Cleveland Browns vs New York Jets Predictions, Odds & Picks

• The 10-4 Cleveland Browns have found their head coach of the future in Kevin Stefanski
• QB Sam Darnold & HC Adam Gase face serious criticisms and hot seats as Jets go 1-13
• These two teams last met up in 2019, when the final score was Browns 23, Jets 3

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Browns vs Jets Predictions and Picks

Cleveland is far too powerful on offense to not outscore these struggling Jets by a lot, and this should act as a decent warm-up game for these playoff-ready Browns.

Pick:

Browns -9.5 (-110)

How to Watch Browns vs Jets

Looks like the Cleveland Browns have found their head coach of the future in Kevin Stefanski, who has his team at 10-4 for the first time in decades, and with a win over these Jets and some help from a few other teams, quarterback Baker Mayfield and company could play football in January, something they haven’t done since 2002 when they went in as a Wild Card.

Even when they win a game, the New York Jets seem to get it wrong, their shocking upset of the LA Rams in Week 15 putting them now at 1-13, which puts snagging the number one draft pick next season slightly out of reach, and now their QB Sam Darnold along with head coach Adam Gase has to face some serious criticisms and hot seats.

These two AFC cross-divisional rivals have played each other 27 prior times (including 1 postseason game), with the New York Jets winning 12 of the games and the Cleveland Browns winning 15 of those games.

Can the Cleveland Browns Actually Clinch the Playoffs with a Win?

The path to the postseason for these Cleveland Browns is made clearest with a Week 16 win over the Jets because then it just takes a loss or tie by either the Dolphins or the Colts or the Ravens to make the playoffs a reality in Cleveland for the first time in 18 seasons.

Here is the official breakdown of how Cleveland clinches a playoff berth:

1. CLE win + BAL loss or tie OR
2. CLE win + MIA loss or tie OR
3. CLE win + IND loss OR
4. CLE tie + BAL loss OR
5. CLE tie + MIA loss

What Browns fans are truly waiting for is Week 17, though, when they face the currently 11-3 Steelers, because if Pittsburgh loses to the Colts in Week 16 and the Browns beat the Jets, that means these two divisional rivals will be playing for the AFC North in the final week of the season, which would be an incredible game for the football world to watch.

Can the Jets Offensive Line Protect QB Sam Darnold From the Browns?

So far this season, Jets QB Sam Darnold has been sacked 30 times, which is the 9th most in the league this season, and that is something (among many shortcomings) that the New York front office will have to fix this offseason.

But in Week 16, that is going to be a huge problem for the Jets, since they are facing a defensive line that includes Myles Garrett and Olivier Vernon, two quarterback hunters that have a combined 18 sacks on the season, and that’s with Garrett missing some games, as well.

At 6’ 3” and 225-pounds, Darnold has the size to be able to take a hit now and again, but for him to get comfortable in the pocket so he can work through his reads is key to his development and something that has been affecting his production all season, with 9 interceptions to just 6 touchdowns this year.

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Browns Key Players: (RBs) Nick Chubb & Kareem Hunt

No doubt, the running game is the bread and butter of this Cleveland Browns offense, and the two main contributors to that line of attack are Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, a tandem of highly productive starter-quality backs rarely seen paired up on a single NFL roster.

The Browns rushing attack is ranked third in the league right now, averaging 153 yards on the ground per game, with only the Ravens and Titans putting up more rushing production this season.

In ten games, Chubb has carried the ball 165 times for 931 yards and 10 TDs, whereas Hunt has carried the ball 184 times for 793 yards and 5 TDs, plus he has caught 34 passes for 259 yards and 5 TDs, a duo that could both post 1,000+ rushing yards and 10+ TDs on the season.

Jets Key Player: (WR) Jamison Crowder

The Jets have a terrific wide receiver in 6th-year player Jamison Crowder, who was drafted by Washington and played there for four seasons before coming to New York in 2019 on a three-year, $28.5 million contract with $17 million of that money guaranteed.

Crowder is worth the money if you get the ball to him – this season in ten games he has 48 catches for 576 yards and 5 touchdowns, though his catching percentage of 63.2 is the lowest it has been his entire career.

For the Jets to make a decent showing against this Browns team, Crowder must have a big game against Cleveland’s 22nd ranked pass defense, which could also help Darnold regain some confidence.

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