Lions vs. Browns Point Spread: NFL Week 11 Odds, Prediction
The Browns were humbled in last week’s 45-7 loss in New England, and have now fallen to defeat in four of their past six. The Lions fell just short of their first victory of the season in last weekend’s 16-16 tie with the Steelers in Pittsburgh, and have now failed to find the win column in 13 straight outings.
There has been plenty of movement on the Week 11 betting lines since Cleveland opened as a 10.5-point home favourite. The Browns briefly vaulted to 13.5-point chalk, but with sports bettors backing the Lions with 68% of bets, Cleveland has since faded back to -11.5. With neither of these teams lighting up the scoreboard with any consistency, the total has been in steady decline since opening at 46.0, dipping to its current position at 43.5.
NFL Point Spread and Betting Analysis
Sunday afternoon’s matchup at FirstEnergy Stadium marks the first meeting between these two teams since November 2017. While wins have been scarce for the Lions recently, they have dominated in head-to-heads dates with Cleveland, winning outright in each of their past four. Detroit’s past two victories have come by wide double-digits, including a decisive 31-17 win in their last trip to Cleveland, in 2013. The Lions now visit a Browns squad that is struggling to generate offence on home turf, averaging fewer than 14 points per game over their past three. However, Detroit has not fared much better on the road during their epic 0-12-1 slide, averaging just 16.6 points per game while going 0-4-1 on the road this season.
Detroit Lions
Injuries have emerged as a major concern for the Lions. After suffering an oblique injury last weekend in Pittsburgh, quarterback Jared Goff sat out Wednesday practice, making way for Tim Boyle to take the majority of first-team reps. Boyle has been dealing with ailments of his own since suffering a thumb injury during the preseason, and must be reactivated from the IR if he is to make his first career NFL start on Sunday. Detroit’s 29th-ranked offence is also dealing with a banged up backfield, with rushers D’Andre Swift, Jermar Jefferson, and Jamaal Williams all nursing injuries that limited them in Wednesday practice.
Cleveland Browns
It’s often been said that good teams rebound from bad beats with big wins. That maxim will be put to the test in Cleveland as the Browns look to overcome last week’s humiliation in New England. Last weekend’s defeat marked the Browns’ fourth straight up defeat in six games, and the fifth time in seven outings that they have been limited to 17 or fewer points. Of course, the Browns have demonstrated their ability to run up the score by topping 40 points on two occasions during that same span. But much will depend on how things progress with the current rash of injuries that have brought the status of several key offensive personnel into doubt, including passer Baker Mayfield, and receivers Jarvis Landry, Donovan Peoples-Jones, and Anthony Schwartz.
DET
CLE