Belichick Bowl: Patriots vs. Browns Week 6; TV, Odds
The New England Patriots travel to Cleveland on Sunday to face the Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium as both teams hope to get to .500.
The Patriots are coming off their best performance of the season, both offensively and defensively, with a 29-0 drubbing of the Detroit Lions. Maybe the minuteman logo and throwback Pat the Patriot uniforms brought some good luck to the team, as rookie quarterback Bailey Zappe got his first career NFL start and mixed in a touchdown pass.
The defense chipped in on the scoring as well when Kyle Dugger returned a Lions fumble for 59 yards and a touchdown in the shutout of the Lions.
With starting quarterback Mac Jones still recovering from injury and backup Brian Hoyer on the IR, Zappe should get the start again on Sunday.
The Browns, on the other hand, are still reeling after they let a gift of a win slip away against the Chargers last week.
With his team at its own 46, Los Angeles coach Brandon Staley decided not to punt on fourth down with 1:14 remaining while leading Cleveland 30-28. Instead, he called a pass play that fell incomplete on fourth-and-1.
But the strategy didn't backfire as it should have when the Browns couldn't move the ball and rookie kicker Cade York missed a 54-yard field goal with 11 seconds left.
The Browns are led offensively by running back Nick Chubb, as Cleveland is averaging 192.4 yards per game on the ground, and ran for 213 last week.
"He's very hard to tackle," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said of Chubb. "He's got tremendous contact balance and playing strength. He's got good vision and good patience. He really sets up his blocks well. He gets the most out of every block and then he's very hard to get on the ground."
Before he was winning six Super Bowls in New England, Belichick was 36-44 in five years as head coach in Cleveland 1991-95.
WHO: New England Patriots (2-3) at Cleveland Browns (2-3)
WHERE: FirstEnergy Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio (67,895)
WHEN: Sunday, Oct. 16, 2022, 1:00 p.m. ET
TELEVISION: WBZ-TV, CBS 4 / FuboTV (try it free)
RADIO: 98.5 FM The Sports Hub
Betting via SI SportsBook
SPREAD: Cleveland Browns -2.5
MONEYLINE: Patriots +120, Browns -143
TOTAL: 43 points
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