NFL Picks Week 18, and media picks for Bengals vs. Browns

According to DraftKings Sportsbook, the Browns are 5.5 point favorites against the Bengals on Sunday. Here is what the national media is saying about the Week 18 game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Cleveland Browns:

CBS Sports (Pete Prisco) - Bengals 30, Browns 20

This game doesn’t mean anything for Cleveland, but it will impact seeding for the Bengals. Cincinnati is riding high on offense, and there is no reason to think that won’t carry over here. Look for Joe Burrow to keep it going against a team that is ready for vacation.

Sporting News (Vinnie Iyer) - Browns 23, Bengals 17

The Bengals will avoid playing Joe Burrow coming off his right knee tweak, knowing their seeding situation can’t change too much, assuming the Chiefs win on Saturday. Cincinnati did it what it needed to do to lock up the division title in Week 17 and will use this meaningless intrastate matchup as a half tuneup and half bye. The Browns, like the Ravens, will position themselves for better fortune next year with a much-needed good performance from Baker Mayfield.

NFL.com (Gregg Rosenthal) - Browns 24, Bengals 14

Tricky one. The Browns opened as favorites because Vegas priced in the Bengals possibly not playing their starters. Cincinnati weirdly flipped to becoming the favorite early in the week when a lot of people mistakenly believed Joe Burrow was in line to play. With Burrow poised to get rest, most of the best Bengals players are probably in the same boat. Case Keenum is an upgrade on Baker Mayfield, and the Bengals will likely know by kickoff they can’t nab the No. 1 seed.

Below are our Week 18 NFL staff picks: