Points could be at a premium when the NFL preseason gets underway on Thursday with the 2023 NFL Hall of Fame Game between the Cleveland Browns and New York Jets at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio. Only two teams have reached the 20-point plateau in the last seven Hall of Fame Games, four of which saw the clubs combine for 30 or fewer points. Cleveland (7-10) was 18th in the NFL last season with an average of 21.2 points, while New York (7-1) averaged 17.4 to finish 29th.
Kickoff from Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET. Cleveland is a 2.5-point favorite in the latest Browns vs. Jets odds, and the over/under for total points is 31.5. Before locking in any Jets vs. Browns picks, be sure to see the NFL Hall of Fame Game 2023 predictions from SportsLine's Larry Hartstein.
A former lead writer for Covers and The Linemakers, Hartstein combines a vast network of Vegas sources with an analytical approach he honed working for Pro Football Focus. He tied for 52nd place (out of 1,598 entries) in the 2022 Westgate Las Vegas SuperContest, going 53-34-3 ATS (61%). Those NFL picks formed the basis of his SportsLine NFL best bets article, which finished 36-25-1. Anybody following him saw huge returns.
Now, Hartstein has locked in on Jets vs. Browns from every angle and released a confident against-the-spread pick for the NFL Hall of Fame Game 2023. You can visit SportsLine now to see his picks. Here are several NFL odds and trends for Browns vs. Jets:
- Jets vs. Browns spread: Browns -2.5
- Jets vs. Browns over/under: 31.5 points
- Jets vs. Browns money line: Browns -135, Jets +115
- NYJ: Under is 7-0 in Jets' last seven games versus AFC opponents
- CLE: Browns are 4-1 ATS in their last five Thursday games
- Jets vs. Browns picks: See picks at SportsLine
Why the Jets can cover
New York with trot out several smooth pass-catching tight ends. Jeremy Ruckert provides the Jets with an athletic playmaker over the middle of the field. Ruckert is a physical blocker with soft hands. The 22-year-old didn't play much as a rookie, but will push for time in his sophomore campaign. In 2021 at Ohio State, Ruckert had 26 catches for 309 yards and three touchdowns.
Tight end Kenny Yeboah can do damage in the seams and has plenty of quickness. Yeboah racked up 757 yards and 11 scores during the 2019-20 campaigns against Temple and Ole Miss. Seventh-round pick tight end Zack Kuntz is a big-body (6-foot-8) threat with the skillset to thrive in the red zone. Kuntz has quality speed and hands for his size. See who to back at SportsLine.
Why the Browns can cover
Cleveland has been successful in the preseason of late, posting the third best record in the NFL since 2017 at 14-4. The club is 4-2 in exhibition games under head coach Kevin Stefanski, winning the first four before losing each of the last two by one point. Deshaun Watson is not expected to play on Thursday, so Stefanski will take long looks at his backup quarterbacks, with Kellen Mond likely to start.
Selected by Minnesota in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft, Mond appeared in one game with the Vikings as a rookie, completing 2-of-3 pass attempts for five yards. The 24-year-old from Texas A&M was claimed by the Browns one day after being placed on waivers last August and spent the entire 2022 season with the club but did not see any action. Mond and Dorian Thompson-Robinson, a fifth-round draft pick this year who also will play against the Jets, will look to develop a connection with rookie wideout Cedric Tillman, who was taken in the third round in April after making 109 catches for 1,622 yards and 17 touchdowns in 24 games over five seasons at Tennessee. See who to back at SportsLine.
How to make Jets vs. Browns picks
Hartstein has analyzed this matchup from every angle. He's leaning Over on the point total and he has discovered a critical X-factor that has him jumping all over one side of the spread. He's only sharing what it is, and which side to back, at SportsLine.
Who wins the 2023 Hall of Fame Game, and which critical X-factor makes one side of the spread a must-back? Visit SportsLine now to see Hartstein's Browns vs. Jets picks, all from the NFL expert who went 53-34 in the prestigious SuperContest last year, and find out.
