Cleveland Browns vs Las Vegas Raiders Picks and Predictions Week 15
Cleveland Browns vs Las Vegas Raiders Betting Preview
WagerTalk NFL handicapper Andy Lang offers his Cleveland Browns vs Las Vegas Raiders NFL Week 15 betting preview. At the time of posting, the Browns have moved to 3-point home favorites over the visiting Raiders, with the total sitting at 41 points. (Editor’s Note: Original story was posted on Thursday, December 16 prior to the postponement. Story has been updated to reflect the new game time and odds).
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| NFL Week 15 | Betting Notes |
|---|---|
| Point Spread: | Cleveland Browns -3 vs Las Vegas Raiders |
| Total: | 41 Points |
| Game Time: | 5:00pm ET / 2:00pm PT on Monday, December 20 |
| Stadium: | FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland |
| TV: | NFL Network |
Cleveland Browns vs Las Vegas Raiders Predictions
A clash of two teams hovering around .500 as the 6-7 Las Vegas Raiders travel to Cleveland to battle the 7-6 Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium.
The Raiders have lost 5 of their last 6 games, including an absolute embarrassment as they lost 48-9 against the Kansas City Chiefs. The Browns haven’t been much better as they have split their last 6 games. However, they did hang on for a 24-22 win against the Baltimore Ravens in their last game. This is a critical matchup as both teams need a victory to keep their slim playoff aspirations alive.
It looks like Covid protocol is going to be the theme of the week in the wide world of sports. Reports state that the NFL had the most positive cases in a single day this past Monday. The Cleveland Browns were hit hard, as a number of their players and coaches have been placed in Covid protocol. A list that includes QB Baker Mayfield, WR Jarvis Landry, TE Austin Hooper, OT Jedrick Willis, G Wyatt Teller, amongst others.
If Mayfield is out, Case Keenum will be in line to step into the starting role with Nick Mullens serving as the backup. Keenum barely saw the field last season and has only started one game this season, throwing for 199 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions in a 17-14 win against the Denver Broncos.
On Wednesday the Cleveland Browns announced that head coach Kevin Stefanski tested positive for the virus. If he doesn’t provide two negative tests in time, special teams coordinator Mike Priefer will serve as the teams acting head coach.
Even when healthy, it’s not like this Browns team was living up to the hype. They have went 2-2 in their last 4 games, getting absolutely torched in the losses and winning the other two by a combined 5 points. Mayfield has a pathetic 39.1 QBR which ranks 26th in the league, while only eclipsing 200 yards passing once in his last 4 games.
Things won’t get any easier without Landry & Hooper and the losses on the offensive line could effect the running game. Offensively Cleveland is just below average in yards and points scored. On defense they are the complete opposite of a bend but don’t break, as they are 4th in yards allowed but 14th in points allowed.
The Las Vegas Raiders got off to an amazing start as they won 5 of their first 7 games. Since then this team has dealt with distraction after distraction and the wheels have come off. The Raiders are 1-5 in their last 6 games with losses to teams like the Football Team, Giants and Bengals. The Raiders offense has struggled as they have scored less than 16 points in 5 of their last 6 games. On defense the Raiders allow the 15th most yards with 356.6 a game, while only the Jets allow more points per game.
Both teams have 5-8 against the spread records on the season. Amazingly both teams also have identical over/under ATS records at 7-6. Both teams come into this game in horrendous recent form. The Raiders have only scored more than 16 points once in their last 5 games. Mayfield and company haven’t been able to move the ball at full strength and now will be without key contributors.
It feels impossible to pick a side, the under seems like the only way to go. Hunter Renfrow has been one of the lone bright spots for Vegas this season, as he’s caught 86 passes for 877 yards and 5 touchdowns. His reception prop has been set at 6.5 the past few weeks and he’s cleared that in 6 of his last 7 games. We know because we cashed tickets on his receptions over two weeks in a row. I don’t think the Raiders will have success running the ball against Myles Garrett and this defense. We will roll with over 6.5 Renfrow receptions as our player prop.
Official Player Prop: Hunter Renfrow OVER 6.5 Receptions
✏️As the #NFL regular season winds down over the next few weeks, there may be some correlated parlay opportunities (i.e. remember how the NFC East ended last season?) Take a peek at our parlay betting guide for some additional wagering nuggets.
➡️https://t.co/Xsp0gowwiY pic.twitter.com/0KHAOmfX0w— WagerTalk (@WagerTalk) December 14, 2021
Cleveland Browns vs Las Vegas Raiders Analysis from The GoldSheet
Cleveland collected a crucial victory over Baltimore Sunday, taking the Ravens 24-22 with a major assist from Lamar Jackson’s ankle injury and Brown DE Myles Garrett’s first NFL TD. Meanwhile, in Kansas City, Las Vegas looked like a team full of players that had just finished a 20-hour run at the craps table at Caesar’s…physically and financially spent. The Raiders went down like Liston against Ali, 48-9 at the hands of the Chiefs, suffering their fifth loss in six games.
Still must reframe a few things before taking the knee-jerk reaction and giving the nod to Cleveland. The Browns nearly blew a 24-6 lead 2nd half lead, allowing the Ravens to close to 24-22. Jarvis Landry, Kareem Hunt, Donovan Peoples-Jones and Nick Chubb were all available for duty last week, and the Browns managed just 290 yards of total offense.
NFL Week 15 Opening Line Report
The push toward the 2021-22 NFL playoffs is officially on. In this week’s edition of The Opening Line Report, Teddy Covers and Drew Martin break down the Week 15 betting market from three key angles: a) What were the look-ahead lines from last week; b) Where did the lines re-open after Sunday’s action; c) Where the lines are heading before kickoff this week. Join Teddy and Drew every Monday for this informative NFL betting exercise. We begin the Cleveland Browns vs Las Vegas Raiders discussion at the 7:35 timestamp.
WagerTalk Live Odds Screen
WagerTalk’s live odds screen features up-to-the-minute lines from a variety of offshore and domestic sports books. Track the moneylines, point spreads, first half lines and betting percentages for all of the NFL Week 15 games, including this Cleveland Browns vs Las Vegas Raiders showdown, from your desktop or phone.
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