Let’s see which team is the one who takes the win on this Browns at Vikings betting pick.
The Cleveland Browns at Minnesota Vikings matchup Sunday in Minneapolis has the potential to be the best game on the NFL’s Week 4 slate. Cleveland suffered a tough loss in Kansas City in the season opener but have bounced back with double-digit wins over the Texans and Bears.
The Vikings got their first win of the season last week but suffered two losses by a combined four points to start the season. Oddsmakers have Minnesota a somewhat surprising +2 point underdog in this spot.
Browns Pass Rush Wreaking Havoc
Minnesota has the #7 pass rush in the league through three weeks, and Kirk Cousins has a lot of weapons on the outside, but the Browns have a nice antidote for that with their pass rush.
Myles Garrett got to Justin Fields 4.5 times last week, part of 9 sacks Cleveland had against Chicago in their 26-6 win. The Bears’ offensive line is atrocious, but Minnesota has taken note of the damage Garrett and Jadaveon Clowney can do.
The Browns went into the Chicago game a little hobbled as Jarvis Landry (knee) was out, Baker Mayfield (shoulder) was questionable, and Odell Beckham, Jr. was playing his first game since week 7 of last year. Beckham looked fine with 77 yards receiving and should only be better with a game under his belt.
It also doesn’t hurt when you have the backfield duo of Kareem Hunt and Nick Chubb, which helped the Browns run for 215 yards vs. the Bears.
The Browns have faced the Texans (31-21) and Bears the last two weeks, not exactly offensive powerhouses. Cleveland did have a tough test in the opener losing 33-29 at Arrowhead Stadium. Patrick Mahomes hit 27 of 36 passes for 337 yards and 3TD, and the Vikings have a similar potent offensive attack.
Vikings Try to Get to .500
Being close doesn’t matter in the NFL, but a few different bounces here and there, and the Vikings could easily be coming into this game 3-0 and with talk of being a potential Super Bowl contender.
Instead, Minnesota is 1-2, a Dalvin Cook fumble in OT costing them a 27-24 loss in the opener at Cincinnati and a missed 37-yard field goal on the final play dooming them to a 34-33 loss to Arizona in Week 2.
Maybe suffering those two early losses has Minnesota right where they want to be coming into this game – they are home underdogs after all. The Vikings looked really well last week in a 30-17 win over Seattle again as +2 point home ‘dogs.
Kirk Cousins completed 30 of 38 passes last week vs. the Seahawks for 323 yards and 3 TD. If Minnesota were able to pull out those two early wins, we’re talking about Cousins as an early-season MVP candidate as he’s completing 73.9% of his passes with 8 TD and 0 INT on the year.
The Browns have to respect Minnesota’s passing offense, which is the reason a guy like Alexander Mattison can fill in for Dalvin Cook (ankle) last week and run for 112 yards against the Seahawks.
Browns at Vikings Pick
It’s somewhat surprising that the Vikings are home underdogs here, which does show that the narrative around the Browns has completely changed. Cook might be sidelined again, but Minnesota showed they can run the ball without him last week.
These two offenses mirror each other, and when that’s the case, you take the home team.
Vikings +2
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