The Cleveland Browns (0-1) and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-1) meet Sunday for their Week 2 game at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET (CBS). Let's analyze NFL odds around the Browns vs. Buccaneers odds and make our expert NFL picks and predictions for the best bets.
The Browns lead the all-time series 7-4, including a 23-17 overtime win in the most recent meeting Nov. 27, 2022, in Cleveland. The Bucs won 26-23, also in OT, in the most recent meeting in Tampa -- nearly wight years ago. In fact, the home team has won 4 in a row in the series since Sept. 12, 2010.
Cleveland opened this season with an uninspiring 34-10 loss at Jacksonville, coming nowhere near covering as a 9.5-point underdog as the Over (40.5)
cashed. In fact, the Over hit because rookie WR Denzel Boston had a 46-yard catch from QB Deshaun Watson with 1:52 left to flip from an Under.
Watson replaced current Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield in Cleveland. Mayfield was run out of town after spending his first 4 NFL seasons with the Browns. Team management thought Watson was an upgrade over the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. That turned out to be one of the biggest miscalculations in NFL history.
Watson has been an abject disaster in his 4-plus seasons in Cleveland, and he was foolishly given a fully guaranteed $230 million contract. He has played 20 games for the Browns, throwing for 3,570 yards, 20 TDs and 13 INTs. He had 4,823 passing yards, 33 TDs and 7 INTs in the 2020 season, alone, for the Houston Texans.
Tampa Bay suffered a 33-27 loss in Cincinnati last week, with Mayfield losing 3 fumbles. So, not only will Mayfield be motivated against Watson and the Browns, he'll be on a mission to put the Week 1 disaster in the rear-view mirror.
THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL: Best prop bets
Browns at Buccaneers odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Saturday at 9 p.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Browns +350 (bet $100 to win $350) | Buccaneers -450 (bet $450 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Browns +9 (-110) | Buccaneers -9 (-108)
- Over/Under (O/U): 41.5 (O: -105 | U: -112)
Browns at Buccaneers injuries
Browns
- OG Teven Jenkins (back) out
- CB Tyson Campbell (ankle) questionable
Buccaneers
- S Miles Killebrew (concussion) questionable
- WR Jalen McMillan (knee) questionable
- CB Jacob Parrish (back) questionable
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Browns at Buccaneers picks and predictions
Prediction
Buccaneers 31, Browns 13
Moneyline
Buccaneers (-450) will cost you 4.5 times your potential return, and there is never a reason to bet such a heavy favorite straight up in an NFL game. Even if you folded Tampa into a multi-leg parlay, there is very little value there.
PASS.
Against the spread
Back BUCCANEERS -9 (-108) in this Mayfield revenge game. He is likely going to be a Superman in this game, doing whatever he can to get Tampa Bay the win -- and by a lot. It's personal, no matter how he may try to spin it. Publicly, yeah, he said it's not personal. Privately, you know it is otherwise.
The Browns offense struggled in Week 1, yes, but it was their defense which got very little pressure on the quarterback in the loss in Duval.
Over/Under
OVER 41.5 (-105) is the lean -- but go with a half-unit play at most.
Backing the Over in a game involving the Browns is risky, but the Buccaneers defense wasn't exactly stout in Cincinnati in Week 1.
Both offenses put their defenses in bad positions with turnovers. If the offenses can take better care of the ball, the scoring will be lower than Week 1. However, this is still a really low number, and, again, let's bank on revenge for Mayfield.
Betting odds calculator
For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW. Follow Daniel Dobish on X at @danieledobish. Follow SportsbookWire on X at SportsBookWire and on Facebook.
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This article originally appeared on Sportsbook Wire: Cleveland Browns at Tampa Bay Buccaneers odds, picks and predictions
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