite as good, ranking 29th in the NFL with 14. Hence a good game from Mayfield is expected.

Moreover, the Titans are coming off an impressive win versus the Colts, but who were without DeForest Buckner, who is a difference-maker. It’s not obvious whether they missed Buckner so much that they gave up 45 points, but nevertheless, Bell apparently feels that Buckner is a critical part of the Colts’ defense. At any rate, Bell suspects that the rest of Vegas may have overreacted to the recent success of the Titans, and believes that the spread should be more like 3 points rather than -5.5 points. He believes in the theory of buying low and selling high, and Titans’ stock is at an all-time high right now. Tennessee is good, but perhaps have not really gotten that much better since the beginning of the year.

He further went on to say that the under could be attractive at 53, because both teams like to run the ball, and the two teams may burn too much clock to allow the score to go too high.

Bell also mentioned that he believes that Mayfield’s recent low statistical output shouldn’t be held against him because of the high winds that have been present in recent games. The more normal wind conditions and expected lack of a heroic pass rush could lead to a good game for Mayfield.

The Titans are ranked 26th in the NFL versus the pass, and 16th in rushing yards allowed. The Browns, on the other hand, are 20th versus the pass and ninth against the run. Defensively, Cleveland would seem to have an advantage.

Offensively, the Titans offense is ranked 17th in passing yardage and second in rushing yards.  The Browns offense is 30th in passing yards and first in rushing yards. Incidentally, the team that ranks 31st in passing yards is also an AFC North team, the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens also like to run the ball, though they have been off their game lately due to a combination of injuries as well as Covid-19.

Tennessee appears to be somewhat more balanced than the Browns; however as mentioned previously, a big part of Bell’s thinking is to not put too much stock in passing numbers achieved during conditions of strong wind and hostile elements.

Playing the Titans is not going to be a piece of cake. They’re a good team, but according to R.J. Bell, they may not be that much better than the Browns. If he’s right, it may be a very close game on Sunday.