The NFL Preseason comes to an end on Sunday Night Football when the Cleveland Browns visit the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, August 29, 2021. Both teams have some key position battles to figure out, so there is plenty of intrigue for this final game. This game will air live on NBC at 8:00 p.m. EST.
Cleveland has most of their starting positions finalized, but there is still a battle between KhaDarel Hoge and Anthony Schwartz for the final Wide Receiver spot. The Browns are also still looking to finalize the backup defensive end, defensive tackle, center and tight end spots.
Atlanta has a few position battles going this training camp and were forced into another one after preseason game two. With backup QB AJ McCarron tearing his ACL, there is now a battle between Felipe Franks and Josh Rosen for the job behind Matt Ryan. Another big position battle is starting left guard, where Josh Andrews is looking to hold off fourth round rookie Drew Dalman. Defensively, the Falcons have a full battle at safety where it seems like Erik Harris and Duron Harmon are going to beat out Richie Grant and Jaylinn Hawkins.
Below is my best bet for preseason action between the Cleveland Browns and Atlanta Falcons. All lines are from FanDuel Sportsbook.
Cleveland Browns (-5.5) at Atlanta Falcons: O/U 35.5 (-110/-110)
The Browns need to instill a winning culture in the building and that has translated to a 2-0 start to the preseason. Cleveland did not play any starters in the preseason opener but did come away with a 23-13 road win over Jacksonville. The Browns sat their starters once again in their second game and walked away with a tight 17-13 home win over the New York Giants.
Atlanta’s losing ways have continued to the preseason as they currently sit at 0-2. The Falcons backups opened the preseason with a 23-3 home defeat to the Tennessee Titans backups. Atlanta then played their backups against the Miami Dolphins starters and suffered a 37-17 road defeat. The Falcons lost backup QB AJ McCarron to a torn ACL in the Dolphins game.
Series History: Cleveland leads the all-time series 12-3 and has outscored the Falcons 358-231.
Game Prediction: Give me Atlanta +5.5 in the preseason finale.