The Cleveland Browns (3-7) play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-5) at FirstEnergy Stadium on 27th November at 13:00. A tally of three wins from ten games leaves the Cleveland Browns with a divisional ranking of third in the AFC North, while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are first in the NFC South after collecting five victories out of a possible ten. It has the look of a match, which could turn out either way, as not a lot seem to be separating the Cleveland Browns from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This could go down to the wire before a winner emerges.

Form Cleveland Browns

A 31-23 loss to the Buffalo Bills last time out extended the Cleveland Browns’ miserable run of form in the league, leaving the hosts with six defeats in seven games.

The Cleveland Browns have scored 24.0 points per game this season, which is pretty average compared to the other NFL offenses. The defense has been nothing to brag about this season. In 10 games, the hosts have surrendered a poor 26.9 points on average, leaving them rooted to the bottom end of the league’s defensive rankings.

In 2021, the Cleveland Browns went 8-9 to end up third in the AFC North and out of playoff contention. They were expected to make a return to NFL postseason this year, but it looks like fans will have to wait a little longer as the hosts are only 3-7 this season so far.

Form Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers return from a bye after snatching a second straight win in their last match, which ended in a 21-16 win over the Seattle Seahawks. They are 5-5 for the season and 2-2 on the road.

Things haven’t improved on the offense front for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at all though, having put just 16.0 points on board across the last five matches. In all, the offense has averaged 18.3 points for the season. On the defensive side of the ball, there has been no letup whatsoever. The visitors boast one of the stingiest defenses in the entire country, allowing just 18.0 points per game for this season, and have remained formidable in the past five games, having only given up 19.4 points on average.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are touted as a potential Super Bowl challenger for this season. While it’s still early days, things are going according to plan so far. The visitors hold the fourth seed in the NFC Conference, leaving them set for a spot in the January playoffs. Until then, the aim will be to strengthen their position by either maintaining or improving their current seeding.

H2H

The total went under 44.5 points in the most recent encounter between these two sides in August 2019. Bragging rights went to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who beat the Cleveland Browns 13-12 to take a road win at the Raymond James Stadium. The result extended the visitors’ winning streak in this series to two games, leaving them 3-2 across the past five matchups.

In their last eight head-to-head games, the Cleveland Browns managed 16.88 points on average per game, while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers put 17.63 points on board.

Standings

Betting

Moneyline

Take the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1.62) for the outright win as the Cleveland Browns have had a tough time against NFC teams recently, losing 13 of their last 20 matchups. They’ll look to turn things around on Sunday. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, on the other hand, have collected six wins in nine games with AFC North teams, and at odds of 1.62, are deemed to have a 62% chance of victory at the FirstEnergy Stadium.

Spread

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+100) open up as the 3.5-point favorites over the Cleveland Browns, according to the oddsmakers. This suggests a road win is possible, but it won’t be by much. A winning margin as high as 9.8 points has settled the last five matchups between the Cleveland Browns and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

It’s been nip and tuck as far as the Cleveland Browns’ recent home record against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is concerned. Both teams have a 50% win rate from their past two matchups at the FirstEnergy Stadium, with an average points margin of 10.0 points between them. The hosts are also 4-3 ATS in the past seven games at home and 5-5 ATS overall from their previous ten games.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, on the other hand, are only 1-6-1 ATS in their last eight games, but have gone 5-1 ATS from their previous six Week 12 matchups. The visitors are also 2-4 ATS from their six most recent road trips and 3-6 ATS in their last ten games overall.

Total

Matches between the Cleveland Browns and Tampa Bay Buccaneers tend not to be the most high-scoring affairs, as the average total has been 34.51 points in their last eight meetings.

The average total in the last five encounters between the Cleveland Browns and Tampa Bay Buccaneers was 35.4 points. As the total for their latest showdown is set at 44.5, taking the Under (-110) might just be worth its weight in gold.

The total has averaged 50.9 points in the Cleveland Browns’ ten most recent games, as well as 52.6 points in their last five at home. Interestedly, the Cleveland Browns have seen the total go over in each of their last nine matchups.

The total has gone under in five of Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ last six games. Looking back over the last five road games, the total didn’t go over even once. Overall, the visitors are 2-8 in the over/under market from their previous ten outings.