Cleveland remained winless with a 30-16 loss to Cincinnati last Sunday. Los Angeles routed Dallas 28-6 on Thanksgiving.
The Browns were finally able to run the ball effectively last week as they gained 169 yards on 31 carries. RB Isaiah Crowell rushed for 95 yards on 16 carries and look for him to get the lion’s share of carries again this week. The Chargers rank near the bottom of the league in defending the run (133.4 ypg) so I expect Cleveland to stick with the run as long as the game is close. Rookie QB DeShone Kizer scored another rushing TD against the Bengals and has a team-leading 5 rushing TDs. As a passer, however, Kizer has not been good. He has an unsightly 5-14 TD/INT ratio and just can’t get any consistency in his play. WR Josh Gordon is expected to make his first appearance in several years after his career was waylaid by substance abuse. RB Duke Johnson has nearly twice as many receptions as any of his teammates so the deep passing game has been absent from this offense. LA has 32 sacks on the year while Browns’ QBs have been dropped 36 times in 2017. Look for the Chargers to build on that total this week.
Los Angeles has tried to be balanced offensively this season but the running game just isn’t holding their end up. They average 93 ypg and now face one of the best run defenses in the league. The Browns were gashed for 152 yards by Cincinnati last week but that looks like an outlier. Prior to that game they were allowing only 3.1 ypc, tops in the league. RB Melvin Gordon hasn’t built on a productive 2016 and averages less than 4 ypc. QB Philip Rivers had a huge game in the Cowboys win (82% completion, 434 yards, 3 TDs) and now faces a defense that has allowed 22 passing TDs on the year. WR Keenan Allen also did huge damage against Dallas (11-172-1) and has had a big comeback season after missing the majority of the past 2 seasons. TE Hunter Henry has assumed the No.1 TE role and Cleveland has been vulnerable to opposing TEs all year. Rivers has been sacked only 12 times on the year while the Browns have netted 23 sacks.
Public Money Consensus
In this week 13 of the NFL game matchup between Cleveland and Los Angeles have the public leaning to the Chargers to cover the 13.5 point spread with over 70% on board. The over/under bettors believe this game will go over the posted total line of 42.5 with over 70% on board as well.
