The Cleveland Browns will go through their third QB in as many weeks when they visit the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, September 25th at Hard Rock Stadium. The online NFL betting odds for the game are:
Browns +10 (-115) 41½ (-110)
Dolphins -10 (-105) 41½ (-110)
In week 1, the Browns lost to the Philadelphia Eagles in Robert Griffin’s return – return to the injured reserve that is. The following week, they lost to the Baltimore Ravens with veteran QB Josh McCown under center. McCown threw a pair of touchdown passes to rookie wide receiver Corey Coleman while running back Isaiah Crowell had an 85-yard touchdown run for the Cleveland. McCown also completed a 20-yard pass in the final minute to Terrelle Pryor to the Baltimore 10, but the play was nullified when Pryor was called for taunting when he taunted Ravens defensive back Lardarius Webb. Flipping the ball toward Webb was bad enough, but Pryor made it worse when he told Webb: “now go away or I shall taunt you a second time!” The Browns scored three touchdowns in the first quarter, but they missed field goal and had three penalties in the fourth quarter. Cleveland lost 20-25 and went 0-2.
The online NFL betting odds – or the scheduling for that matter – didn’t favor the Dolphins as they had to face the New England Patriots following their season opener against the Seattle Seahawks. Miami defeated the Pats in last season’s final game, but could not figure out New England’s early offensive and fell into a 24-point deficit aided and abetted by three turnovers. Starting QB Ryan Tannehill finally found some traction and cut the Pats’ lead to 31-24 with 6:06 on the clock.
Tannehill didn’t complete a pass until the second quarter as the New England’s defensive line pressured him into quick throws. The pressure resulted in Tannehill being intercepted by linebacker Jamie Collins late in the first half.
Heading into this Sunday, it’s another week, another QB for the Browns. McCown suffered a shoulder injury versus the Ravens, and though he managed to come back and finish that game, he’s currently out indefinitely. In light of that, third round rookie Cody Kessler will start against the Dolphins, and rookie Kevin Hogan, until now on the practice squad, will be his backup. Kessler threw 851 of 1261 (67.5%) for 10,339 passing yards with 88 TDs and 19 interceptions in four years with the USC Trojans. Kessler was drafted by the Browns with the 93rd overall pick in the 2016 draft. Even under normal circumstances, the Browns would be a godsend to the Dolphins – especially after back-to-back games against two football betting site darlings. The Browns have had bad luck under center, starting 25 QBs since returning as an expansion team in 1999. Though when two of those QBs are Johnny Manziel and Robert Griffin III, online NFL betting fans can forget bad luck and start talking about a curse. Perhaps they might want to append the Roman Ritual to their playbook.
