Either the Bears or the Browns are going to finish the preseason without a victory, as those two winless squads square off in Cleveland on Thursday night. Most NFL betting fans may not think the preseason means much, but the Bears and Browns may want to fight for a win on Thursday because teams that go winless in the preseason have tended to do just as bad once the season gets underway.
Since 1988 there have been 35 teams that have posted a goose egg in the win column in the preseason. From those 35 teams only two of them made the playoffs, and both of them lost in the Super Bowl.
The Bears bottomed out at 0-3 last week after losing to San Francisco 37-30 as a 3.5-point home favorite on the football odds. Kyle Orton let head coach Lovie Smith know he made the right decision naming him the starting QB after completing 10-of-17 pass attempts for 147 yards with two touchdowns. Rex Grossman also made Smith look smart by tanking again while completing only 1-of-4 pass attempts for six yards. Rashied Davis had a strong game while Orton was behind center, with four receptions for 58 yards and two TDs.
The Browns were overcome with injuries last week when they hit 0-3 after a 26-6 loss to Detroit. The Browns were a 1-point road underdog on the NFL odds in the loss. The Cleveland offense was in shambles in the game with Derek Anderson (concussion), Jamal Lewis (hamstring), and Braylon Edwards (foot) all out. That made for a tough night for backup QB Brady Quinn, as he completed only 14-of-24 pass attempts for 106 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions. Anderson should miss Thursday’s game too, so Quinn could have his work cut out for him with Lewis and Edwards both questionable again as well.
The oddsmakers labeled Thursday’s game too close to call and listed it as a pick’em. The total was set at 38.5 points.