Cleveland Browns at Houston Texans Betting Preview – Week 16
On Sunday, the Cleveland Browns are at the Houston Texans in a massive AFC tilt. The Cleveland Browns are 9-5 on the season, and hold the fifth seed in the AFC playoff picture. Cleveland is coming off an overtime win over the Bears last week. The win was their second straight win.
For Houston, they are also coming off a win; in overtime over the Titans. Houston is 8-6, and tied with the Colts and Jaguars for the AFC South divisional lead. Houston currently is on the outside looking in for the postseason due to tiebreaker rules. This game will go a long way towards figuring out who is in and who is out.
The Cleveland Browns are -2.5 on the road at Houston. The total is listed at 40.5 points.
Defense Wins Championships
Defense wins championships, and that is what the Cleveland Browns are trying to do. The Browns allowed just 17 points in the win over the Bears. On the season, Cleveland ranks 12th, allowing 20.6 points per game.
DeShaun Watson is out. Dorian Thompson Robinson and PJ Walker have been bad, so that leaves Joe Flacco as the starting quarterback. The veteran has come in and tossed the football 133 times in three games. Flacco has 7 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. Amari Cooper is the top target for the Browns. He needs 15 yards to reach 1,000 on the season.
The Cleveland run game is anchored by Jerome Ford. Ford took over for Nick Chubb, who was hurt early in the season. Ford needs 282 yards to get to 1,000 on the season. The Browns are at home on Thursday Night Football against the Jets. Then, Cleveland ends the season on the road at the Cincinnati Bengals.
Houston Looking to Stay Alive
Rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud is likely to not play in this game. He remains in concussion protocol. The former Ohio State signal caller has been terrific on the season, but they will look to stay alive without him. Last week, Case Keenum was the man. His lone touchdown came in overtime, but he finished with 229 yards passing.
Tank Dell and Nico Collins are both out for the Texans as well. Those are the top two receivers on the team. That leaves Noah Brown as the top target. Brown has 29 receptions for 521 yards and two touchdowns on the season. Collins was over 1,000 yards on the season, while Dell led the team with 7 touchdowns. Dalton Schultz is also one of the main targets, as the starting tight end for Houston.
Houston will stay at home for a New Years Eve affair against the Tennessee Titans. In Week 18, the Texans are on the road at the Indianapolis Colts.
Browns Top Texans on Sunday
Without CJ Stroud for Houston, that is just a massive loss. Stroud was having a monster season as a rookie quarterback for Houston. Injuries are killing the Texans right now, and we expect that to continue here. Cleveland finds a way. Even by a field goal, they cover the spread. The Browns defense is too good. Bet the Browns -2.5 over the Texans in a massive Week 16 tilt on Sunday!