Indianapolis Colts vs Cleveland Browns: DFS and Betting Preview
Cleveland (3-1 SU, 2-2 ATS), finally looking like the fun team we were promised last season, enter the Week 5 matchup against Indianapolis as +1 underdogs. In what may be the most interesting game on Sunday we’ll see on of the league’s most explosive offenses square up to probably the NFL defense at the moment. Both teams come into the duel in stellar form with three consecutive wins each.
Line Movement
Indianapolis has been favored by +2.5 for most of the week, only for the line do drop to +1, or +1.5 depending on a sportsbook, probably due to the fact that most of the Indy opponents so far were fairly mediocre teams. In the battle of the one typically overish and one underish team, the bookies have found the middle ground setting the total at 47.5 where it has been most of the week.
Thoughts on Indianapolis
The Colts’ recent success has come on the back of the league-leading defense which allowed only an amazing 14 points per game so far. The defensive coordinator, Matt Eberflus, has seen his unit a give up only 54 yards per game to the opposition rushers. On the other side, new QB, Phillip Rivers has yet to click with his offensive teammates and has almost as many interceptions as he has touchdowns, 3 to 4. The game against the Browns’ poor secondary may provide him with an opportunity to show why the Colts signed him in the first place.
Still, Rivers is not yet to be trusted by DFS players until he shows some consistency. RB Jonathan Taylor didn’t score a touchdown last week but fared pretty well against the stingy Bears’ defense. As Indy is a run-happy team, he’ll certainly get his fair share of chances to get score a decent amount of points. WR Zach Pascal may be up for a good performance. He’s been a target for Rivers quite often, mainly due to the lack of understanding between the Colts’ QB and the other prominent receiver, T.Y. Hilton. Browns have struggled to defend the passing game all season and this might be the game for Pascal to shine.
Thoughts on Cleveland
Browns are enjoying their best start in the last 20 years and are emerging as a legitimate playoff contender. The third-year QB Baker Mayfield and the star WR Odell Beckham are finally clicking and their running has been spectacular. The ground game may suffer a little after the injury to RB Nick Chubb, but the Browns have more than capable rest of the RB core. The defense leaves a lot to be desired but has excelled against the rushing.
Looking from the fantasy perspective, with Chubb absent, RB Kareem Hunt should get a lion’s share of the rushes and can be in for a monster score. OBJ went bananas against Dallas last week scoring 3 touchdowns and will surely look to continue doing the same this week. This could easily be his first 100-yard game this season.
Betting Pick: Browns +1.5
You just can’t ignore the form Cleveland offense is in right now. We’re probably up for a close game, and the Colts defense will provide a challenge for Mayfield and others, but we believe that the inability of their offense to find the end zone regularly will cost them here.
