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Thursday Night Football Picks New York Jets vs Cleveland Browns

by Mike Allen - 12/26/2023

Thursday Night Football predictions New York Jets vs Cleveland Browns Joe Flacco

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and came out of their betting holiday in the green. Santa might be returning to the North Pole, but the betting season never stops. It's now Week 17 of the 2023 NFL regular season, and the playoff picture is still wide open.

Only two teams from the AFC have actually clinched a playoff berth. The Baltimore Ravens and the Miami Dolphins each had signature wins for their season this past week and are firmly into the postseason.

That leaves quite a few still fighting for a couple of division crowns and all 3 wild card spots. The 6-9 New York Jets are not in that bunch, as you might imagine. The Cleveland Browns, though, are currently on a 3-game win streak and control their own destiny to make the playoffs sitting at 10-5 as the first wild card team into the postseason.

I have to admit that I chuckled to myself when I heard Joe Flacco was going to come back and play for the Cleveland Browns. Hey, he must have been staying in shape to have come back so quickly and performed at such a high level.

He isn't just dink-and-dunking his way down the field and relying on his defense. He dropped several dimes last week, including one over the top for an Amari Cooper touchdown that blew a lot of our minds. The Browns have also had a slew of injuries in the second half of the year. The defense isn't what it was giving up 27 points/game over their past five contests.

They will be good enough to stop the “vaunted” New York Jets offense, though…

The Jets did put up 30 last week in a win, albeit against the football team formerly known as the Football Team.

The total for this Thursday’s game is quite low, however. It might be a good chance to bet the over. These two defenses aren’t what they used to be. I will only say that one of the two offenses has been rejuvenated, though.

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Jets vs Browns Betting Odds

Point Spread

New York: +7.5

Cleveland: -7.5

This betting line opened up at (-4.5) for the Cleveland Browns, and as you can see, the money has poured in on the home team with a lot to play for.

I get it, but it's hard to argue against being on the right side of the 7 points and the hook in a game with a point total of only 36.5.

Moneyline

New York: +265

Cleveland: -330

Point Total

Over 36.5: -110

Under 36.5: -110

Jets vs Browns Betting Analysis

This has all the makings of a trap game for the Cleveland Browns. The Jets players respect their head coach immensely. They have played their green butts off for him all year long. And considering what happened to Aaron Rodgers on the second play of the season, I don't know if I'm ready to lay more than a touchdown against them.

I don't think New York has the firepower on offense to beat the Browns, but they do have an opportunistic defense that would love to give Joe Flacco a proper welcome back to the league.

They are saying that the primetime game under the point total trend has come to an end. These are two outstanding defenses, even though they are both about as banged up as they've ever been.

The Browns have the best pass defense in the league, and the Jets have the 2nd best. When I close my eyes and imagine how this one plays out, I see turnovers… several of them. I see Flacco getting picked off and fumbling forcefully after being drilled in the back by Myles Garrett.

These could make for short fields and a higher score, or they could do the opposite.

That's why the point total has a lot of variability in this game. I will take the Jets' defense to remind Flacco why he retired. He did play for them last season. I think the team comes ready to play for their head coach Robert Salah and keeps this game within a touchdown by the final whistle.

Jets vs Browns Betting Prediction

Pick: New York Jets +7.5

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