Jacoby Brissett and the Cleveland Browns desperately need to turn around a season before it spirals to a point of no return. Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals can put another nail in their rivals’ season when the teams face off in the NFL Week 8 edition of Monday Night Football. 

The Browns (2-5) have dropped four in a row and are in real danger of being out of the playoff mix before suspended QB Deshaun Watson is eligible to return in Week 13. The Bengals (4-3), meanwhile, aim to keep pace in the AFC North with a consecutive Super Bowl berth in play. 

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Cincinnati is a three-point road favorite in the latest Bengals vs. Browns odds on NFL betting sites, with the Over/Under set at 45 points. 

Bookies.com NFL handicapper Adam Thompson – who has hit on 63% of his NFL best bets the last four weeks – reveals his plays for the important AFC North matchup. 

Bengals vs. Browns Point Spread Pick

The Browns are 3-20-2 against the spread at home against a winning team in the last 25 instances. That’s atrocious. Perhaps the Dawg Pound isn’t as fearsome as it used to be. But we’re getting points. Cincy opened at -3, a line that was pushed to -3.5 before it went back to the original number after Bengals star WR Ja’Marr Chase was declared out. Either number on betting apps, for Cleveland, is OK by me. 

Sure, Cleveland has lost four in a row, but three of those were by a FG or less. Cincinnati has won two straight and covered in five straight, but the Browns fit the mold of a team that gives the Bengals issues. 

All three Cincy losses were against run-first teams with strong pass-rushing defenses. No team is better at both of those than the Browns. I locked this one down at +3.5 as one of my Week 8 Best Bets. The underdog has covered in five straight meetings. We’re banking on a sixth. 

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Bengals vs. Browns Over/Under Best Bet

This line has dropped 1.5 points to 45 with the news that Chase won’t play. The Over is on a solid 7-1-1 run in the matchup of Ohio teams. 

Bengals games, when the team is fully healthy offensively, have hit the Over with 52 and 56 points. That’s the last two weeks. The five games prior, no game eclipsed 43 total points. The Browns have been more erratic and tough to pin down, though all four home games have landed on the Over. Each side has compelling reasons, but the injury to Chase (and to Browns TE David Njoku) pushes us on the side of Under. 

While Ohio sports betting is launching soon (Jan. 1, 2023), it won't come in time for legal betting in the state on this game.

Bengals vs. Browns Moneyline Pick

Cincinnati is -165 on the moneyline, while Cleveland is a solid +140 as a home dog. We like the Browns to cover, but how about to win at those juice plus odds? 

Not really. Cleveland is a team well-built to contain the Bengals’ powerful offense and grind out a home W. But too often the Browns have snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, or an ill-timed Jacoby Brissett gaffe has cost Cleveland dearly. The field goal is important, so we’re staying off the moneyline on Monday. 

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Best Bengals vs. Browns Player Props

Tee Higgins, Over 76.5 Receiving Yards

Odds: -115 at BetMGM

Over the last two games, Ja’Marr Chase had 7 and 8 receptions for 132 and 130 yards. That production must be divvied up to others on the field with no Chase in the lineup. Higgins will be the WR1 on Monday. 

Higgins had 93 yards receiving last week and has at least 71 in four of the six games he’s played (and 93-plus in three of those). QB Joe Burrow has thrown for over 1,000 yards in three games vs. the Browns. They all ended in defeat – which is good since we like Cleveland ATS – but it’s not a stretch to believe Burrow airs it out and Higgins gets well above his season average. 

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Jacoby Brissett, Under 218.5 Pass Yards

Odds: -115 at DraftKings

Brissett hasn’t finished under this number since Week 1, so why is the mark so low? It’s now quite clear the less Jacoby throws the ball, the better the Browns are. They’re 2-0 when he passes for 220 or fewer and 0-5 when he’s over that mark. 

Cleveland should double-down with one of the game’s premier rushing attacks as a way to keep the ball away from Burrow as much as possible. If coach Kevin Stefanski sticks to the plan, expect the Browns to run the ball 40-plus times in an attempt to dominate time of possession – and take pressure off Brissett.