NFL Week 3 Betting Picks: Los Angeles at Cleveland
Coming off of a drubbing of the New York Jets, the Cleveland Browns welcome the reigning NFC Champion Rams to the Dawg Pound for a Sunday night affair. Los Angeles is off to a 2-0 start after defeating the Drew Brees-less Saints at home last week. As a favorite on the road across online sports betting sites, the Rams will look to continue their winning ways tonight.
NFL Betting Tip: Remember to use RotoGrinders’ new NFL odds comparison tool to look at NFL Week 3 lines across the online sports betting industry and find out what sportsbook has the best price for your favorite NFL games.
Also, check out more NFL Week 3 lines and betting picks.
NFL Betting Picks Week 3 — Los Angeles Rams -4 at Cleveland Browns, O/U 47.5
As a four-point favorite on DraftKings Sportsbook, Los Angeles travels to Cleveland for a Sunday Night Football contest between two of the more buzzed-about teams in the league. The Rams casually strolled through their matchup with the Saints last Sunday after Drew Brees left the contest with a broken finger. Teddy Bridgewater looked less-than capable as the Saints offense struggled to make anything happen without their leader.
The Rams’ offense is at full strength with the return of Cooper Kupp and the quasi-return of Todd Gurley. Jared Goff was the maestro of an efficient attack last week — going 19 for 28 while completing passes to seven different receivers. Kupp stood out in the box score after a highlight reel-worthy 66-yard catch and run that just missed the endzone. Outside of the big play, none of the Rams were focal points. Instead, the opportunity was divided up relatively evenly in a game where the offense never needed to get into high gear.
The Browns were able to bounce back after a disappointing beating at the hands of the Titans in Week 1 when they tore the injured and woeful Jets apart in New York. Odell Beckham starred in New York again — only this time it was catching passes for young upstart Baker Mayfield. Mayfield linked up with Beckham six times for 161 receiving yards and a touchdown. Nick Chubb amassed 98 all-purpose yards on 22 touches and seems primed for a big role this season. Even after the win in New York, the Browns will need to improve a passing offense that per Pro Football Reference, is fifth-worst thus far in expected points contributed by passing. This could prove to be a tall task against a Rams defense that has only allowed 442 passing yards this season.
NFL Week 3 Betting Pick: The Sunday Night Football game opened with the Rams only -2 on the road. At the time of this writing, the Rams are all the way up to -4 — surpassing the key three-point threshold for the Browns. While the Rams are my preferred team on a neutral field — probably by a solid margin — this number moving past three points raises an eyebrow. Considering that bettors will be glued to televisions all day, this number might move back the other way before kickoff. Give me the points at home for Cleveland before this game gets bet the other way. If interested in the +4 number, save the five cents by betting the line on DraftKings at -115.
NFL Week 3 Betting Picks — Player Props
Todd Gurley — Under 70.5 Rushing Yards -115:
Todd Gurley was able to run for 97 yards in Week 1 against the Panthers on 14 carries. He followed that up with 16 carries for 63 yards against the Saints. Gurley will clearly be on some form of pitch count given the state of his knee and the Rams’ usage of Malcolm Brown thus far (17 carries).
The Browns ceded 84 rushing yards to Derrick Henry on 19 carries in their Week 1 loss. The 84 yards don’t necessarily set off alarms considering the Titans were up big throughout the game. You would expect Henry to be used. Last week, the Browns allowed 68 rushing yards to Le’Veon Bell on 21 carries.
While the Browns are not necessarily stout against the run, the volume for Todd Gurley will be the issue. The likelihood that Todd Gurley touches the ball 21 times seems extremely slim given the presence of Malcolm Brown. Outside of a long run, Gurley will struggle to get over this threshold with 15-18 carries. Give me the under on DraftKings.
Good luck with your action on Sunday. Remember, be sure to use RotoGrinders’ new NFL odds comparison tool to look at NFL Week 3 lines across the industry and find out what online sports betting site has the best price for your favorite NFL Week 2 betting picks.