The Arizona Cardinals face the Cleveland Browns on the road and Sunday in a battle between Deshaun Watson, who returns to the lineup for Cleveland, and rookie Clayton Tune, making his first NFL start.
The point spread has moved from the 8.5 points it was at to start the week to the Browns being favored by 11.5 points.
What are some experts predicting? We have some expert picks below.
Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.
NFL Network panelists
All 10 of the NFL Network experts in the Cardinals-Browns preview video pick the Browns. This is no surprise. Five of them predict the Browns will win and cover the 11.5-point spread.
More NFL Network experts
Patrick Claybon predicts a 16-13 Cleveland win.
Greg Rosenthal sees it going 24-13 Browns.
Cynthia Frelund has the Browns winning 24-15.
Jess Root, Cards Wire
If P.J. Walker were starting, I could see a scenario in which the Cardinals win. I predicted a 21-17 or 20-17 Browns win in the preview episode of the podcast.
However, with Deshaun Watson in the lineup, the Browns will do a little better. I expect to see multiple turnovers but the Arizona defense will make things tough for the Browns’ offense.
Clayton Tune makes a couple of big throws but struggles.
Ultimately, though, Arizona can’t do enough offensively.
Browns 24, Cardinals 13
The Browns win, the Cardinals cover and the Under cashes in.
Cory Kinnan, Browns Wire
Kinnan wrote this for his staff predictions post:
The Browns will be looking to rebound after letting a win slip through their hands against the Seahawks a week ago. The Cardinals, led by Tune, provide a great opportunity for the Browns to get their footing back beneath them on both sides of the football.
Watson has not played more than a quarter of football since September 24, so which version of the once-elite quarterback comes out is a mystery. However, the Browns have formed a great three-headed rushing attack over the past few weeks that came to full fruition against the Seahawks. If Kareem Hunt, Jerome Ford, and Pierre Strong Jr. can continue to carry the load, the Browns will find a way to win.
The Schwartz-led defense will be too much for Tune, even if former Browns staffer Drew Petzing is able to gameplan around his deficiencies. The Browns will win this one convincingly.
Max Loeb, Bleav in Browns podcast
Loeb was a guest on the latest edition of the podcast with me. While we both expected P.J. Walker to start, he has the Browns pulling away in the second half with a 24-13 win.
Seth Cox, Revenge of the Birds
Cox, my cohost on the podcast, has the Browns winning 23-10 and getting a defensive score.
