While Bears vs Browns hasn’t always been a matchup between high-level competition across conferences, both teams have a shot at getting to the postseason this year. Both teams are 1-1 so far this season, making this one of the more significant games on the Week 3 schedule. Our NFL betting predictions will examine the Chicago Bears and Cleveland Browns to determine where bettors should look in this contest.
Bears vs Browns Betting Pick
This game will be played at FirstEnergy Stadium at 1:00 ET on Sunday, September 26, 2021.
Why Bet The Chicago Bears:
✅ The Cleveland Browns failed to cover the spread as a heavy favorite against the Houston Texans last week. That bodes well for the Bears, who are also big underdogs against the Browns. The style of play that Cleveland utilizes, focusing on running the ball, does not lend itself to covering big spreads.
✅ Also not helping the Cleveland Browns is the fact that their top two wide receivers are both dealing with injuries heading into this game. Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham Jr. are in a position to miss out on this game, which would greatly impact the ability for the Browns to be explosive on offense.
✅ It could be argued that Justin Fields is an upgrade over Andy Dalton if Fields has to play, despite Fields’ inexperience in the pros. Dalton has been extremely mediocre throughout his career. At least with Fields out there, the Bears will have an element of unpredictability that they wouldn’t have had otherwise.
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears split their first two games of the 2021 NFL season, dropping their opener against the LA Rams and beating the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 2. The win over the Bengals was a close one, but was a positive step for the Bears despite the injury to Andy Dalton forcing rookie quarterback Justin Fields into action. With Dalton’s status being uncertain, how healthy he is could determine what the game plan looks like for Chicago.
No matter who the quarterback is for the Bears in this game, the biggest key for them will be whether or not they can stop the rushing attack of the Browns. Cleveland is one of just four teams averaging seven or more yards per play this season. This means that the Bears will have to lock in and focus on playing defense before they worry about who is taking the snaps on offense.
Cleveland Browns
While their record is just 1-1 for the season, the Cleveland Browns have to feel great about where they are at this point in the season. Cleveland was very close to beating the Kansas City Chiefs, which would have put them at 2-0 after they defeated the Houston Texans in Week 2. This week, Cleveland is facing several key injuries in their receiving corpos against a Bears team that can pressure the passer.
Fortunately for the Browns, their rushing attack should be able to erase any issues that they have on the offensive side of the ball. The combination of Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt is a lot for any defense to deal with. If Cleveland can establish the run early and open up opportunities for Baker Mayfield to stretch the field vertically with the passing game, Cleveland could win easily here.