Cleveland’s Impressive Win in Tennessee Improves Their Super Bowl Odds to +3400; Are the Browns for Real?

• Cleveland is 9-3 for the first time since 1994, a year in which they finished 11-5 and lost in the AFC Divisional Playoffs to Pittsburgh 
• The Browns Super Bowl odds sit at +3400 following Sunday’s impressive win over Tennessee
• At 9-3 Cleveland has an inside track to one of the AFC wild card spots – find out if we think they are legit contenders below

Cleveland Browns fans have been starved for a season like this since their return to the league in 1999.

The team has been mostly an afterthought when it comes to being a contender, and the club has made the postseason just once since they came back into the NFL.

This season is on track to be different. Minus a complete collapse in the team’s last four games, the Browns are playoff bound, following Sunday’s 41-35 beatdown of the Tennessee Titans in Nashville. Cleveland is 9-3 and clearly entrenched as of the top wild card teams in the AFC and they’ve seen their Super Bowl odds improve in the process.

2021 Super Bowl Odds

Odds taken Dec. 7 at FanDuel

Is it time to think about the Brown’s as a legit title contender?

New Regime Rolling

Not many bettors had a lot of faith in new coach Kevin Stefanski and Cleveland prior to the season, as the club opened in August as a +4000 to win the Super Bowl, 11th best in the NFL.

The team sat at 5-3 following a home loss to the Las Vegas Raiders 16-6 back on November 1st, but has since won four in a row, including Sunday’s over the Titans in which they built a 38-7 lead at halftime. Their latest odds for the Super Bowl sit at +3400.

Despite their win streak, the Browns’ odds to play in the Super Bowl in Tampa in February actually went down in early November, going at one point from their preseason odds of +4000 to +8000.

Music City Mashing

Cleveland’s performance on Sunday has to go down as their best of the season, going on the road to best a Titans team that had just won two big games against the Baltimore Ravens and Indianapolis Colts.

.@NickChubb21 DIVES into the end zone!

📺: @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/Am3hpozM18

— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) December 6, 2020

Baker Mayfield, the former first overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft, had one of his best games as a pro against Tennessee, hitting on 25-of-33 passes for 334 yards and four touchdowns.

75-yard TD❗️@bakermayfield finds @dpeoplesjones for six!

📺: @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/lF3XS1AEex

— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) December 6, 2020

The 38 points Cleveland scored in the first half was the most they have ever scored in a half as a franchise, and they didn’t punt the ball until the second half of the winning effort.

Cleveland’s ability to use the play-action to their advantage Sunday was critical, and while Mayfield and the offense did as they pleased, the Browns defense stuffed the Titans offense, stopping NFL leading rusher Derrick Henry, holding him to 60 yards rushing on the day.

Even after setting a @Browns franchise record with 4 TD in the first half, Baker Mayfield still saw room for improvement for Cleveland. (@EvanWashburn) pic.twitter.com/CjK6V0rXZM

— NFLonCBS (@NFLonCBS) December 6, 2020

How Should You Bet The Browns?

It’s hard to argue that Cleveland isn’t for real at this point, and many will have them possibly as high as the third best team in the AFC, behind the 10-1 Kansas City Chiefs and the undefeated 11-0 Pittsburgh Steelers. They defeated Cleveland 38-7 on October 18th.

Cleveland remains at 12th in the NFL in terms of current Super Bowl odds, but if the team can continue with impressive wins in the last few weeks, it is hard to think those odds won’t improve for the Browns.

The Browns achilles heel remains their defense, which despite a massive lead on the Titans Sunday gave up 28 points in the second half.

Richardson knocks it out and Joseph jumps on it!

Our 🏈!

📺: @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/nP9MBAuNqw

— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) December 6, 2020

Cleveland is still allowing 26.75 points per game, and even with a mark of 9-3 are minus 15 in terms of point differential (306 points for, 321 against).

The final four games for Cleveland will see them host the rival Baltimore Ravens, who topped them on opening day in Baltimore 38-6 on Monday night football in Cleveland in week 14, then they will travel two straight weeks to MetLife Stadium to play the New York Jets and New York Giants, before a week 17 finale at home against the currently undefeated Steelers.

Fans in Cleveland are giddy about their young and exciting football team, and while they are still a heavy underdog to be playing in Tampa in Super Bowl LV in February, the club finally looks like they have started to turn the corner as a contender.

They’re a wager definitely worth considering.