Cleveland at Baltimore

These two teams have opened the season heading in opposite directions and it's not much of a surprise. The Ravens stand at 2-0 and atop ESPN's power rankings while the Browns come in at 0-2 near the bottom. I can hear the general betting public now, "How will the Browns even score a point in this game?" Over 70% of the public has lined up behind the huge favorite here. Not so fast my friend. This is a sandwich game for the Ravens. They went out to the West Coast and beat the Chargers last week and on deck for them are the New Endgland Patriots. It would not be a surpprise to see the Ravens, fat and happy, unfocused for this one. I mean how can they get up for a game vs. the Browns? Cleveland, meanwhile, has to be feeling a sense of urgency coming into this game. Their season is basically on the line as an 0-3 start would be devastating. Teams in this spot have been mighty potent in the NFL and as bad as they look, they come out with their best game after a poor first two weeks for the very reason stated above - their season is on the line. Teams that have lost straight up and ATS in both week one and week two, have come back in week three with their best effort, hitting at a 68% clip over the past five years. The worse the game looks, the better the results as these same teams, when posted as an underdog of 12 or more, have been a perfect 8-0 in recent years! There is no doubt that the Ravens are far ahead of the Browns on both sides of the ball, so I won't try to argue otherwise. But betting the NFL based on stats will lead you to the poorhouse. Don't follow the sheep. The Browns will bring whatever they have here and history has shown that's enough to get the cover.