Are the Lions still without a win?
The question of when the Lions will finally be able to celebrate another win is probably on the minds of many a fan of the team from Detroit. They face an injury-plagued Cleveland team on the upcoming matchday. However, we don’t think the Lions have a realistic chance of getting points, betting on a win for the home team in the Cleveland Browns – Detroit Lions match is definitely a safe bet with odds of up to 1.19.
However, this Browns vs. Lions match-up is still a basement duel between the AFC North and the NFC North, as the teams are both in last place in their respective divisions.
From a static point of view, then, the Lions find themselves in the position of underdogs again, as they have every time so far this season. The fact that Jared Goff, their quarterback, may now be out doesn’t exactly increase their chances of winning.
So a win for the home team seems anything but unlikely, so in the Cleveland Browns vs. Detroit Lions game our prediction is: a clear win for the Browns. However, this makes over/under betting in this clash of the two last-place teams all the more interesting.
Cleveland Browns – Statistics & current form
Although they actually don’t have a too bad overall standing with five wins and just as many losses, the Cleveland Browns still find themselves in last place in their division, the AFC North, in Week 11 of the NFL.
Nevertheless, in the Browns vs. Lions game our tip is a win for the team from Cleveland, which should have recovered from its devastating defeat last week. The Week 10 game was a very emphatic 7-45 loss to the Patriots, with, for example, only one of eleven 3rd downs being successfully converted by the Browns.
Dropouts plague the Browns
Before Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield was forced to leave the field last game day due to knee, foot and shoulder injuries, he completed just more than half of 21 attempted passes to his intended target, 11. Now it is in question whether he will be fit enough to compete again this week.
The former will also have to do without their best running back, Nick Chubb, for the Browns vs Lions match-up as he is still on the team’s COVID 19 list. Apparently, he is not yet fully recovered. However, the Browns have an alternative in D’Ernest Johnson, who held his own against the Patriots with nearly 100 rushing yards despite the poor offensive performance.
The biggest question, however, may be who the quarterback, whether it’s Baker Mayfield or Case Keenum, will play in the upcoming matchup. With Jarvis Landry, Donovan Peoples-Jones and Anthony Schwartz, three wide receivers from the first line could be out. Defensive tackle Jadeveon Clowney could also potentially be missing.
The Browns’ biggest defensive contributor, however, is Myles Garrett. He leads the entire NFL in both quarterback sacks (13.0) and tackles for loss of space (13) and is among the league’s best pass rushers.
Key Players:
QB: Baker Mayfield (if he plays)
QB: Case Keenum
RB: D’Ernest Johnson
WR: Jarvis Landry (if he plays)
DE: Myles Garrett
Detroit Lions – stats & recent form
The Detroit Lions finally broke their drought of eight straight losses. However, much like the Browns in 2018, they were unable to break their losing streak with a win, only a draw. However, in the upcoming Cleveland Browns vs Detroit Lions match, their first game without a loss will not help them.
Running back D’Andre Swift played a big part in this, gaining 130 yards in 33 rushing attempts for the Detroit team. In general, the Lions were able to build on their running game last week, scoring a total of two touchdowns and 229 yards.
Defensive allows too much
Michigan State’s defense, however, leaves more than a little to be desired. In the Cleveland Browns – Detroit Lions game, the home team in orange faces one of the worst pass defenses in the league.
This defensive performance cannot be relieved by a successful pass rush either. In the Browns vs. Lions game, our prediction is that the latter’s defence will not be able to put enough pressure on the opposing quarterback.
They were just as unable to do so in their matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and a quarterback hit or even a sack was looked for in vain on the Lions’ side last week.
Key Players:
QB: Jared Goff (if he plays)
RB: D’Andre Swift
WR: Khalif Raymond
TE: T.J. Hockenson
LB: Trey Flowers (if he plays)
Cleveland Browns – Detroit Lions Head-to-head comparison / H2H record
Even though the team from Detroit could break their losing streak, the odds are clearly against them in the Browns – Lions matchup. A win for the team from Cleveland, possibly even with a handicap, therefore seems much more likely.
Although this did not happen confidently with a final score of 20:16, the Browns still managed to win their last encounter with the Lions on 30.08.2019.
The upcoming encounter will most likely shift to a running game, as both teams have high-quality running backs. Here, the duel on Sunday will most likely be D’Ernest Johnson vs D’Andre Swift.
Cleveland Browns – Detroit Lions Tip
We believe that the Browns will clearly emerge victorious from this encounter. They can also be expected to have a certain edge.
Only the absence of personnel is a problem for the Cleveland team, otherwise there should be little in the way of their victory on Sunday against the Lions if they don’t let anything get in the way.
