Browns at Giants SNF – NFL Week 15 – Injury Odds Analysis

The Daniel Jones injury that kept this game from being posted at the sportsbook earlier in the week might not even be the most important piece of sports betting information to know about this game. The BetUS NFL injury report looks at all the NFL news leading into Sunday night’s primetime playoff play-in.

The Cleveland Browns have their best record in memory but no guarantee of a playoff spot, while the New York Giants are missing their starting quarterback and clinging to their own playoff hopes.

Betting Lines

Cleveland Browns

During last Monday’s loss to the Ravens, after Baltimore’s go-ahead fourth-quarter touchdown, Ravens’ running back J.K. Dobbins smacked full speed into S Andrew Sendejo on the two-point conversion attempt. Dobbins got the score and Sendejo got a concussion. (And then trolled by Dobbins on Twitter, but that got dumped down the memory hole.)

Now, Sendejo is on concussion protocol and one of the Browns ruled out this week. His absence bumps newly acquired Tedric Thompson to third safety in just his second week with the team.

The Browns also ruled out RG Wyatt Teller after his ankle got rolled up on against the Ravens. He’s already been out for a month earlier in the season with an unrelated calf strain, so the team has familiarity and confidence in backup Chris Hubbard.

DE Myles Garrett left the game last Monday to be treated for a hyperextended elbow. He returned with a brace, but managed to avoid a much worse outcome. He fully practiced all week and is clear of injury designation.

Unclear

Two other new names appear with injury designations this week. CB Kevin Johnson sustained a groin injury and was limited in practice all week. TE David Njoku did something to his knee late in the week that kept him completely out of Friday’s practice. Even though the team listed both questionable, Coach Kevin Stefanski suggested Njoku should be able to play.

Kevin Johnson’s status is not so clear, but even if he’s scratched the Browns are excited to get their shutdown corner Dezel Ward back for the first game in three weeks. He’s questionable but is fully expected to get back into action against the Giants.

Same goes for their other two questionable designates, backup WR KhaDarel Hodge, who missed last week due to a hamstring injury, and TE Austin Hooper, who also worked back from a neck stinger sustained last game. Stefanski suggested they would be active.

WR Jarvis Landry (spit) appeared on the report with no designation or description, and fully practiced all week, appearing to not have long-term effects from the incident with Ravens’ corner Marcus Peters last Monday.

New York Giants

Count Giants’ coach Joe Judge among the list of coaches that understand that feigned ignorance makes for good obfuscation. After a solid week of letting all the big-name NFL news breakers report how QB Daniel Jones would work through his ongoing hamstring issues, it was becoming clear late Thursday that Colt McCoy could once again start under center.

By Friday, it was more or less official. Just to cock another snook at the injury requirements, the Giants’ designated Jones as questionable. They also elevated Clayton Thorson as his backup, and signed Joe Webb as the emergency third string. (That would be an emergency.)

Otherwise, the Giants came really close to returning in decent health — before they had a COVID outbreak.

For instance, they only have one player declared out, and it’s CB Darnay Holmes’ second consecutive week to be ruled out anyway. Of their only other questionables, the two lead tight ends, the starter, Evan Engram (calf) is expected to play. (He was held back in Friday’s practice for precautionary reasons.) His backup, Kaden Smith (knee) popped up on the injury report on Thursday, and his availability is uncertain. They activated RB Devonta Freeman from injured reserve. In other words, things were looking up.

Maelstrom

Yeah, then the COVID hit. First with the announcement Thursday morning that offensive coordinator Jason Garrett tested positive. Thursday’s practice was cancelled, and by the end of the day, they announced all-star CB James Bradberry had been moved to the IR-C. Another offensive assistant was reported positive the next day.

In the middle of all that, outside-linebackers’ coach Bret Bielema called in to tell the team that he just got a coaching offer from the University of Illinois to replace Lovie Smith, and it’s been swell. And that he couldn’t join the team on Sunday because he was on his way to Urbana.

When it was first announced that Giants’ tight-ends’ coach Freddy Kitchens would take over play calling duties, this was not the situation people envisioned for the perfect Kitchens’ revenge game against the team that fired him. You’ve done Freddy wrong!

Anyway, they designated S Adrian Colbert to return from injured reserve. It’s believed he’ll be able to play though they might be pushing for his availability now that their secondary took a shot in the gut.

Leans

With the Giants’ quarterback bait and switch, this game took its time before it became widely available with the week’s other NFL point spreads. As it slowly came up, the number quickly climbed. Never below a field goal, the Browns are now laying 6½ points.

The Bradberry news being more sudden snapped the line down in an instant on Thursday and the total of 43½ jumped up a half point. (It had opened higher than that however.)

The only way we could play this is still to the Browns but laying the 6½ was more than expected. We’d guess it’s unlikely it will come back down to six, but if it reached seven we’d expect to see buy back on Giants. With the week they’ve had, the key injuries and the missing coaches, lean to the Cleveland Browns -6½.

Sunday night stand-alone six-point teaser: Play the Cleveland Browns -½ and over the total of 38.