Betting Picks

Jets at Browns: TNF NFL Week 3 Betting Preview and Pick

When the 2018 NFL schedule came out in April right before the draft, the Week 3 Thursday night game between the New York Jets and Cleveland Browns looked like it could be the worst prime-time TNF NFL Week 3 betting matchup in the league this century. After all, the Browns were 0-16 last year and the Jets 5-11. Neither is expected to sniff .500 this season.

However, because of what happened at the draft and their early-season showings, suddenly the NFL Network telecast from Cleveland looks rather interesting. The Browns are rare 3-point favorites (they were last favored at home in 2015) on the NFL odds board and will be our ATS pick. The total is a very low 39.5.

Cleveland leads the all-time series 13-12 including playoffs, but the Jets have taken the past five.

Why Cleveland will cover the TNF NFL Week 3 betting spread

The Browns still have just one victory since the start of the 2016 regular season, but at least they ended a 17-game losing streak with a Week 1 home tie vs. Pittsburgh and showed heart that recent Browns teams didn’t have in rallying from a 21-7 fourth-quarter deficit.

The schedule-makers did Cleveland few favors in Week 2. They had to travel to a New Orleans side that had been embarrassed on its home field in Week 1 vs. Tampa Bay. The Browns blew a 12-3 fourth-quarter lead and lost 21-18 because kicker Zane Gonzalez missed a late go-ahead PAT. Gonzalez then missed a potential tying field goal. He missed two PATs and two field goals overall. Even LeBron James was ripping Gonzalez on social media. He’s now an ex-Browns kicker as the team on Monday signed Greg Joseph, an undrafted free agent out of Florida Atlantic.

The Browns have lost the past five in this series. However, the last two easily could have gone the other way as each was decided by three points. This Cleveland team is much better than those two.

New York Jets betting notes for Thursday

Jets fans might already have started sending Cleveland front-office officials thank-you cards after the Browns passed up on the top-rated QB prospect, Sam Darnold, at No. 1 overall in this year’s draft and took Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield, who has yet to see the field.

The Jets were shocked Darnold was there at No. 3 overall and snapped up the former USC star. It’s obviously early yet, but Darnold looks like the team’s best quarterback prospect in forever. He became the youngest QB in league history to throw for 300 yards (334) on Sunday. Still, the Jets lost 20-12 at home to Miami. Darnold was picked off twice and had some poor clock management that might have cost his team points at the end of the first half. These things happen with rookies.

Cleveland vs. New York Jets line movement

Some books opened the TNF NFL Week 3 betting line with Cleveland at -3.5 and the total at 40.

Cleveland vs. New York Jets matchup trends

• The favorite has covered the past eight in this series.
• The Browns have generally been a horrible bet this entire decade, but they have covered five of their past seven on Thursdays.