Saints vs Browns Prediction, Odds & Best Bet for Week 16 (Brace for Low-Scoring Affair at FirstEnergy Stadium)

Saints vs Browns Prediction, Odds & Best Bet for Week 16 (Brace for Low-Scoring Affair at FirstEnergy Stadium)

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Saints vs Browns Week 16 Game Info

2022 NFL Regular Season Game
New Orleans Saints (5-9,1-5 Away) vs. Cleveland Browns (6-8, 4-3 Home)
Date: Saturday, Dec. 24, 2022
Time: 1 p.m. ET
Venue: FirstEnergy Stadium — Cleveland, OH
Coverage: CBS

Week 16 of the 2022 NFL season features a slate of Christmas Eve matchups, including a showdown between the New Orleans Saints and Cleveland Browns.

The Saints have some momentum on their side, tallying a 21-18 win over the rival Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. Meanwhile, the Browns came out on the right side of Saturday's low-scoring affair against the Baltimore Ravens, winning by a final score of 13-3.

Can the Saints win for just the second time on the road this season? Or will the Browns stand strong and pick up their fourth victory since Week 12?

Saints vs Browns Odds & Spread

All NFL betting lines, odds and prop bets are from FanDuel Sportsbook.
Moneyline: NO (+136) | CLE: (-162)
Spread: NO: +3 (-105) | CLE: -3 (-115)
Total: 31.5 —Over: (-110) | Under: (-110)

The Browns enter this contest as slight home favorites on the moneyline and spread on FanDuel Sportsbook's odds. This Christmas Eve matchup also features an over/under of 31.5, which is the lowest of the Week 16 totals. 

Saints vs Browns Prediction & Pick

This is a matchup between two teams who haven't put up a ton of points lately. The Saints are only averaging 12.3 points over their last three outings, whereas the Browns have operated at a 16.7 PPG clip since Deshaun Watson took over under center.

Having said that, I do like Cleveland's chances of winning more. The Saints have only won one of their six road games this far, sporting a minus-6.0 scoring margin in those contests (ninth-worst). Although the Browns' plus-3.0 scoring margin at home doesn't appear to be mind-blowing, it's still the NFL's 11th-best mark.

I also believe that the Browns' defense will give them the stops that they need. The unit has stopped opponents on 69.2% of third downs over the last three games (seventh-best) while the Saints' defenders have allowed 50.0% of attempts to be converted in that span (fifth-worst).

In what should be another low-scoring game, side with the Browns.

Final Score Prediction: Browns: 17 | Saints: 13

Saints vs Browns Betting Trends

- New Orleans is 0-5 straight up in its last five road games.
- Cleveland is 4-2 against the spread (ATS) in its last six games.
- The total has hit the under in six of New Orleans' last seven games.
- The total has hit the under in each of Cleveland's last five games played in December.

Saints vs Browns Best Bet

Again, there isn't much of a reason to like the Saints after losing five straight road games. They've been outscored by an average of eight points during that skid and have been kept to 16 or fewer points in all but one of those matchups. Furthermore, they're also 1-5 ATS on the road in 2022.

The Browns are far from perfect, but they're at least 4-2 ATS in their last six home games and have covered the spread in eight of their last nine games against NFC South teams. In other words, winning by more than a field goal shouldn't be an issue for Kevin Stefanski's squad — especially if they can replicate last week's effort defensive effort.

Bet: Browns -3 (-115)

Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Devon Platana also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username PepeSilvia0. 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.