Joe Flacco is still a little banged up for the Baltimore Ravens, and he is getting 7.5 points against the Cleveland Browns. We can all agree that the Ravens should be better than the Browns, but 7.5 points seems like a lot after the Browns almost beat the Steelers and the Ravens played a really pitiful Bengals team. The Bengals should get better this week, but the Browns proved that they have what it takes to win close games. They were very close, and they should not be 7.5 point underdogs to a Ravens team that has not proven anything yet.
You get three points at home
Every team in the NFL gets a three point boost when they play at home. If you were even money at home, you would be a three point favorite because you get about three points automatically from the sportsbooks when they set the lines. That makes sense because most teams play better at home than they do on the road. However, the Browns are not that much worse than the Ravens. Unless we think that the Baltimore Ravens will have a much better performance this week, I think it would be fair to assume the Browns will cover.
The Ravens need to show more
The Ravens may not prove much this week if the Browns have many rookie moments on their offense. They had a big drop from Kenny Britt last weekend, and they need to make sure that DeShone Kizer is not making bad choices.
The Ravens will get a bigger test in the weeks to come as they go through their schedule, but they should not overlook the Browns. A Browns team that is improving every week could scare the Ravens because the Ravens may see that they are close to being passed over by other teams in this division. Joe Flacco is not that old, but he could be losing his best years to mismanagement in Baltimore.
The Browns are coached better
The Browns are coached much better than the Ravens at the present time, and that is partly due to the fact that the Browns are using much better information to draft and sign players. There are a number of people who will find that the Browns look fresher than the Ravens. The Browns could lose, but they will look better because they are in a new system, with a new coach, and many new players.
The game will tell us a lot
If the game is close or the Browns win, we will be shocked by how that makes the Ravens look. They should have blown out the Bengals, and they cannot assume that they will beat the Browns. The Browns are getting better, and they are trying to be sure that they can perform against better teams in the league.