Gambling sites for NFL favor the Panthers over the Browns in their NFL 2022 season opener on Sunday, September 11.
Cleveland Browns vs. Carolina Panthers NFL Odds By BetOnline
| Team | SP/RL | TOTAL | ML | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Browns | +1½ ( -110 ) | 41½ ( -110 ) | EV |  |
| Panthers | -1½ ( -110 ) | 41½ ( -110 ) | -120 | |
| ||||
Betting Cleveland Browns
The Browns are slight road dogs at the best online sportsbooks. The 2022 season is going to be the Cleveland Browns’ 70th in the NFL, 74th overall and third under the head coach/general manager duo of Kevin Stefanski and Andrew Berry. The Browns aim to improve on their 8–9 record from last season.
The Browns finished the 2021 season with an 8–9 record. They failed to improve on their 11–5 record from 2020. They did not make the playoffs.
The NFL and the league’s Players Association have agreed to suspend Cleveland Browns QB Deshaun Watson for 11 regular season games without pay and fine him $5 million after he has been accused of sexual misconduct by scores of women.
Watson will receive “a professional evaluation by behavioral experts and will follow their treatment program,” according to the agreement. “I’m moving on with my career and my life, and I’m going to continue to stand on my innocence,” Watson told the press. “Just because settlements and things like that happen, doesn’t mean that person is guilty for anything.”
Cleveland Players
He added that “I feel like the person has the opportunity to stand on his innocence, and prove that, and we proved that on the legal side, and we’ve just got to continue to push forward as an individual and as a person.” Twenty-four civil lawsuits have been filed against Watson; 23 were settled confidentially.
Two grand juries in Texas opted not to charge Watson criminally. Watson violated the league’s personal conduct policy in private meetings with massage therapists when he was with the Houston Texans. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell called Watson’s behavior “egregious” and “predatory.”
Coach Stefanski said at the start of training camp that Jacoby Brissett would be Cleveland’s starter if Watson was suspended and recently noted that was “been very impressed” with Brissett thus far.
Betting Carolina Panthers
The Panthers are slightly favored at home by gambling sites for NFL. The 2022 season will mark the Carolina Panthers’ 28th in the NFL and third under head coach Matt Rhule. They will try to improve on their 5–12 record from the previous season and return to the postseason for the first time since the 2017 season.
The team began the 2021 season winning their first three games before losing the following four. With a Week 10 win over the Arizona Cardinals, they matched their five-win total from each of the two prior seasons.
However, Carolina fell into a seven-game losing streak and did not improve on their 5–11 record from the previous couple of seasons. Following a Week 16 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Panthers were ruled out of playoff contention for a fourth straight season. Ahead of Week 10, QB Cam Newton returned to the franchise after a year-long absence to sub for injured starter Sam Darnold.
Head Coach Matt Rhule
Head coach Matt Rhule has announced that Baker Mayfield will be the team’s starter for Week 1, beating out incumbent QB Sam Darnold. The decision will put Mayfield against his former team in his Carolina debut.
“When we started this process, we were looking at three things: Number one, mastery of the offense, number two, situational football excellence, and number three, moving the ball and getting guys involved,” Rhule said. “That’s been our focus all along. Baker has made a lot of improvement, a lot of growth in all three areas in a short amount of time.”
Mayfield arrived in Carolina following a July trade from Cleveland. The Browns picked the Heisman Trophy winner with the first overall selection in 2018. Mayfield played in 60 games for the Browns in the past four years, helping to snap a 17-year playoff drought and guiding the Browns to the divisional round in 2020.
Last season, Mayfield completed 60.5% of his passes for 3,010 yards, 17 TDs and 13 picks in 14 games. He beat out Darnold, who, in his opening season with the Panthers passed for 2,527 yards, nine TDs and 13 picks in 12 games.
“All along, we’ve felt like we need to have a really strong quarterback room, and have every quarterback ready to play,” Rhule said. “The reality of this league is most teams will play multiple quarterbacks. Sam has worked incredibly hard, played really well for us during training camp, and will be ready to go if and when it’s needed.”
Cleveland Browns vs. Carolina Panthers NFL Pick
Carolina Panthers.
