Chargers vs. Browns Final Score Prediction for NFL Week 9 (Expect Plenty of Points in AFC Showdown)

Iain MacMillan | 5 Hours Ago

Oct 27, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (10) congratulates wide receiver Joshua Palmer (5) after a complete pass against the New Orleans Saints in the second half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Chargers and Cleveland Browns will meet in a surprisingly intriguing Week 9 showdown.

The Los Angeles Chargers, in the first era of the Jim Harbaugh era, are already looking like a potential playoff team, currently sitting in a wild card spot through the first eight weeks of the season. Meanwhile, the Cleveland Browns looked like a completely different team in Week 8 when they had Jameis Winston as their quarterback.

Let's dive into the latest odds for this AFC matchup and then I'll give my prediction for what the final score will be.

Chargers vs. Browns Odds, Spread, and Total

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Spread

• Chargers -1 (-110)
• Browns +1 (-110)

Moneyline

• Chargers -115
• Browns -105

Total

• OVER 42.5 (-110)
• UNDER 42.5 (-110)

The line has moved toward the Browns throughout the week. The Chargers originally opened as 2.5-point favorites but the spread has moved 1.5 points and now Los Angeles is just a slight 1-point favorite. The moneyline odds have moved this game to nearly a pick'em.

The total has also moved significantly, increasing two points from 40.5 to 42.5.

Chargers vs. Browns Final Score Prediction

In this week's edition of the "Road to 272 Bets", I broke down why I'm betting on this game to be a bit more of an offensive shootout than people may expect:

The Browns are clearly a different team with Jameis Winston at quarterback. The Browns were able to upset the Ravens in his first start while averaging 6.1 yards per play, the 10th-best mark across the NFL last week. I envision them being able to do some damage against a Chargers defense that has been largely overperforming this season. Their defense has benefitted from playing the worst defenses in the NFL to start the year, including the Raiders, Panthers, Steelers, Broncos, and Saints without Carr.

Meanwhile, the Chargers offense has started to find its rhythm and Ladd McConkey had his breakout game against the Saints last week.

Despite the Chargers being a strong UNDER bet all season, I think we'll see some regression in that area on Sunday. I love the OVER at 42.5.

When it comes to a side, I'm going to back Los Angeles. A concern I have with the Browns is that we've seen plenty of examples of a team's offense looking much better the first time a backup starts but then regresses in the weeks to come. Andy Dalton getting the win for the Panthers in his first start this season is an example of that.

Meanwhile, I love what I've seen from the Chargers offense, they seem to be getting better every week.

Final score prediction: Chargers 27, Browns 23

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You can check out all of Iain's bets here!