What experts are predicting for Sunday’s Patriots-Browns game
The Patriots are slight underdogs on the road against the Browns on Sunday, but some experts like them to pull off the upset.
At what point does Al Michaels take off the headset during the midst of whatever Thursday night laugher he’s been forced to call, and go full Michael Douglas in “Falling Down?”
Here we have the most-accomplished sports broadcaster of our lives, usually heard during the caliber of this weekend’s much-anticipated Buffalo-Kansas City showdown, calling a pathetic Commanders-Bears borefest on a weeknight streaming service.
Woof.
The NFL’s Thursday Night Football was getting better. Last season saw a number of intriguing matchups and games that seemed to suggest the league was getting more productive returns from its teams. The last two weeks would argue otherwise.
In Colts-Broncos and Commanders-Bears, the NFL delivered nationwide games normally reserved to hide in the 1 p.m. window on Sundays. And just wait until you see what’s to come over the next few weeks. Cardinals-Saints. Falcons-Panthers. The Jaguars and the Jets for the love of all things Must-See TV.
Then again, maybe it’s genius to give these stinkers to Prime Video, seeing the hassle there would be to flip the channel in order to find something more worthwhile to watch. That way we can all commiserate with Michaels about the terrible production we’re all forced to watch.
But somebody has to explain to me how Justin Fields and the pathetic Bears get back-to-back prime-time spots, next scheduled to play in Foxborough a week from Monday.
At least we’ll have Chiefs-Bills before then. Michaels should too.
This week’s predictions:
Globe staff: Five of six pick New England.
Tony Massarotti, 98.5 The Sports Hub: Patriots. “Now feels like a good time to revisit the Patriots’ decision to draft Sony Michel over Nick Chubb, who has proven to be one of the best running backs in the NFL over his first five years in the league. Fine, so Felger doesn’t like running backs. And the Patriots now have Rhamondre Stevenson. But one can only wonder what the Pats could have done with those picks if they just taken Chubb. I’m the only one who likes Cleveland and got overruled here.”
Pete Prisco, CBS Sports: Browns 27, Patriots 26. “There is a chance Mac Jones could be back at quarterback for the Patriots. If not, it’s Bailey Zappe again. The way the Browns defense is playing, it might not matter. Cleveland will use its running attack again to move the football, but the New England defense is coming off a shutout. I think the Patriots will stay close in this game — no matter who plays quarterback.”
CBS Sports staff: Six of eight like the Pats (+3).
Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Browns 21, Patriots 17. “Just when you thought Bill Belichick couldn’t outwit anyone anymore, the Patriots somehow shut out the league’s highest-scoring team last week. The Browns are at home for the fourth time in six games, but it hasn’t helped. They are 1-2 there already.”
ESPN staff: Five of seven like New England.
Michael Hurley, CBS Boston: Patriots. “The Patriots are 8-2 vs. the Browns since Belichick became New England’s head coach, with the Patriots outscoring Cleveland 269-162 in those 10 games. The losses came in 2000, a transitional year in Belichick’s first season on the job, and in 2010, when the Patriots randomly flopped against Eric Mangini, who was chomping on seven pounds of tobacco at the time. If you were curious.”
Jimmy Kempski, Philly Voice: Patriots. “I liked Bailey Zappe during the last draft cycle. He gave me some Gardner Minshew vibes. He is a player who made a big jump from Houston Baptist (an FCS school), where he put up video game numbers, to Western Kentucky, where he broke a buttload of FBS single-season passing records, to the NFL, where he has played well in his first two appearances with the Patri*ts. I think he can play a little bit, and I’m hopeful to be able to laugh at a competition between Zappe and Mac Jones for the right to be New England’s mediocre quarterback.”
USA Today staff: Four of six go with the Browns.
Frank Schwab, Yahoo! Sports: Browns (-2.5). “The Patriots are suddenly getting a decent amount of respect on this line. Or is it that the Browns aren’t getting any respect? New England hasn’t suddenly fixed everything just because they blasted the Lions. But the Browns aren’t very good either. I’ll go with the Browns but not with much conviction.”
Sheil Kapadia, The Ringer: Patriots (+2.5). “The Patriots are coming off of a game in which they shut out the Lions and ran for 176 yards. New England is quietly lurking. After this game, they get the Bears, the Jets twice, and the Colts. I see two evenly-matched teams who both want to run the ball. That could shrink the total number of possessions and lead to a close game. I’ll take the points.”
Vinnie Iyer, The Sporting News: Patriots 23, Browns 16 (Iyer’s Upset of the Week). “This Bill Belichick revenge game where he started his NFL head-coaching career in Cleveland will show up by the Patriots red-hot defense containing Nick Chubb in the running game knowing the Browns have real limitations with ex-Patriot Jacoby Brissett and the passing game. Whoever the Patriots start at QB will get more great support from Rhamondre Stevenson and the running game.”
Bill Bender, The Sporting News: Browns 26, Patriots 22. “New England beat Cleveland 45-7 in the teams’ last meeting on Nov. 14, 2021, and they did it with Mac Jones and Rhamondre Stevenson. Will Jones be back from an ankle injury, or will the Bailey Zappe experience continue? Former Patriots quarterback Jacoby Brissett will give Cleveland a chance to win against an average New England run defense (128.8 ypg.). The Browns have lost three games by a combined total of six points. Can they finish one at home?”
Mike Florio, Pro Football Talk: Patriots 24, Browns 20. “The Patriots are getting better. The Browns are becoming too inconsistent.”
Michael David Smith, Pro Football Talk: Browns 24, Patriots 17. “The Browns have a good offense that should be able to move the ball against the Patriots, and I don’t trust rookie quarterback Bailey Zappe to put many points on the board even against a bad Cleveland defense.”
FiveThirtyEight: Browns, 54 percent (-1).
Gregg Rosenthal, NFL.com: Patriots 24, Browns 23. “The Patriots will miss Damien Harris, but there’s every reason to believe they’ll still run early and often with Rhamondre Stevenson against the Browns’ soft rush defense. The Patriots have improved weekly and know how to make Jacoby Brissett hesitate. Last year’s 45-7 Patriots win is enough for me to believe Bill Belichick gives New England a coaching advantage, with or without Mac Jones.”
NFL Pickwatch: Sixty percent, Browns (-145).
It says here: Patriots 12, Browns 9. An old-school, on-the-ground sort of game deserves a score from football days of yore.
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