Despite Adding Odell Beckham, Cleveland Isn’t A Lock
The Cleveland Browns have become the NFL’s hottest commodity.
Despite the fact that this franchise endured a winless season just two years ago, and despite not having posted a .500-or-better season since 2007, Cleveland is where it’s at right now.
Under rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield last season, Cleveland enjoyed a quick turnaround. The Browns still finished just 7-8-1 but improving your win total by seven games from one year to the next is an incredible accomplishment. The franchise also fired head coach Hue Jackson, and the Browns wound up going 5-3 under interim boss Gregg Williams.
Mayfield set a record for most touchdown passes by a rookie in a season last year, and the Browns upgraded Mayfield’s weaponry last week by acquiring star wideout Odell Beckham Jr. in a trade from the New York Giants. Beckham’s addition instantly gives Mayfield one of the game’s most dangerous weapons, and the LSU product will be joining an offense that features the likes of Nick Chubb, Jarvis Landry and David Njoku.
The acquisition of Beckham also boosted the Browns’ Super Bowl odds. Most top NFL betting sites have Cleveland listed around +1400 to win Super Bowl 54, which it is among the favorites next season. The Browns’ Super Bowl odds are lower than the Patriots, Chiefs, Rams and Saints. They are tied with the Bears and Chargers, both of which were playoff teams a season ago.
The Hype is Out of Control
The Browns are clearly trending in the right direction. The team’s decision to make Freddie Kitchens the head coach was a move met with plaudits, and he seems like the right man for the job. Mayfield should be even better entering year 2 as the unquestioned QB1, and the defense around star pass-rusher Myles Garrett looks downright formidable.
Can the Browns make the playoffs next season? Absolutely. The AFC North as a whole seems to be on a downturn. The Bengals are garbage, while the Ravens face some uncertainty at quarterback with Lamar Jackson taking the reins on a full-time basis. The Steelers have lost Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell this offseason, while Ben Roethlisberger isn’t getting any younger. It’s easy to see the Browns topping the division in 2019.
The AFC may not look as daunting at the top as the NFC, but there is no shortage of quality in the conference. As long as Tom Brady and Bill Belichick are around, New England is going to be a factor. Brady doesn’t look like a guy on the verge of any sort of age-related decline, so the conference likely goes through Foxborough again next season.
The Chiefs were arguably the best team in football last year, and if they had managed to get past New England in the AFC Championship Game, Kansas City would have been favored to win last year’s Super Bowl. Patrick Mahomes has a case to be called the best player in the game at this point, The Texans, Colts and Chargers are teams on the rise.
Even if the Browns staged a Cinderella run all the way to the Super Bowl, they will likely have to tangle with someone like the Saints, Rams, Eagles, Vikings or one of the several other powerhouses the NFC boasts.
The NFL is Unpredictable
The NFL is a league that prides itself on its parity. The Patriots having won six Super Bowls since 2001 is an argument to the contrary, but the Patriots are the exception to the rule. It also doesn’t hurt that New England gets to play 6 gimme games per year against the lowly Jets, Dolphins and Bills.
Teams that most expect to compete for playoff spots wind up falling flat every season. The Falcons, for example, were dreadful last season despite beginning the year with Super Bowl dreams. The Browns can attest to this, of course. Who had Cleveland winning as many as 7 games a season ago?
Preseason predictions are fun, but by the time the season ends most of them wind up looking foolish in hindsight.
The Browns just feel like the ultimate trap when it comes to betting on the Super Bowl next season. Is there profit potential on Cleveland at +1400? Absolutely. Do they have the roster of a team that should be listed with the fifth-best odds of winning Super Bowl 54? That’s very much up for debate. First-year head coaches like Kitchens also don’t have a particularly favorable track record when it comes to enjoying tons of playoff success right away.
If you’re betting on which team will win Super Bowl 54, you can do better than backing the Cleveland Browns at +1400.
Leave a Reply