Browns vs Texans Prediction, Odds & Best Bets for Week 13 (Defense Carries Cleveland in Deshaun Watson's Debut)

Browns vs Texans Week 13 Game Info

2022 NFL Regular Season — Week 13
Cleveland Browns (4-7, 1-4 Away) vs. Houston Texans (1-9-1, 0-4-1 Home)
Date: Sunday, Dec. 4, 2022
Time: 1:00 p.m. ET
Venue: NRG Stadium — Houston, TX
Coverage: CBS

The Cleveland Browns will look to win their first game with Deshaun Watson at quarterback when they visit the Houston Texans in Week 13. The Browns are coming off an exciting 23-17 overtime win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. A 3-yard rushing touchdown from Nick Chubb clinched the victory.

Meanwhile, the Texans fell short in a 30-15 loss to the Miami Dolphins in Week 12. Quarterback Kyle Allen struggled in his first start of the year, completing only 26 of his 39 pass attempts for 215 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions. Veteran defensive tackle Maliek Collins tallied 2.0 sacks on the day.

Browns vs Texans Odds & Spread

Updated (Sunday, Dec. 4, 12:05 p.m. ET)

All NFL betting lines, odds and prop bets are from FanDuel Sportsbook.
Moneyline: CLE: (-370) | HOU: (+295)
Spread: CLE: -7.5 (-114) | HOU: +7.5 (-106)
Total: 46.5 — Over: (-110) | Under: (-110)

The Browns enter this contest as clear road favorites on the moneyline and the spread on FanDuel Sportsbook's updated odds. This 1 p.m. ET clash also features one of the higher totals on the Week 13 slate at 47.5 points.

Browns vs Texans Prediction & Pick

This game comes with quite the storyline. Watson is back from his 11-game suspension and set to face the team that traded him for a bevy of draft picks back in March. The 27-year-old has had more than enough time to get the playbook down, so it'll be interesting to see how he performs on Sunday.

Whether or not Watson balls out shouldn't matter. It's the Browns' defense that will carry the team to a victory. Defensive end Myles Garrett has tallied 7.0 sacks over his last six games and gets to face a Houston offensive line that has given up 33.0 sacks this year (T-No. 26 in NFL). Talk about a mismatch.

The Texans have lost each of their last six games by at least 7 points, so I'll take the Browns.

Final Score Prediction: Browns: 17 | Texans: 28

Browns vs Texans Betting Trends

- Cleveland is 2-5 straight up in its last seven games against Houston.
- The total has hit the under in four of Cleveland's last six games in December.
- Houston is 1-5 against the spread (ATS) in its last six games.
- The total has hit the under in nine of Houston's last 11 games against Cleveland.

Browns vs Texans Best Bet

Cleveland should emerge victorious in this game, but the Texans have an outside chance to keep it close if Watson struggles at all in his season debut. That's why more value lies in the point total here. After all, the total has hit the under in nine of the last 11 matchups between the Browns and Texans.

The under has also cashed in four of Houston's last five games overall. The Texans are averaging a dismal 15.8 points per game this season, meaning the Browns may have to score 30 ore more points for this over to hit. They've only reached the 30-point mark in two of their 11 games this season.

Bet: Under 47.5 Points (-114)

Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel. 

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.