The Cleveland Browns return home to take on the Cincinnati Bengals in the final game under the ownership of Randy Lerner.

The Browns are facing the prospect of not only losing their 13th consecutive game in the AFC North Division, but their 12th consecutive game overall – which would be a franchise record.

The Opposition

Cincinnati’s record: 3-2
Offensive rank: 15th overall/11th passing/15th rushing
Defensive rank: 18th overall/16th passing/19th rushing
All-time record: Bengals lead, 42-36
Last meeting: Bengals won, 34-27, in Week 2
The line: Browns (+1.5)

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Since I haven’t had the time to write my customary ‘novels’/articles I thought I might take this opportunity to give an example of why Cleveland’s rookie QB, Brandon Weeden, is tied for the league lead in interceptions. Some may read this and think it is an attack or a pile on to Weeden when his team is 0-5, but I think of it as more of an example of the type of growth and improvement needed in order for the young QB to lead this group of puppies into full blown Dawg-hood.

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Picking against the spread in the NFL is harder than shoving a goat through a keyhole.

Who was to see that the Jets would maintain enough competence to stay within a Touchdown of Houston?  Who was to see that the Chiefs would hold the Ravens to 9 points?

My 4-10 record from last week proves one great truth to me - don't think, just throw.

If your first impulse is to take the Falcons over the Redskins, then don't think yourself into taking Washington.  If your first impulse is that the 49ers will crush the Bills, don't try and get cute and be That Guy that saw something no one else did.

Hit the ball 260 straight down the middle of the fairway and shoot for par.

DJC and BT both went 8-6 last week (thought BT blew his Executive Lock of the Week), so I dropped from first to last in the YTD standings (DJC 36.5-39.5, BT/Me 34.5-41.5).

All odds are from VegasInsider.com:

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Once again, the Cleveland Browns are on the brink of history. And, as usual, not in the good way.

Last week they tied a charming team record with their 11th consecutive loss. One more and they enter uncharted territory, even for all the completely worthless Browns teams we’ve seen over the past 20 years.

Interestingly, the losing-streak record does not come from this expansion era, but from the mid-1970s, when the Browns faced the first of the 351 rebuilding processes that would follow up to the present day.

After dropping their final two games of a 4-10 campaign in 1974, they lost the first nine games of the 1975 schedule. This week, as in ’75, the Browns take their 11-game skid into a home game against a superior Cincinnati team.

Thirty-seven years ago, the winless Browns stunned the 8-1 Bengals to capture their first win. Not only did it stop the bleeding, but it catapulted the team into a nice, albeit brief, little stretch in team history, a sort of detente with misery.

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