While the NFL betting community wasn’t exactly sure how the New England Pats would fare without Tom Brady, this past weekend the community got to see just how bad things could’ve went. Critics across the nation praised Jacoby Brissett for rising up from his third string roster slot and answering the call last week against the Houston Texans. Brissett was able to lead New England to a 27-0 routing of the reigning AFC South champions. Seeing Brissett exceed against a playoff caliper team raised fans’ hopes to the point where the Patriots seemed like an obvious pick over the Buffalo Bills.
But this past weekend the Bills proved just how futile it is to approach football logically and ended up shutting out New England in their own backyard – something that hadn’t been done since 1993. The game was certainly frustrating for the Patriots. After performing so well to start the season and coming so close to an undefeated streak without Brady, seeing a division rival triumph over a much more talented team is invigorating. Coaches and players alike fell victim to the stress, and at one point even Belichick lost his demeanor and succumbed to his emotions.
But the night is darkest before the dawn and the hallowed return of Brady is finally upon New England fans. As fate would have it, Brady would return just in time for the Patriots to face arguably the worst team in the NFL, the Cleveland Browns. The Browns didn’t stand a chance before let alone with Brady back at the helm; just take a look at Cleveland’s odds across the best betting websites.
Week 5 – Sunday the 9th of October
Patriots -10½ (-105) 47 (-110) -600
Browns +10½ (-105) 47 (-110) +490
Well it’s not too often that you see NFL betting favor a team so heavily that it gives them -600 odds, but hey, with the size of the chip on Tom Brady’s shoulder it’s surprising that digit isn’t higher. Without Brady the Patriots have indubitably struggled offensively and are currently ranked 22nd in points per game, 19th in total yards per game, and 28th in passing yards per contest.
However, they have found success on the ground and their rushing offense is currently ranked 3rd in the NFL. No doubt Brady is excited to have such an able running game to back him up and New England fans are equally as excited to see what Brady can do with it.
They may be coming off a loss but New England fans know they have plenty to look forward to. Unfortunately for Cleveland, the same cannot be said about the Browns.
If the current trend continues the only thing the Dawg Pound will have to look forward to is an early draft pick. Cody Kessler is the young rook whose duty it is to lead these hopeless Browns in 2016, since RG3 is out for the year. Unfortunately for Kessler, he’ll be going up against a future Hall of Famer. The Bills might have pulled a fast one on us and upset the Pats, but I can’t imagine a universe in which the Browns beat the Patriots this Sunday. Picking New England over the Browns might just be the safest wager in your NFL betting career.