Cleveland Browns Given Rather Surprising Odds To Win The AFC In 2024

The oddsmakers don't appear to think much of the Browns' chances this coming season.

Nov 12, 2023; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) looks to pass fro the pocket during the first half against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports / Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

The Cleveland Browns are one of the toughest teams to predict heading into the 2024 NFL season.

There is no question that the Browns are very talented. They managed to win 11 games last year in spite of shuffling through five different starting quarterbacks. Heck, 39-year-old Joe Flacco took them to the playoffs.

Most of the uncertainty as training camp approaches is centered around Deshaun Watson, who suffered a season-ending shoulder injury after just six games in 2023 and underwent surgery.

If Watson is healthy and is able to regain his Pro Bowl form from his Houston Texans days, there is very little reason to believe that Cleveland will not be a legitimate contender next season. If not? Well, the Browns will have to heavily rely on their top-ranked defense to carry them to the playoffs yet again.

Regardless, given the fact that the Browns went 11-6 this past year, you would think they would at least have decent odds to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl next February.

Well, they don't.

DraftKings has given Cleveland +2200 odds to win the conference, which has the club tied with the Jacksonville Jaguars for ninth in the AFC. Even the Los Angeles Chargers, who subtracted a handful of key offensive pieces this offseason, are head of the Browns at +2000.

Not surprisingly, the Kansas City Chiefs are the favorites, but the Buffalo Bills—who experienced a mass exodus of key players over the last several months—are tied for third at +700.

Are the Bills—who don't even know if they have a real No. 1 receiver on the roster—really that much better than the Browns? I guess the oddsmakers must think very highly of Josh Allen, who actually didn't have the greatest year in 2023.

Look: there are certainly a decent number of squads that should be favored over Cleveland, but Los Angeles is definitely a head-scratcher (does Jim Harbaugh actually move the needle that much?), and it seems like Buffalo is a bit overrated here.

Thinking about it from a perspective of totality, the Browns are actually being ranked in the bottom half of the AFC. There are eight teams with better odds and one with equal odds. Only six clubs were placed beneath Cleveland, and four of them posted losing records last season.

Perhaps the oddsmakers will be correct. Maybe the Browns won't be all that good in 2024, and perhaps playing in the rugged AFC North will end up taking its toll.

But something just seems a bit off here.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.


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