Memories of Week 11 in Detroit must have haunted the Bears heading into last Sunday’s clash with the Lions. They had a double-digit lead with only minutes to play, yet allowed Detroit to steal a 31-26 win. In Week 14 they would not make the same mistake again, winning convincingly, 28-13. The Browns are one of the biggest question marks of the AFC. Joe Flacco – yes, Joe Flacco – led them to a 31-27 victory over the Jaguars to keep their playoff aspirations rather healthy.

Expectations are tempered for the Browns, who sit as -3.5 favourites on the NFL odds.

NFL Point Spread and Betting Analysis

Chicago-Cleveland matchups don’t get top billing. For one, they only play each other once every few years. Second, it’s been ages since both were relevant in the same season when they were scheduled to meet. For what it’s worth, the Bears have captured three of the four most recent tête-à-têtes, although Cleveland won the most recent in 2021.

Betters have reasons to smile when considering the Bears against the spread. Chicago has at least covered four of its five most recent opportunities, with the outlier being a push. That streak puts them at 6-5-1 for the campaign. The opposite is true of the over, which has not connected in five of the team’s last six games. Don’t look now, but the Bears are playing slightly better on defence these days.

Cleveland continues to defy expectations. At 8-5, they are in the playoff picture even though the race with their competition is tight. They’re also 8-5 ATS, so betters can consider them as a viable prop heading into this matchup. Their last six games have seen covers correlate with outright wins and vice versa.

Chicago Bears

Perhaps the Bears are experiencing a late-season surge the likes of which the very team they flattened on Sunday had two seasons ago. After a miserable campaign, the Bears have won twice in a row, including a decisive 28-13 showing versus the Lions at home.

No one needed to remind Chicago what happened just a few weeks prior when they fumbled, literally and figuratively, a road game against Detroit in the fourth quarter. They looked like a unit on a mission to right that wrong and serve a bad loss to the Lions. Done and done. Chicago’s defence limited Detroit’s oft-vaunted attack to 13 first downs, 267 yards, and 13 points. It also sacked Jared Goff four times. The play of the day came in the third quarter. With the score tied 13-13, Justin Fields found DR Moore down the left side for a 38-yard touchdown on third down. Moore had also scored as a runner earlier in the game, and Fields would do so in the fourth to put the game out of reach.

Cleveland Browns

In a bewildering statistic, Joe Flacco became the fourth Browns starting quarterback to win a game this season. Deshaun Watson, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, and PJ Walker have also done the honours.

Cleveland wasn’t the only team with question marks surrounding them heading into the game. No one knew if Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence would play. He did and may have regretted it. In a turnover-filled game, Cleveland’s secondary picked him off three times. With short fields to work with the Browns offence handled the rest. Even so, it was an all-around solid day at the office given the 389 total yards.

Joe Flacco seems to love throwing to David Njoku, who caught six passes for 91 yards and two scores. Amari Cooper has steadily recovered from what ailed him recently, taking in seven balls for 77 yards. The defence tired out a bit down the stretch, giving up two fourth quarters TDs, but the Browns held on 31-27. Are the Flacco-led Browns a playoff team? Maybe!

OT Jedrick Wills Jr. (knee) is out for the season.

Who Will Win Bears vs. Browns?

BEARS

Away

16

BROWNS

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