Bengals vs. Browns Monday NFL injury report, odds, trends: Bettors leaning Cincinnati, Joe Mixon to score first touchdown

The Cincinnati Bengals were 3.5-point favorites for tonight's game at Cleveland until the news broke last week that star wideout Ja'Marr Chase would miss 4-6 weeks with an injury. The Bengals dropped to -3 after that and it's still there at most books, although at BetMGM bettors are still heavy on Cincinnati to the tune of 68% of the bets on the spread and 62% of the money. Take this for what it's worth, but in the past 10 years underdogs are 12-4-1 ATS on Halloween. The most-wagered player prop as of now is on Bengals running back Joe Mixon.

Chase was not placed on injured reserve as the Bengals are hopeful he can beat the 4-6 week timeline. Joe Burrow threw 27% of his passes (74 targets in 270 attempts) to Chase this year. He leads the team with 605 receiving yards, although Burrow has two other pretty good wideouts in Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd.

It could be that Cincinnati runs the ball more with Chase out; the team is averaging just 87.4 yards per game on the ground, which is fifth-worst in the NFL. Mixon hasn't come close to a 100-yard game yet, but him to score the game's first touchdown at +600 is the most-wagered prop so far at BetMGM, followed by Cleveland running back Nick Chubb to score an anytime TD at -120 and Boyd Under 62.5 receiving yards at -120.

Cleveland could be down several starters as we know that No. 1 tight end David Njoku, offensive linemen Wyatt Teller and Joe Haeg and Pro Bowl cornerback Denzel Ward will not play. Two other corners, Greedy Williams and Greg Newsome, are in question. So is linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. Browns coach Kevin Stefanski is 4-0 vs. Cincinnati, although the Bengals rested pretty much everyone in their Week 18 loss in Cleveland last season.

The total opened at 47 points but has dropped to 45 – certainly the Chase injury played a role. A total of 61% of the bets are on the Over and 75% of the money. Unders are 27-12 in division games this season. 

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