New York Jets vs. Cleveland Browns September 18 Betting Preview

The New York Jets head to Cleveland, Ohio to take on the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, September 18th at 1 p.m. The fans in FirstEnergy Stadium will be excited to see their Cleveland Browns attempt to remain undefeated after a miraculous victory against the Carolina Panthers.

The Browns are a team that had been counted out due to starting Jacoby Brissett at quarterback while Deshaun Watson is suspended. However, the betting odds have begun to favor the Browns, as they come into this game as a -6 favorite over the New York Jets. Cleveland’s moneyline comes in at (-250), while New York’s is (+205) and the over/under total is 40.5.

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Last Week’s Performances

The Cleveland Browns are coming off of a 26-24 victory over the Carolina Panthers. The Browns were in a dogfight, as there was a ton of emotion coming off of playing their former quarterback Baker Mayfield. 

However, the Browns relied heavily on the run game, allowing Nick Chubb to pile up 141 yards on the game. The Browns defense was in full season form, as Myles Garrett had two sacks, and they forced Baker Mayfield to fumble four times in the game. 

The New York Jets are coming off of a pretty big loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Quarterback Joe Flacco did not have a return game to remember to Baltimore. The Jets were not able to utilize the game plan as Flacco threw 59 times, accumulating over 300 yards with a touchdown and an interception. 

However, their run game did not do much and the Jets quickly became one-dimensional. Their defense could not withstand Lamar Jackson and the Ravens. The Jets ended up losing 24-9, not generating much of an offense.

Why The Browns Make Sense As Favorites

Last week’s performance is the exact game plan that the Browns are going to want to use against the Jets as well. 

The Browns control the clock and force the Jets to have to throw the ball, with Joe Flacco starting instead of the injured Zach Wilson. If this becomes a defensive game, it goes into Cleveland's favor as they are much more talented on the defensive side of the football. Make Joe Flacco throw, and he will make mistakes. 

Despite the close score, Cleveland won in the areas that matter last week. Cleveland had more yards, had zero turnovers, and had far more first downs than Carolina. Controlling the clock, keeping it to a low-scoring game, and forcing turnovers will be Cleveland's game plan.

 With how New York looked last week, that should be an easy game plan to implement on Sunday. 

Why The Jets +6.5 Make Sense

The good news for the Jets is that they will not be playing the caliber of the Ravens this week, and it should be closer.

 Looking at the stats, the Jets really beat themselves, as they had over 150 yards more than the Baltimore Ravens, almost double the first downs, and more time of possession. However, it came down to the Jets struggling on offense, and not being able to score on their opportunities. 

That shouldn't be the case for the entire season, and the Jets proved to be a really good run defense last week. They had their hands full against the likes of Lamar Jackson and Kenyon Drake but held their own in only allowing 63 yards rushing for the entire game. 

If the Jets are able to minimize Nick Chubb's impact on the running game, they will force quarterback Jacoby Brissett to beat them. Brissett is a solid backup quarterback, but he is not a guy to take over a game and win. 

The Jets +6.5 only makes complete sense in this scenario; the Jets may be able to come out of Cleveland as the winner. It will all come down to how the Jets perform against the run in this one.