Bengals vs. Browns Odds & Prediction: Cincy Favored in Battle of Ohio on MNF

The Cincinnati Bengals are scheduled to meet the Cleveland Browns on Monday Night Football to close out play in Week 8 of the 2022 NFL season.

The Bengals (4-3 straight up/5-2 against the spread) enter MNF a game behind Baltimore in the AFC North after the Ravens defeated Tampa Bay, 27-22, on TNF.

That’s quite a turnabout for the defending AFC champs who opened with losses to Pittsburgh and Dallas (without Dak Prescott) despite being a 7-point favorite each time.

The Browns, meanwhile, are 2-5 (3-4 ATS) and have dropped four in a row. They were tied for last in the AFC North with Pittsburgh and seeded 14th in the conference entering Week 8 play. But last season, Philadelphia also started out 2-5 and made the playoffs.

The Browns have won four straight games in the series, including a 41-16 romp last year at Cincinnati in Week 9 that was the Bengals’ most lopsided defeat of the season. Cleveland also won the regular season finale at home 21-16, but the Bengals were playing their JVs.

Since the Browns were reborn in 1999, they have had little luck at home on Monday nights, going 1-5, including a 16-14 loss to Las Vegas last season. But that one victory was a doozy — a 2008 Week 5 upset of the undefeated defending Super Bowl champion Giants, 35-14, as an 8-point underdog.

This season, Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow has rebounded incredibly well since the team’s disaster of an opener when he threw four INTs in a 23-20 loss to the Steelers. In the Bengals’ six subsequent games, he’s had 13 scoring passes with one interception. And last week, he had a league season-high 481 passing yards against Atlanta in a 35-17 victory.

Tyler Boyd with 155 receiving yards and Ja’Marr Chase (hip, expected to miss 4-to-6 weeks) with 130 ranked 1-2 in Week 7 for most yards through the air, the second time this year teammates had the most during a week. Miami’s Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle did so in Week 2 vs. Baltimore.

In that victory over the Falcons, Cincinnati had TDs on its first four drives after not having scored a TD on consecutive possessions in its first six games. But what might have been the Bengals’ most impressive march resulted in no points when they killed off the last 8:44 of the fourth quarter with a 17-play, 94-yard drive to the Falcons’ 2 as time expired.

Although Burrow has been sacked 24 times this season (tied for second most in the league), he has gone down only 11 times in his past five games. That’s trending in the right direction after he was dragged down 70 times last season, including the playoffs.

The Browns, meanwhile, have been one of the league’s biggest disappointments — just as they were last year when they had a losing record after going 11-5 the year before and earning Cleveland’s first playoff win since 1994.

Jacoby Brissett, filling the quarterback role until Deshaun Watson returns from his 11-game suspension, is the league’s 26th-ranked passer and hasn’t been connecting regularly enough with leading receiver Amari Cooper, who’s caught only 57.6% of his 59 targets. TE David Njoku has had 17 fewer balls thrown his way and has the same number of catches with 34. But he won’t play this week (ankle).

However, the Browns live and die behind their running game — mostly die, though. Nick Chubb continues to lead the NFL in rushing with 740 yards, but in the team’s last two games, he has totaled just 28 carries while Cleveland played from behind. And fleet cohort Kareem Hunt has been largely ineffective, averaging a career-low at 4.0 a carry. Only five years ago, he led the NFL in rushing while with Kansas City and had 12 rushes of 20-plus yards. This year, he’s had two.

If Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson (neck, questionable) can’t go, that’s a major loss for Cincinnati. He leads the team with 3.5 sacks after having 17.5 last season, including the playoffs.

On defense for the Browns, slowing the running game has been a problem, with Atlanta and the LA Chargers both setting season highs with 200-plus-yard performances this month. And the pass rush has been lacking with only 14 sacks. Myles Garrett has six, but no one else has more than two.

Plus, the Browns have had only two INTs, tied for third fewest. Against Burrow, that will need to improve.