Cleveland Browns vs Cincinnati Bengals Prediction & Preview - 1/4/2026
Updated December 30, 2025
Updated December 30, 2025
The Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals are both out of playoff contention in the AFC this year. But they will try to secure one last victory in Week 18 in Cincinnati. We get a very interesting quarterback matchup in this game, with the Browns starting their highly-touted rookie and the Bengals starting the face of their franchise in a meaningless game. Here, I take a closer look at this matchup and give you my Browns vs Bengals prediction for Sunday afternoon.
Pick: | Bengals -7.5 |
Confidence: | 3/5 |
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The Browns come into this game after one of the more surprising results of the season last week. Cleveland defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 13-6 in Week 17, shutting down Aaron Rodgers and the passing game of Pittsburgh. Myles Garrett didn't get his sack to reach the single-season record, but he could do so in this game against another division foe.
Cincinnati vowed to play hard at the end of the regular season despite being eliminated from playoff contention and they have done exactly that. The Bengals have outscored the Miami Dolphins and Arizona Cardinals by a combined margin of 82-35 over the last two weeks and the Bengals will be expected to close out their regular season with another win here at home.
Shedeur Sanders will start at quarterback for the Browns in Week 18. Sanders has had his growing pains in his rookie season in the NFL, throwing seven touchdown passes and 10 interceptions so far. And while the bad throws have looked really bad, the good moments have looked really good, and Sanders will try to finish strong here.
On the other side is Joe Burrow, who missed much of this season due to injury, but has finished strong down the stretch for the Bengals. Burrow has six touchdowns and no interceptions over the last two games for Cincinnati. And while it would probably be smarter for the Bengals to rest Burrow this week to avoid risking injury, Burrow is going to keep airing it out this week.
Score Projection: Bengals 27, Browns 17
Win Probability: Bengals 72%, Browns 28%
The Bengals should have no trouble winning and covering the spread in Week 18 against the Browns. Myles Garrett should reach the sack record by getting to Burrow at least once here, but that won't be enough to keep the Browns within striking distance here, as Burrow should outclass Sanders to close out the season for these division rivals.
Jay Sanin is the GM and Head of Sports at ATS.io. He has been writing about sports gambling since 2013, handicapping tens of thousands of sporting events. He plays sides and totals aggressively across most sports and is more selective in player prop markets. He does his own modeling across most sports, and his family is jealous of how much time he spends on his precious spreadsheets.
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