Cleveland Browns vs Houston Texans Prediction, Preview and Odds - 12/24/2023

Game Time: 1:00 pm ET, Sunday, December 24, 2023

Venue:  NRG Stadium, Houston, TX 

Where to Watch:  CBS

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Browns -3, Texans +3; Over/Under:  40 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Browns -2.5, Texans +2.5; Over/Under:  40 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Browns -3, Texans +3; Over/Under:  40 points

Cleveland Browns:  9-5 (2nd place, AFC North)

Houston Texans:  8-6 (3rd place, AFC South)

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Cleveland Browns:  won their last game at home against the Chicago Bears 20-17.

Houston Texans:  won their last game on the road against the Tennessee Titans in overtime 19-16.

The Browns are entering this game with a 9-5 record overall and they have a 3-2 record in their divisional games too. They are 7-1 in their home games, 2-4 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be on the road for this game. They won their last game against the Chicago Bears 20-17. Joe Flacco was the starting QB and he completed 28/44 passes for 374 passing yards, 2 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions. Jerome Ford led the team in rushing yards with 20. Amari Cooper led the receivers with 109 receiving yards on 4 receptions and 1 TD. Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah led the defense in that game with 6 solo tackles and 0 assisted tackles while Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Alex Wright, and Cameron Mitchell each led the defense in sacks with 1. Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and D'Anthony Bell each came away with 1 interception for them in that game.

 

 

 

The Texans are entering this game with an 8-6 record overall and they have a 2-2 record in their divisional games too. They are 5-2 in their home games, 3-4 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be at home for this game. They won their last game against the Tennessee Titans 19-16 in OT. Case Keenum was the starting QB and he completed 23/36 passes for 229 passing yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception. Devin Singletary led the team in rushing yards with 121. Noah Brown led the receivers with 82 receiving yards on 8 receptions and 1 TD. Denzel Perryman led the defense in that game with 7 solo tackles and 3 assisted tackles while Jonathan Greenard led the defense in sacks with 2.5. Steven Nelson came away with the only interception for them in that game.

The current betting odds have the Texans listed as a 3 point underdog in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Texans have looked really good in their games this season with their 8-6 record overall and they are right in the hunt for the AFC Wild Card. They are missing Stroud again in this game but they managed to pull off a big win in Tennessee last week without him and now they are back at home with a solid QB in Case Keenum starting and they know they need to win this game. Meanwhile, the Browns have also looked really good in their games this season with their 9-5 record overall which is very impressive considering how they have had 4 different starting QBs this season. They have also been a very different road team though with their 2-4 road record and haven't nearly looked as good in those games. They also barely came back last week to beat the Bears at home as Flacco didn't look great at times early on in that game. The Texans have a solid team with DeMeco Ryans in his 1st season as head coach and he will have his team ready to go here in a must win game at home. Even if they find a way to lose, the Browns don't have a strong enough offense to win this game by more than a field goal. The best way to place a bet here is on the Texans to cover the spread in this game. 

Browns Texans Prediction:  Our NFL Pick for Sunday, December 24, 2023 (1:00 pm ET start time) is Texans 23 Browns 20.

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Cleveland Browns: 9-5 ATS in all games. 6-3 ATS after a 2 game home stand. 8-3 ATS in games played on a grass field. 10-5 UNDER off a home win. 14-7 UNDER after playing a game at home. 6-2 UNDER after a 2 game home stand.

Houston Texans: 21-39 ATS off an upset win as an underdog. 19-34 ATS after a win by 6 or less points. 10-5 UNDER in games where the line is +3 to -3. 14-7 UNDER after 1 or more consecutive wins against the spread. 

Cleveland Browns:  G. Christian (OT) Ques Sun - Shoulder. K. Hunt (RB) Ques Sun - Groin. J. Ford (RB) Ques Sun - Wrist. J. Flacco (QB) Ques Sun - Calf. J. Thornhill (S) Ques Sun - Calf. E. Pocic (C) Ques Sun - Stinger. J. Kunaszyk (LB) Ques Sun - Calf. M. Ford (CB) Ques Sun - Illness. A. Walker Jr. (LB) Ques Sun - Knee. J. Bitonio (G) Ques Sun - Back. O. Okoronkwo (DE) Out indefinitely - Pectoral. G. Delpit (S) I-R - Groin. M. Hurst II (DT) I-R - Pectoral. D. Jones (OT) I-R - Knee. J. Wills Jr. (OT) I-R - Knee. M. Woods II (WR) out for season - Achilles. R. McLeod (S) I-R - Bicep. D. Watson (QB) I-R - Shoulder. D. Forbes (G) Out indefinitely - Back. N. Chubb (RB) I-R - Knee. J. Conklin (OT) I-R - Knee. J. Grant Sr. (WR) I-R - Knee. J. Phillips (LB) I-R - Pectoral. D. Deaton (G) I-R - Knee.

Houston Texans:  D. Perryman (LB) Ques Sun - Achilles. M. Collins (DT) Ques Sun - Hip. G. Fant (OT) Prob Sun - Hip. L. Tunsil (OT) Ques Sun - Knee. J. Metchie III (WR) Ques Sun - Illness. S. Mason (G) Ques Sun - Calf. B. Jordan (TE) Ques Sun - Illness. N. Brown (WR) Ques Sun - Knee. D. Horton (DE) Out indefinitely - Illness. C. Stroud (QB) Doub Sun - Concussion. B. Cashman (LB) Ques Sun - Hamstring. N. Collins (WR) Ques Sun - Calf. W. Anderson Jr. (DE) Ques Sun - Ankle. J. Ward (S) Ques Sun - Concussion. T. Thomas (CB) Out indefinitely - Hamstring. T. Dell (WR) I-R - Leg. T. Howard (OT) I-R - Knee. G. Arnold (S) Out indefinitely - Calf. M. Stewart (S) Out indefinitely - Shoulder. H. Ridgeway (DT) Out indefinitely - Achilles. T. Quitoriano (TE) Out indefinitely - Groin. J. Patterson (C) Out indefinitely - Ankle. E. Murray (S) Out indefinitely - Knee. K. Green (C) I-R - Knee. K. Green (G) I-R - Shoulder. K. Zierer (OT) I-R - Ankle. T. Hairston (FB) I-R - Back. J. Matthews (WR) I-R - Knee. D. Scaife Jr. (OT) I-R - Leg. S. Quessenberry (C) I-R - Knee.

“Believe me, part of you wants to crawl into a hole somewhere and hide from everybody, but you can’t do that. Especially somebody like me. I’ve been in this league a long time and you’ve seen so much happen. You just have to keep your eyes on what’s next. You have to continue to look forward and continue to have faith that your teammates are going to get themselves in the right positions for you to get the ball to them.” - Joe Flacco after their win against the Bears in their last game. 

“Of course we miss C.J., we miss Will, we miss Blake. A lot of guys are out, and our guys didn’t blink. It didn’t matter. Whoever steps on that field, we expect our guys to give their best and that’s what our guys did today.” - DeMeco Ryans after his team’s win against the Titans in their last game. 

WR Cooper, Amari 

WR Tillman, Cedric 

WR Moore, Elijah 

TE Njoku, David 

QB Flacco, Joe

RB Ford, Jerome

WR Collins, Nico 

WR Brown, Noah  

WR Woods, Robert 

TE Schultz, Dalton 

QB Stroud, C.J. 

RB Singletary, Devin 

FB Beck, Andrew 

Passing: D. Watson (1115)

Rushing: J. Ford (718)

Receiving: A. Cooper (985)

Touchdowns: K. Hunt (7)

Passing: C. Stroud (3631)

Rushing: D. Singletary (711)

Receiving: N. Collins (1004)

Touchdowns: T. Dell (7) 

Coaches:

Cleveland Browns: Kevin Stefanski (4th season)

Houston Texans: DeMeco Ryans (1st season)