Bears vs. Browns Odds, Betting Picks and Predictions for Week 3

by Nick Galaida (nickgalaida) Last Updated 2021-09-26 11:42:17

Bears vs. Browns Odds

The Chicago Bears and the Cleveland Browns will face-off in Week 3 of the young NFL season on Sunday afternoon at FirstEnergy Stadium. Despite both teams entering play with the same record, oddsmakers are expecting a relatively easy victory for Cleveland, pricing the Browns as greater than a touchdown favorite on the spread.

Let’s take a deeper look at the matchup to see where bettors can find value at sportsbooks in this contest.

Chicago Bears +7.5 (-110)

In Week 2, Justin Fields relieved an injured Andy Dalton and finished off a 20-17 victory against the Cincinnati Bengals. Earlier this week, it was announced that Fields will get the opportunity to start his first career game against the Browns. Fields can outrun almost anyone on the field, but if his performance against Cincinnati was any indication, he has a long way to go before he will be a threat from the pocket. In relief, he completed only 6-of-13 pass attempts for 60 yards, including a poor throw that resulted in an interception. Other than Jason Peters, the Bears’ offensive line has played extremely poorly early this season. Chicago could have an incredibly difficult time moving the ball against Cleveland’s ferocious defensive line if the Bears do not get better efforts from their big men up front.

On the other side of the ball, Chicago’s ability to make an impact in the trenches likely will not go much better for their defensive linemen. Against Cincinnati, this group was decidedly mediocre, despite the Bengals having an extremely porous offensive line. Bilal Nichols, Robert Quinn, and Khalil Mack all recorded a sack in their Week 2 win, but a couple of those sacks happened with the defender going untouched to the quarterback—something that certainly will not happen against a much better Browns offensive line this weekend. Roquan Smith continues to be an underrated linebacker in the NFL and is off to a fantastic start in 2021. He had a pick-six last week and figures to be a difference-maker going forward. However, this secondary is still incredibly vulnerable, being forced to start Kindle Vildor, DeAndre Houston-Carson, and Eddie Jackson. Cleveland is likely to have their way however they want it on Sunday—whether that be on the ground or through the air.

Cleveland Browns -7.5 (-110)

Through two weeks this fall, Baker Mayfield leads all qualified quarterbacks with an 81.6 completion percentage. Yet, this is not the result of conservative play calling. Per CBS, 16.3 percent of Mayfield’s throws have been 206 yard down-the-field, which is one of the highest rates in the league. On Sunday, he will be without Jarvis Landry, but “(player-popup #odell-beckham)Odell Beckham Jr is finally expected to make his long-anticipated return to the field after tearing his ACL last October against the Bengals. The return of Beckham is only going to make life easier for one of the best offenses in football that features an exceptional offensive line, and arguably the league’s best running back tandem with Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt.

On the defensive side of the ball, Cleveland is still trying to develop some on-field chemistry after quite a few offseason additions. Jadeveon Clowney has been unspectacular through two weeks, but the rest of the line—Myles Garrett, Malik McDowell, and Malik Jackson, have all performed well so far this fall. Denzel Ward did not have his best game against the Houston Texans, allowing six catches for 99 yards, but bettors can confidently rule out Week 2 as an outlier after three consecutive seasons of above-average production in coverage. Cleveland’s biggest vulnerability is the deep-ball, which should not be an issue with Fields under center this weekend. Expect Cleveland to have their best defensive performance of the year when they take on Chicago.

Bears vs. Browns Picks

Cleveland is likely to dominate the trenches in this game, which should result in a comfortable victory for the Browns. However, after the news broke that Fields would be the starting quarterback this week, the line moved to the unfavorable side of seven points for those wishing to back the home favorites in this one.

As we saw last week with narrow covers from a handful of teams, including the Los Angeles Rams missing covering by only a half-point, it is worth it to buy a point here to get on the right side of a touchdown. Back the Browns in this one at -6.5.

PICK: Browns -6.5 (-130)

Prop Bet

Bettors might be interested in placing a small wager on running back David Montgomery to catch over 2.5 passes on Sunday (+106), in the event that Fields opts for more check-downs in his debut as a starter. Montgomery had three receptions on four targets last week in a run-heavy game script and could be utilized even more as a receiver in Week 3 if Chicago falls behind early.

PICK: David Montgomery o2.5 receptions (+106)

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