Two teams that were both disappointed losing in Wildcard Weekend last season look to kick off the 2024 NFL season with a victory as the Dallas Cowboys and Cleveland Browns face off on Sunday afternoon.
I think the wrong team is favored here, and my Cowboys vs. Browns predictions attack that line. See why I’m backing the Cowboys in my NFL picks for September 8.
Cowboys vs Browns prediction
My best betCowboys +2.5 (-110 at BetMGM)
My analysisAfter more disappointment last season, the Dallas Cowboys will be looking to start their season off with a road victory against the Cleveland Browns.
A big reason for Cleveland’s quasi-success last year was their late-season run behind veteran Joe Flacco, filling in for the injured QB Deshaun Watson. It’s worth noting that Watson was 4-1 in complete games last season. Conversely, Watson hasn’t played a full season since 2020.
Cleveland is going to be running back a very similar team to last season, albeit without Nick Chubb for at least four weeks, and adding Jerry Jeudy to the receiving corps. Dallas also has a similar roster to last year, but they did bolster their offensive line through the draft and brought back Ezekiel Elliott to lead the ground game.
With both teams having similar rosters, we can use last season as an indication that Dallas should be the better team. Cleveland has a good defense, but they were still susceptible to big games, like in the playoffs last year when they gave up 45 to Houston. Dak Prescott and company will be able to go on the road and come away with a victory in their season opener.
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Cowboys vs Browns same-game parlay
Cowboys +2.5CeeDee Lamb 100+ rec yardsJerome Ford Over 44.5 rush yds
+725 at BetMGM
CeeDee Lamb was an absolute monster last year with 1,749 yards receiving. I expect him to pick up where he left off last season and I will even go a step further and take him to rack up 100+ receiving yards in the opener. He reached this number in eight games last year and the Browns allowed three different receivers to hit the century mark in yards.
Finally, we will take Jerome Ford Over 44.5 rushing yards to complete the parlay. Ford will need to be the workhorse without Chubb. He averaged 85.3 rushing yards per game last year in the four games in which he saw more than 15 carries. The Cowboys had a middle-of-the-road run defense last year, allowing 112.4 rushing yards per contest.
Learn how to bet a same-game parlay with these helpful tips and strategies.
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Cowboys vs Browns odds
Cowboys vs Browns live odds
Cowboys vs Browns opening odds
- Spread: Dallas -1.5 (-110) | Cleveland +1.5 (-110)
- Moneyline: Dallas -120 | Cleveland +100
- Over/Under: Over 43.5 (-110) | Under 43.5 (-110)
Odds courtesy of BetMGM
Cowboys vs Browns spread and Over/Under analysis
- The spread opened Dallas -1.5 at BetMGM in the summer but has moved over to 2.5 in favor of Cleveland as of Saturday morning.
- The road team has covered each of the last four meetings between these two teams.
- The total opened at 43.5 at BetMGM but has fallen to 41 as of Saturday morning.
- The Under has hit in three of the last four matchups.
