Baltimore Ravens open as underdogs vs. Cleveland Browns

The Baltimore Ravens are 2.5-point underdogs for Monday night’s matchup against the Cleveland Browns.

The Baltimore Ravens are going through the worst season in franchise history. All of their stars are on injured reserve, including the majority of their starting offense. Joe Flacco, Steve Smith, Justin Forsett, Breshad Perriman and Jeremy Zuttah have all had their season cut short. It is understandable that oddsmakers probably are not too high on a team that has backups playing at the key positions on offense.

Did you ever think you would see the day that the Ravens were an underdog to the Cleveland Browns? That is the case for the game on Monday night.

The Browns are currently 2.5-point favorites over the Ravens in a game that could determine which team will finish last in the AFC North. The fact that the Browns are the home team probably has a lot to do with them being the favorite. It also does not hurt that they came into Baltimore earlier in the season and got a 33-30 win. But are the Browns really the better team?

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Cleveland has not won a game since that Oct. 11 contest and has had some pretty terrible showings. They have scored 10 points or less while giving up over 30 in three of their last four games. They are also in the midst of more “Johnny Drama” as Johnny Manziel has been moved from starter to third-string quarterback after his most recent off-the-field issues. Side note: I think it’s been blown up way too much. No one cared about Joe Namath getting wasted, but people judge Manziel for every move he makes, IN A BYE WEEK. Meanwhile, Greg Hardy is a “leader” and plays extensively. Something wrong with that.

Now the Browns will turn to Josh McCown at quarterback, the same guy who torched the Ravens secondary in Week 5 with a career-high 457 yards and three total touchdowns.

The oddsmakers are looking at the Ravens injury-riddled team and wondering who exactly poses a threat. Matt Schaub will take over for Flacco. Javorius “Buck” Allen is now the lead back for Baltimore. The offensive line has been shuffled. The defense cannot keep teams from scoring when it matters most. This team looks nothing like the squad in the preseason that some thought could compete for a Super Bowl.

But underdogs to the Browns? Really?

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The Ravens have won 13 of the last 15 between the two teams. They are 10-6 against the spread and 11-5 straight up at Cleveland. However, the Ravens 1-7 against the spread this season and Flacco is no longer leading the charge.

Injuries and penalties have plagued the Ravens and with this team so banged up, it really comes at no surprise that the Browns are favorites. That does not mean they are deserving of it. Call me a homer, but if you wanna make some money on Monday night, take the Ravens getting points.

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