Jaguars vs. Browns odds preview, game and player prop bets, and top football betting promo codes

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The Jacksonville Jaguars travel to the Cleveland Browns on Sunday for a crucial AFC North matchup with quarterbacks at the center of attention. Will Trevor Lawrence be fit to play for the Jags? Can Joe Flacco spark a turnaround for the Browns after back-to-back losses?

Here, we take a look at some best bets and picks for the game, as well as how best to wager on the clash.

Before we dive into some picks for this game, here’s the obvious caveat: much will depend on the status of Lawrence, which was uncertain at the time of writing.

The Jaguars QB’s high ankle sprain suffered against the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday Night Football kept him out of practice until Thursday, when he joined in a limited capacity. If it’s not Lawrence on Sunday, it will be C.J. Beathard, who went 9-of-10 for 63 yards after taking over Monday night in an eventual overtime defeat.

Now, Beathard has to face the No. 1 defense in the league but another team with a question mark at QB and injury problems of its own.

Flacco turned back the clock in his first start for the Browns this season with rookie QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson inactive while working through concussion protocol. The 38-year-old veteran, the Browns’ fourth QB of the season, put in a solid performance against the Rams, but it wasn’t enough to get Cleveland the win and he threw the costly fourth-quarter interception that sparked LA’s 16-0 game-winning run.

If DTR clears this week, the fifth-round pick could return over Flacco. So, again, we don’t know. Meanwhile, wide receiver Amari Cooper is still in concussion protocol and hasn’t been practicing, while key contributors like cornerback Denzel Ward aren’t yet up to speed.

Kickoff in Cleveland is at noon CT live on CBS. The visiting Jaguars were three-point favorites when lines opened but that swung to -3.5 for the Browns in light of Lawrence’s injury.

The unpredictability factor is high in this game. There’s a risk that both teams’ quarterback quandaries lead to a dry, low-scoring game, but it seems just as likely that we could get some chaos.

The most attractive thing about the idea of taking the over in this one is how the line has plummeted. The over/under opened at a lookahead 37.5, had fallen to 33.5 by Tuesday morning, and sat at 30.5 as of Thursday. The Browns have scored 21.5 and conceded 20.4 points on average this season; the Jag’s respective averages are at 23.8 and 21.6, and they’ve scored 24-plus points three times in a row. Even with neither team having their starter out there, the potential for more like 40 points seems high.

This is a tough spot for Jacksonville, traveling to face a team who are 5-1 at home on the year potentially without their quarterback or their top receiver, Christian Kirk, who took an injury in the first minutes of last week’s game. The Browns have also been hit with the injury bug but, to be frank, have become accustomed to that over the last few months with the likes of Nick Chubb and DeShaun Watson falling.

With backups all over the field, this could be an ugly and chaotic game. But the Browns have the better defensive record — No. 1 in the league in yards allowed per game and passing yards allowed per game —and a home advantage that has thus far proven significant. The Jaguars thrive away from home, going 9-0 ATS in their last nine road games. But the Browns defense will keep things close and may even be the foundation for a W.

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