Cleveland Browns Betting Odds Preview: 2014 Prediction, NFC North Lines

The suspension of wide receiver Josh Gordon dimmed the already bleak outlook for the Cleveland Browns in 2014.

But the arrival of rookie quarterback Johnny Manziel already has things a bit brighter than last season when the Browns finished 4-12. The Browns seem to be relevant for the first time since losing three AFC Championship Games to the Denver Broncos in four years to close out the 1980s.

But bettors should be careful not to overestimate what Cleveland can accomplish at 13-2 odds to win the AFC North.

They open in Pittsburgh, a house of horrors for Cleveland as they have just three wins in 28 tries against the Steelers. They are currently seven-point underdogs.

Last season, there were higher expectations for the Browns (6-10 against the spread in 2013), but a key injury to QB Brian Hoyer after the Brandon Weeden experiment failed set the team back for the rest of the year.

Hoyer helped lead Cleveland to three straight wins in Weeks 3-5, but the last game during that stretch against the Buffalo Bills on Thursday Night Football cost him the remainder of the season as he suffered a torn ACL. Weeden and reserve Jason Campbell started the rest of 2013 and combined to go 1-10 in 11 games.

Hoyer recovered from his knee injury and won the starting job in 2014, although there will be some pressure on first-year head coach Mike Pettine to play the former Heisman Trophy winner Manziel from Texas A&M.

No matter who plays under center for the Browns, they remain a definite long shot to win the AFC at 33-1 and Super Bowl at 75-1, according to some books monitored by Odds Shark.

Gordon’s absence will no doubt hurt the team’s ability to go over 6.5 wins this season, with veterans Miles Austin and Andrew Hawkins expected to replace some of his production.

Neither has anywhere near the same talent as a playmaker in Cleveland’s offense, but the Browns also picked up running back Ben Tate as a free agent and drafted rookie Terrance West to help take some of the pressure off the starting QB.

However, Pettine’s biggest influence will be on the defense, as the former defensive coordinator of the Bills and New York Jets. He has a lot of talent on that side of the ball and can expect many low-scoring divisional games in the AFC North.

The Browns ranked ninth in the NFL last year in total defense, giving up 332.4 yards per game, but they also surrendered the 10th-most points at 25.4 per game.