NFL Week 17 kicks off tonight with Breece Hall and the New York Jets traveling to Ohio to take on Myles Garrett and the Cleveland Browns. The Jets are simply playing for pride, but the Browns can officially clinch a playoff spot with a win and you know they would love to keep moving forward and lock in that No. 5 seed in the AFC playoffs. This is setting up to be quite the defensive battle as the Browns defense has been a stalwart all season long while the Jets boast one of the top pass defenses in the league. How will that affect journeyman Joe Flacco who once played for these same Jets? How does that affect how we bet this game? We'll give you our pocks against the spread and a few player props to keep you interested in the whole game, so buckle up and get ready. Let's get to it!

 

 

NFL Week 17 Thursday Night Football Best Bets: New York Jets vs Cleveland Browns

The Spread: Browns -7.5

The Browns have all the motivation on their side as they can lock up that fifth-seed in the playoffs, but this game really profiles as a strong defensive battle. Even without safety Grant Delpit, this Browns defense is fierce with Garrett, Denzel Ward and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. With Trevor Siemian under center, the Jets are going to have to rely heavily on Hall, not just running up the gut, but also in the short-passing game in an effort to neutralize the pass rush. It will be an incredible battle to watch, especially after Hall's performance last week. For the Browns, offensively, they're going to need to attack the Jets on the ground early with the hopes of setting up play-action. But will Flacco be chucking the ball all over the place? I'm not so sure. Not with these cover-corners and the fact that Amari Cooper is coming off a career-best week but has been limited by a heel injury all week. I'm taking the Browns to win this game, but I think we're looking at a close one here, so I want the points in this one. More than a touchdowns seems like a lot here.

Pick: Jets +7.5 (-110)

The Total: 34

With the game being a close one, I think we actually see a little more scoring than we would think with these two teams. There's a lot at stake for the Browns and the Jets aren't going to just roll over in this one. I'm not saying this is going to be an action-packed game that has you on the edge of your seat, but this definitely has some 23-17 vibes to me. Maybe the Browns dominate early and take their foot off the gas in this one, but the point total just seems incredibly low, especially when the over is 4-1 over the last five Browns games and 3-2 over the last five for New York.

Pick: Over 34 (-110)

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**all lines & odds courtesy of BetMGM