Free Pick | NFL | Sunday | Oct. 20

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#457 Cincinnati Bengals -5.5 over Cleveland Browns 12:00 PM CT

The host has swept this series the past two seasons even with Cincinnati favored in all four games while the Bengals are 0-6 S/U in Cleveland since 2018. The 1-5 Browns have been one of the worst teams in the NFL by any measure, but this is also the first home game since Week 3 in Cleveland, but the Browns have numerous injuries. Jerome Ford and Ethan Pocic are question marks while Cleveland traded their top receiver Amari Cooper to Buffalo. Deshaun Watson is 28th in QB Rating and 31st in QBR as mistakes are inevitable while possibly missing his center, top RB and top WR. Cincinnati was outgained by the Giants Sunday but managed to avoid falling to 1-5 with a narrow win. Expected to be a top tier offense, the Bengals have still scored 26 points per game this season and all four losses have been one-score results, while Joe Burrow is 2nd in the NFL in QBR and 1st in QB Rating. Both Cincinnati wins have been road games with wins by double-digit margins and Cincinnati is 3-0 ATS on the road this season. The Giants soundly beat Cleveland on the road in Week 3 and Cincinnati will be favored by only two more points in Cleveland than they were at MetLife last week. Cincinnati has been a slow starter and the wide receiver drama to start the season didn’t help but the Bengals should still be considered an AFC playoff threat and the narrow losses to Kansas City and Baltimore show the potential of this team. Zac Taylor is 12-7 ATS as a road favorite with the Bengals and Cincinnati has been a borderline top 10 pass defense in the past three games.