Cleveland Browns (0-2 SU, 0-2 ATS) vs. Miami Dolphins (0-2 SU, 1-1 ATS)
Week 3 NFL
Date/Time: Sunday, September 25, 2016 at 1PM EST
Where: Hard Rock Stadium, Miami, Florida
TV: CBS
By Loot, NFL Football Handicapper, Lootmeister.com
Betting Odds: CLE +9/MIA -9
Over/Under Total: 41.5
The Cleveland Browns come to Hard Rock Stadium to face the Miami Dolphins in week three action between teams looking for their first win of the season. The Browns took a massive 20-2 lead over the Ravens on Sunday, before going scoreless for the final three quarters-plus, as the Ravens came back, 25-20. Now they mope into Miami, who hasn't gotten off quickly with an 0-2 start. On Sunday, they lost 31-24 to the Patriots, which follows a painful week one loss at Seattle. Who gets out of the dumps this week?
Cleveland's loss was a tale of two halves. Early on, Josh McCown, filling in for an injured RG3, looked sharp and Isaiah Crowder was running loose on the Baltimore defense. With still more than 4 minutes left in the first quarter, the Browns had already scored three touchdowns. McCown would suffer a shoulder injury and remain in the game. But the offense was not able to hit the scoreboard for the duration of the game. A last-ditch drive ended with a Baltimore interception on the goal-line. McCown will not play on Sunday, paving the way for the first NFL start for USC rookie Cody Kessler.
McCown, 37, doesn't seem able to get results, but he's a gutty player and showed a lot of heart on Sunday. He can be prolific, but it usually comes in short bursts. Still, he is 2-18 in his last 20 NFL starts and maybe kessler getting in there isn't such a bad thing, as they can see what they have with the rookie. Still, McCown could move the ball at least at times and Kessler will need to show the same knack. McCown threw for 260 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions on Sunday. Both TD scores were to rookie Corey Coleman, as his integration into the offense is a very positive development that maybe Kessler can exploit. Terrelle Pryor caught some balls, but a taunting penalty late helped kill a late drive in what was really an awful penalty, being that the Browns have no right to be taunting anyone at this point. TE Gary Barnidge has gotten off to a slow start, but is still a big weapon. And Crowell, though quiet late, was able to really produce early and ended up with 133 yards and a touchdown.
The Cleveland defense, while not terrible through two games, hasn't exactly been that good, either. Against Philly in week one in a 29-10 loss they were not really a factor. And while the offense not scoring for over three quarters is the culprit, the defense was just sort of there on Sunday. There is talent, but with a new system it will take time for this unit to turn into a difference-maker for this Cleveland team. They were effective early with some key turnovers, but they went into the tank. A key point is that while the Browns are indisputably bad, they've shown some flashes of progress on both sides of the ball. And there will be games where they will be able to sustain it better. With a huge first quarter against Baltimore, they at least showed they're capable of creating some heat, which is a development on their week one performance.
Miami is in dire need of a positive development. They fell into a big 24-0 hole to the Patriots on Sunday, before getting it to 31-24 with almost a half of the 4th quarter remaining. They fell short, but at least made a run of it, as the Pats offense stagnated after they lost Garoppolo to a shoulder injury. Ryan Tannehill threw for 389 yards, but what speaks loudest are the two picks and the fact that he could only engineer one FG scoring drive until the last half of the third quarter. Jay Ajayi and Jarvis Landry also coughed up fumbles.
The Miami run-game was hinged on the hopes of Arian Foster, however, it looks like the injury bug has made another visit, with another groin injury taking him out of the game. We'll see if that keep him out or hinders his performance. Without him, the run-game was flat, though rookie Kenyan Drake ran in a score. Through the air, Jarvis Landry and DeVante Parker were both over 100 yards. Tight end Jordan Cameron and WR Kenny Stills each hauled in touchdown grabs. But a lot of this production came when the Patriots had built up a big lead and had rookie Jacoby Brissett in there at QB. When the game was still on-the-line, they didn't get much going. And this is after a game in Seattle where the points came few and far between.
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After folding late and letting Seattle get a late TD to beat them in week one, 12-10, the Miami defense suffered early against New England. Jimmy Garoppolo was putting up numbers and really sticking it to the Miami defense before getting injured and knocked out of the game. The defense did tighten up and let Miami crawl back into the game, which was positive. In two games, they had one really bad half. They held Seattle to very little at home, until the untimely collapse late. And they were good in the second half against the Patriots.
Miami got a tough break by starting the season with back-to-back road games against two good teams like the Seahawks and the Patriots. It's an especially tough way to start a season, particularly when there has been a coaching/system change in the offseason. Expecting Miami to look the way they have in the first two weeks for the whole season could be a miscalculation. One should expect a desperate Miami squad to put forth a solid effort at home this week with a far-easier opponent. I see Miami making up for the first two weeks and sticking it to Browns.
Loot's Prediction to Cover the Point Spread: I'm betting on the Miami Dolphins minus 9 points. Bet the Browns vs. Dolphins game for FREE by taking advantage of a massive 100% sign-up bonus on your first deposit of $100 to $500 at GTBets!
