Broncos Vs. Browns Odds: Preview, Picks For ‘Thursday Night Football’

Week 7 of the 2021 NFL season gets underway with “Thursday Night Football” as the Denver Broncos take on the Cleveland Browns in a battle of 3-3 AFC teams.

Let’s take a look at where some of the value lies in Thursday’s matchup, as both teams look to get above .500 on the season.

Denver Broncos at (-2) Cleveland Browns
Moneyline: Broncos +102, Browns -120
Spread: Broncos +2 (-110), Browns -2, (-110)
Total (40.5): Over (-114), Under (-106)
Odds to win Super Bowl LVI: Broncos +10000, Browns +2000

Picks
– Broncos Moneyline (+102)
– Teddy Bridgewater OVER 1.5 passing touchdowns (+124)
– Tim Patrick anytime touchdown scorer (+280)

The Browns are without a boatload of starters Thursday due to injury, and the line has heavily shifted against them following the news of quarterback Baker Mayfield and running backs Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt being ruled out of the contest. Losing a starting quarterback is enough to shift a line, and we have seen that movement with backup quarterback Case Keenum being named the starter. But as a team that runs the football at the third-highest rate in the NFL, losing their two-headed backfield has forced oddsmakers to shift the Browns’ numbers even more.

Cleveland opened at -6, and as of Thursday morning, it remains the favorite at -2. Even as a Browns home game, I can’t see a world where Keenum and a third-string rookie running back should be favored against a solid Broncos team. With Bridgewater an astonishing 38-16-1 against the spread in his career, it feels impossible to back Cleveland in this spot. Take the Broncos straight up to win this matchup.

Bridgewater has been rock-solid for the Broncos to start the season. In four of their six games so far, he has thrown at least two touchdown passes. The Browns have seriously struggled to stop teams converting in the air and rank 28th in the league, allowing 2.3 passing touchdowns per game and nine in their past three contests. If the game script plays out the way we have previously mentioned, Bridgewater should have the ball for quite some time and will have plenty of opportunities to beat his total of 1.5 passing touchdowns at plus money. Take Bridgewater to go over this number against Cleveland.

As for who will be on the receiving end, Patrick has been one of Bridgewater’s favorite targets and is tied with tight end Noah Fant for the most touchdowns on the team with three. Patrick has filled in the role of the injured Jerry Jeudy nicely, and with the second-most red-zone targets on the team, a +280 price looks attractive if you think the Broncos could find the end zone a few times Thursday against a below-average Cleveland secondary. Take Patrick to find paydirt tonight at nearly 3-1 odds.

All NFL game predictions and picks are courtesy of SportsGrid.