Green Bay at Cleveland

The Packers are off a very impressive win. Or are they? They beat the Lions 26-0 but the reality is, Green Bay didn't play as well as the score would indicate. The much maligned offensive line struggled yet again as they couldn't block the Lions, despite throwing mostly short passes as the Lions recorded five sacks on the day. It has been a problem all season as the Pack has now allowed 25 sacks. Thank goodness they were playing the Lions without their top two offensive threats in Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson. Things will not get any better this week for the Pack's line, as they have now lost Chad Clifton to an injury. The Browns have been able to get to the QB this season, as they have recorded 12 sacks and you can be sure they will be coming after Rodgers in this one. The Browns started off the year looking like a bad team but they have played much better with Derek Anderson at QB and have now covered three straight games. Anderson's numbers aren't pretty, but one of his starts was on a very windy day in Buffalo, and he has thrown only two INTs and one was a late in the game desperation heave downfield. The point is, this Browns team has improved with him behind center, but the lines haven't yet reflected it. The Packers are in a division sandwich as they are off a win over the Lions, have this expected"easy" game with Cleveland, and then a showdown with Brett Favre on tap for next week. With revenge in mind for a painful loss to Minnesota in primetime just a few weeks ago, I don't expect Green Bay's head to be all there for this game. The Browns are now 7-1-1 ATS as a dog of 3.5-10 points and also 4-1-1 ATS in their last six at home against a team with a winning road record. Yes, the Browns have had issues this week with the flu, and Josh Cribbs is questionable, but this line is just too much to lay on a Green Bay team on the road that has shown they have some fundamental issues. We have a classic look-ahead game for the Packers here and the Browns have covered three straight and are looking like a football team again. I'm going with the Browns in this one.