New England Patriots and Cleveland Browns wrap up their preseason campaigns in Ohio on Thursday night in what should be a low-key affair with players on the bubble competing for places on the final roster.
Both teams are expected to sit the majority of their starters at Huntington Bank Field.
Tommy DeVito is set to start the game for the Patriots against third-string QB Dillon Gabriel of the Browns, with a pair of this season's day-three draft picks following them in Behren Morton for New England and Taylen Green for Cleveland.
The Patriots are unbeaten so far in their preseason action, playing out a 13-13 tie with Indianapolis Colts in their opener before beating the Philadelphia Eagles 24-21 last week.
The Browns are 0-2 after losing 34-10 to the Bears in Chicago and 31-7 at home to Buffalo Bills in Week 2.
Patriots vs. Browns betting tips and predictions
New England Patriots -2.5 (-110)
The main talking point of the Browns' summer has been the quarterback battle between Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders, which has controversially been won by former Houston Texans QB Watson.
However, neither of them will be in action in Cleveland on Thursday and nor will Patriots starter Drake Maye be suiting up.
The Browns are starting Gabriel, who made 10 appearances in his rookie season with six starts including a win over Miami Dolphins in Week 7.
But the former Oregon star did not look like a long-term answer in Cleveland after being drafted in the third round and his stock has fallen further in his preseason outings this year.
Gabriel completed five of his eight pass attempts against the Bears for just 23 yards, while also throwing an interception and being sacked twice, while he got in the game for only one incomplete pass against the Bills last week.
With Gabriel a candidate to be either traded or cut in the near future, Browns fans will be keen to get a first look at Green in the second half.
The athletic rookie, drafted out of Arkansas in the sixth round this year, has plenty of potential but has had his opportunities limited so far while the Watson vs Sanders battle played out.
The Browns offense has actually looked reasonably good when their starters have been in the game - they led the Bears 10-0 before collapsing when the back-ups came in.
However, their roster depth on both sides of the ball has been exposed in the two games so far and their defensive secondary options have been brutally exposed in the second half.
Former New York Giant DeVito has been the leading quarterback for the Pats in both their preseason games with 138 passing yards and a touchdown against the Colts and 151 and a further score against the Eagles, while rookie Morton has also seen a fair amount of action and had a TD pass against Philly.
The quality of product that the Patriots have put on the field so far has been superior to the Browns' two sorry efforts, and they look well worth backing to complete an unbeaten preseason campaign by covering the small spread on the game.
Over 35.5 points (-110)
The total points line for this game is unsurprisingly low given the Browns have yet to score more than 10 points in their two outings.
However, taking over 35.5 looks attractive given that the home side have conceded a combined 65 points against the Bears and Bills.
The Patriots may not be as explosive offensively as either of those teams, but they should still relish taking on a defense that has given up touchdowns of 49 yards against the Bears and 71 yards against the Bills.
The Browns may have some spark about them late on when Green enters the game for his first NFL action and that can help to push the total over.
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Patriots vs. Browns odds
New England Patriots | -140 |
Cleveland Browns | +120 |
Spread | NE Patriots -2.5 |
Total Points | O/U 35.5 |
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
