Jacksonville Three-Point Favorite Over Cleveland Through Sportsbooks

NFL News - December 28th, 2009 - Written by Bryan

Jacksonville's playoff campaign took a devastating hit this past week in a 35-7 loss to New England on the road. The loss puts the Jaguars at 7-8 on the year, and left them with virtually no chance of a post-season berth. The Cleveland Browns have struggled to find balance this season on offense, and will look to find some positive momentum to build off of for next season as the calender flips to 2010.

Last week, in a must win situation, quarterback David Garrard and the rest of the Jaguar offense gained only 275 totals yards. Garrard is known as a quarterback who does not make many mistakes, protecting the ball, but he threw a pair of critical interceptions in the first half that allowed New England to put the game out of reach early.

On defense, Jacksonville seemed incapable of stopping the Patriot offense. The normally solid defense against the run allowed nearly 200 yards on the ground.

On the other sideline, Cleveland ranks near the bottom of the league in offensive scoring and total offensive output. Despite the statistics, the Browns come into the regular season finale riding a three-game winning streak, their longest since 2007.

Cleveland as used a combination of big plays on specials from Josh Cribbs and a potent rushing attack from Jerome Harrison the get the victories.

Two weeks ago, Cribbs set the single season NFL record for most kickoffs returned for a touchdown with eight. Harrison has had monster performances the last two weeks, rushing for 434 yards and four touchdowns.

The duo has taken pressure off of the young Brown quarterbacks. During the win-streak, quarterback Brady Quinn never eclipsed the 100-yard passing mark. This past week against Oakland, starter Derek Anderson accumulated only 117 yards through the air.

The Browns offensive line has controlled the line of scrimmage and will look to continue to do so against the susceptible Jacksonville defense.

The Jaguars proved to be vulnerable against the run when they played New England. Cleveland should look to establish Harrison early in the first quarter. If they are able to do so, it would take a lot of pressure off the young, mistake prone quarterbacks of Cleveland. The Browns have won the turnover battle in each of the last three games, a statistic that has been a cornerstone to their recent success.

The critical match-up for both teams will be the Cleveland run attack versus the Jaguar defense. If Harrison is able to continue his recent production, the Browns could be looking at their fourth straight win.

Week 17 NFL Betting Lines have established Jacksonville as a three-point favorite to defeat Cleveland on the road. The over/under for the match-up has been installed at 38 points, according to BetUS Sportsbook.