Earlier this year, the Cleveland Indians shocked the gambling community when they put together a jaw-dropping 14 win streak. It had been a while since we had seen such an impressive win streak in the MLB, but now it seems that the city of Cleveland is hell bent on achieving another surprising streak. However, this time it’s in the NFL and instead of a win streak, it is an appalling losing streak. The NFL football odds didn’t predict a breakout season for the Browns, but it also didn’t foretell a winless year either.
Heading into Week 11, the Browns will be desperately trying to pick up their first win of the season. Unfortunately, they’ll have to try and accomplish that task against one of the toughest opponents in the AFC North, the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers will be coming into this game at 4-5, also desperately trying to snap their own losing streak, albeit theirs is only a 4 game losing streak. With both team’s heads hanging low, what kind of football betting lines will the bookies throw together for this contest?
NFL Odds – Week 11 – Sunday, November 20th
Pittsburgh Steelers -7½ (-110) 48½ (-110)
Cleveland Browns +7½ (-110) 48½ (-110)
Considering that the Browns are 0-16, the NFL football odds are obviously going to side with the Steelers. Unfortunately for Pittsburgh, the Steelers haven’t been playing their best football and the Browns keep inching closer and closer to their first win of the season with each passing week. With that in mind, is it plausible for Cleveland to be sitting at 1-10 after this weekend’s football action is completed?
Looking over both these teams’ numbers, it doesn’t seem like the city of Cleveland should be holding their breath. Pittsburgh may have been playing pretty shoddy these last couple of weeks, but they still have a tremendous amount of talent on their roster. Behind Ben Roethlisberger’s off-the-cuff improvisations, the Steelers will be coming into this contest with the 4th best passing offense. On the other side of the ball, the Browns will be coming into Sunday’s matchup with the 27th worst pass defense in the NFL, as well as a -5 turnover ratio. There’s no sense beating around the bush; Roethlisberger will be having a walk in the park this Sunday, knowing how poor Cleveland is against the pass, and how poor they are at forcing turnovers.
Accounting for how much Roethlisberger will carve the Browns’ defense, it will be imperative for Cleveland’s offense to keep up with Pittsburgh’s aerial assault. However, considering that the Browns have the 28th worst total offense, the 27th worst passing offense, and the 22nd worst rushing offense, it’s very unlikely that they’ll be able to keep up. Betting fans might want to trust the NFL football odds for this contest.