Friday, May 18th, 2012
Thursday’s NFL Network-televised game between the Cleveland Browns (4-8) and the Pittsburgh Steelers (9-3) doesn’t look to be the most competitive matchup on the schedule, but stranger things have happened in football.
The home team Steelers are 4-point favorites and have actually been bet up since the line opened up at -11.
Total bettors are looking at 38.5 after an opener of 39.5 was bet down a point.
Part of the reason for the heavy favoritism has to do with Cleveland’s poor 1-4 record on the road this season.
The Steelers are 5-1 in Pittsburgh and things won’t be easy for the Browns when the 8:20 PM ET kickoff rolls around.
Close to 70% of tracked NFL bettors are taking the Steelers on the point spread, and it’s not hard to see why.
Pittsburgh has won 9 of the last 10 head-to-head meetings against the Browns, including a 41-9 beat down in Cleveland most recently last season.
The Steelers were 28-10 winners at home last year as 14-point favorites, while Cleveland’s only win over the 10-game span came at home in 2009 as 9.5-point underdogs.
3 of the last 4 head-to-head meetings between these teams have gone over the total.
The Browns have lost 5 of their last 6 games this season and have only covered the point twice during that span.
Cleveland has been such a terrible bet this year that they have covered the point spread in just 3 of their 12 games.
6 of the last 8 games for the Browns have gone under the total.
Pittsburgh has gone under the total in 3 of their last 5 and they’ve also covered the point spread in 4 of 6.
The Steelers did lost 20-23 at home against the Baltimore Ravens, but that game was their only loss over their past 8 games.
Tags: betting, cleveland browns, december 8th 2011, football, las vegas, line, money line, nfl, nfl network tv, odds, offshore, over under, pick, pittsburgh steelers, point spread, preview, pro, sportsbook, thursday, total
