We are used to having a Monday Night Football in the NFL 2021 season but this week there are two matches, the first of which was switched from Saturday evening due to Covid-19 issues within the Cleveland Browns organisation.
They play host to the Las Vegas Raiders in yet another match this week which is going to have big implications in the wildcard race in the AFC, and given how tight the two divisions these two compete in are, potentially divisional battles too.
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns haven’t been able to get any consistency going this season. They have spent the last eight weeks losing a game then winning one and the bad news for them is that if that sequence continues then they are due to lose this match. They certainly haven’t been helped by the Covid-19 issues they have had and although the extra 48hrs will have allowed some players to come out of the protocols, practice and preparation for this one will have been severely hampered.
The big problem for the Browns this term has been the offense floundering. Admittedly their two star running backs have been injured at different times of the campaign but the main source of their offensive issues was said to be Odell Beckham Jr. The only problem with that theory is that they have been even worse since he left. Nick Mullens was elevated to the starting squad for this one with Baker Mayfield and Case Keenum having Covid-19 issues so you wouldn’t think the offense is going to get much better here.
Special Offer
Sign up for a Boylesports account to get up to £25 in free bets! Perfect offer for this league! Click the image below for this great offer! New accounts only. 18+ T&Cs apply. Gamble Aware.
Las Vegas Raiders
Despite everything that was going on with them at the beginning of the season, the Las Vegas Raiders were sitting pretty when they were 5-2 for the campaign. Since then though they have lost five matches with the only win in that time coming in that pulsating Thanksgiving Day clash at the Dallas Cowboys which they came out on top of in overtime. They go into this match off the back of a pretty brutal destruction by the Kansas City Chiefs last week too.
In those five losses the Raiders haven’t scored more than 16 points in any of them so it is offensively where they need to make major improvements. If they can do that then by and large they are getting pressures on the quarterback and should be able to play a little freer on defence here given the absences in the Browns offense. This would appear to be a good time for Derek Carr to show some of the form which had him in the MVP conversation in the first six weeks of the season.
Betting
It is hard to expect anything out of the Cleveland Browns here. They are without their first two quarterbacks, their head coach and a whole host of other players for this match. Even when they are all available their offense has stuttered throughout the season so I’m not sure they will fare much better with all the absences. I think this match is in the hands of Derek Carr and the Las Vegas Raiders offense.
If they can take advantage of a weakened Browns secondary with all their players missing and start to pile up the points and force the Browns into offensive strategies they are not used to then Vegas should comfortably come away with the win here. As long as the Raiders keep tabs on Nick Chubb and limit the damage of Myles Garrett this is a match they should win and turn their fading season around at a crucial time.
Tips
Back Las Vegas Raiders (-2.5) to beat Cleveland Browns for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with Boylesports
Back them here:
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2021
