The Cleveland Browns won four of their last five games last season and they could be improved vs. the NFL betting odds in 2010. The problem for Cleveland is a schedule that ranks as the 10th toughest in the league. NFL odds won’t favor Cleveland very often as the Browns don’t have many easy games.
NFL betting odds don’t even favor the Browns at Tampa Bay in their season opener and if you are not favored over the Bucs you are probably not going to be favored at all in 2010. Cleveland usually opens the regular season at home but not this season. The opener at Tampa Bay will end 11 straight seasons with the Browns opening at home. That might be good news for Cleveland considering they lost 10 of those 11 home games.
If the Browns can win at Tampa Bay in their opener they could be favored at home in NFL betting odds in Week 2 as they host Kansas City. They could be underdogs the rest of the year though. The Browns go to Baltimore in Week 3 before hosting Cincinnati in Week 4. Cleveland should be a home dog in Week 5 vs. the Falcons. They will be road underdogs at Pittsburgh in Week 6 and at New Orleans in Week 7. Cleveland’s bye this season comes in Week 8.
Good luck to the Browns after their bye week. They host New England in Week 9 and the New York Jets in Week 10. They then go to Jacksonville in Week 11 before hosting Carolina in Week 12. They go out on the road again for a very tough three-game trip that begins in Week 13 at Miami. It continues in Buffalo in Week 14 in what will probably be a cold weather game and concludes in Cincinnati in Week 15. The Browns last two home games will not be easy vs. the NFL odds as they host Baltimore in Week 16 and Pittsburgh in Week 17.
Cleveland has a new quarterback in Jake Delhomme and a new team president in Mike Holmgren. The Browns should be better than a year ago but their schedule might make it difficult for that improvement to show in 2010.