Cleveland Browns vs. New England Patriots 2019: Prediction Against The Spread, Odds For Week 8 Game

The New England Patriots continue to dominate the rest of the NFL in every way imaginable. Don’t expect the defending Super Bowl champs to slow down when they host the Cleveland Browns in Week 8.

New England is a 13-point favorite at Gillette Stadium, according to the latest betting line at OddsShark. The over/under is 45.5 with the Patriots’ defense putting up historic numbers.

In shutting out the New York Jets 33-0 on “Monday Night Football,” New England forced Sam Darnold to have the worst performance of any starting quarterback in the 2019 NFL season. The second-year player completed just 11 of 32 passes for 86 yards and four interceptions, adding to the Patriots’ league-leading totals.

With a 7-0 record, New England ranks first in scoring defense (6.9 points per game) total defense (223.1 yards per game) and opponents’ yards per play (4.0). The Patriots are second in run defense, allowing 74.7 yards on the ground per game.

New England’s pass defense could go down as one of the best the league has ever seen. The Patriots are second in passing yards allowed per game at 148.4. They rank first comfortably in opponents’ completion percentage (50.8), yards per attempt (5.0) and passer rating (35.6).

The Patriots have allowed one passing touchdown to go along with 18 interceptions. No other team has given up fewer than four passing touchdowns. New England has at least twice as many picks as every other team.

The Patriots’ 26 sacks are behind only the Carolina Panthers for the league lead.

Those numbers will all get worse as New England faces tougher competition. The Patriots had the easiest schedule of any AFC team through seven weeks. Ben Roethlisberger is the best quarterback that’s taken on New England’s defense. Josh Allen is probably second. Colt McCoy might actually be the third-best quarterback the Patriots have seen.

Baker Mayfield will become the second-best signal caller to face New England in Week 8. The Browns, like the Patriots’ other opponents, are far from being an offensive juggernaut.

Cleveland is another team that will struggle to reach the end zone and fall victim to the best unit in football.

Coming off a bye week, Mayfield leads all quarterbacks with 11 interceptions. He’s been sacked 16 times.

The Browns have faced one elite pass defense in 2019. The San Francisco 49ers embarrassed Cleveland 31-3 in that contest. Mayfield completed 36.4 percent of his attempts for 100 yards and two interceptions. The quarterback was sacked four times and fumbled the ball twice.

The Tennessee Titans and their No.10 pass defense routed Cleveland 43-13 as Mayfield was picked off three times. The Los Angeles Rams’ No.11 pass defense held the Browns to 13 points in another Cleveland defeat.

The rest of the Browns’ opponents rank no higher than 18th against the pass. San Francisco, Tennessee and Los Angeles are the only top-10 overall defenses that Cleveland has faced.

The coaching matchup between Bill Belichick and Freddie Kitchens alone should make New England a heavy favorite Sunday afternoon in Foxborough.

Tom Brady might no longer be the best quarterback in football, but the Patriots have scored at least 30 points in all but one game. The addition of wide receiver Mohamed Sanu Tuesday will only help.

Large betting lines shouldn’t discourage you from betting on New England, especially at home. The Patriots are 9-2 against the spread in their last 11 games.

Six of New England’s seven wins this season have come by at least 16 points.

The Patriots have won their last eight games at Gillette Stadium by an average of 19.4 points. Seven of those victories came by at least 13 points. The other win was a 24-12 victory over the Buffalo Bills in Week 16 of last year.

Prediction: New England over Cleveland, 30-10