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Cleveland Browns (2-3-1) vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-3) at Raymond James Stadium
NFL Week 7: 1:00ET on Sunday, October 21, 2018
Sunday features a battle of two potentially up and coming teams with the Cleveland Browns take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Through six weeks of the season, Cleveland has already won one more game than they won the last two seasons combined. Tampa Bay is looking to regain the form that had many thinking they had the potential to be a playoff team in the NFC. Cleveland leads this series 6-3-0. The Browns won the last contest between these two teams in November 2014, 22-17.
Chargers Roll Over Browns, 38-14
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The Los Angeles Chargers rolled over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, jumping out to a 35-6 lead before winning 38-14. Melvin Gordon III ran for three touchdowns and Philip Rivers threw for two more in the victory.
Los Angeles jumped out to a seven-point lead in the first quarter when Gordon scored the first of his three touchdowns on the afternoon. After Cleveland got on the board with a Greg Joseph 33 yard field goal, Rivers tossed two touchdown passes to Tyrell Williams before Joseph added his second field goal of the game just before the half to make it 21-6.
Gordon added two touchdown runs in the third quarter to extend the lead to 29. Baker Mayfield tossed a one-yard touchdown and the Browns added a 44-yard field goal but would fall, 38-14.
Cleveland is averaging 21.3 points per game while giving up 25.2 points per game on average. They are averaging 366.2 yards per game, but their defense is struggling, giving up 406.5 per game on average. Mayfield has thrown for four touchdowns and 1076 yards, completing 55.6 percent of his passes.
Buccaneers Comeback Falls Short in 34-29 Loss
Jameis Winston threw for 395 yards and four touchdowns but that was not enough to stave off the Atlanta Falcons in the 34-29 loss. Four different players had touchdown receptions.
Tampa Bay jumped out in front on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Winston to Cameron Brate. Atlanta responded with 21 unanswered points. Ryan threw two touchdown passes and Ito Smith ran for the third to give the Falcons the 21-6 lead. Winston hit O.J. Howard for a 10-yard score to cut the deficit to eight and Matt Bryant added a field goal with one second left to give the Falcons a 24-13 lead at the half.
The Buccaneers would get a 35-yard field goal, which were their only points in the third quarter, and Winston connected with Chris Godwin for a nine-yard touchdown to make it 24-22 early in the fourth. The teams exchanged touchdowns before Bryant hit a field goal for the final points of the game.
Tampa Bay is averaging 28.2 points per game and 448.6 yards of offense per game, ranking them in the top five in the NFL. However, they are giving up 439.8 yards per game, including 355.6 through the air. They are allowing 34.6 points per game.
Trends:
Cleveland:
- 1-5-1 ATS in their last seven games in Week 7.
- 2-7 ATS in their last nine games in October.
- 3-11 ATS in their last 14 games in October.
Tampa Bay:
- 2-7-1 ATS in their last 10 games in Week 7.
- 0-6-1 ATS in their last seven games in October.
- 2-5 ATS in their last seven games against teams with a losing record.
The Winner Prediction
Cleveland would have likely had an advantage in this game if their defense would have caught on. However, the Browns are really struggling on defense and their offense is not good enough to keep them competitive in this contest. Tampa Bay is favored by three in this game and will likely win by more.
The Pick: Tampa Bay Buccaneers -3.0 (-120)
The Total
These two teams are averaging combined right at about 50 points per contest, but neither defense is playing particularly well. That’s why this likely looks like a game that goes a couple of points over the expected total.
The Pick: Over 50.0 (-110)