This article is part of our NFL Picks series.
Cincinnati Bengals 
vs. Cleveland Browns 
Betting Odds, Picks & Predictions for Week 18
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The Bengals were officially eliminated from playoff contention with a 25-17 loss to the Chiefs on New Year's Eve. However, as has often been the case since Jake Browning took the reins of the offense, Cincinnati played hard, and the same is expected to close out the season in Week 18.
The Browns also have nothing to play for except pride in this season-ending division clash, but unlike the Bengals, they have a calendar beyond Sunday. Cleveland is locked into the No. 5 seed in the AFC and will be resting or limiting front-line players as a result.
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Cincinnati Bengals vs. Cleveland Browns Betting Odds for NFL Week 18
*Best lines at time of writing listed
Moneyline: Bengals -325 (DraftKings Sportsbook) / Browns +265 (FanDuel Sportsbook)
Point spread: Bengals -7 (DraftKings Sportsbook) / Browns +7.5 (FanDuel Sportsbook)
Totals: Over 37.5 points (FanDuel Sportsbook) / Under 38 points (PointsBet Sportsbook)
Week 18 spreads are always interesting due to the wild variance from team to team in motivation, postseason implications and personnel use. As such, while the Bengals' projected advantage has doubled since the line was first released at -3.5 in the summer, that has to be taken into context.
Joe Burrow and Deshaun Watson are distant memories for each team at this point, and with Cincinnati expected to likely take this game much more seriously than Cleveland, which is expected to rest most of its most important players
The projected total has also undergone a significant change since it opened at 46 points in the summer. The number has now plummeted to 37.5 going into the weekend, as Cleveland is expected to sit or extremely limit the playing time of the likes of Amari Cooper, Elijah Moore and David Njoku, in addition to starting Jeff Driskel over Joe Flacco.
Cincinnati Bengals vs. Cleveland Browns Betting Picks This Week
The fact Ja'Marr Chase, who could easily have come to a mutual agreement with the coaching staff about sitting out this game after dealing with a shoulder injury the last two weeks, is apparently going to suit up and play a normal amount of snaps tells me plenty of how Cincinnati is approaching this game.
Jake Browning has taken significant steps in his development since taking over for Burrow, and this last game of the season, which should come against a bevy of defensive backups for Cleveland, presents another golden opportunity for him to gain confidence while playing with what appears to be a full arsenal on offense with the exception of Tee Higgins (hamstring), who's listed as doubtful.
The Browns defense has been a vastly different unit on the road than at home, and that should hold even truer with a lot of reserves taking the place of front-line players such as Myles Garrett. Cincinnati should have the luxury of running a balanced offense as well, considering Joe Mixon and Chase Brown should be facing a makeshift front seven.
On the other side, Cleveland will trot out the journeyman Driskel at quarterback, who last took a regular-season snap in Week 18 of last season and went into the 2022 campaign with a 58.6 percent completion percentage. Given he's expected to play with a very supporting cast containing a heavy percentage of reserves himself, the stage appears set for a Cincy cover given the manageable seven-point spread.
Bengals vs. Browns Best Bets: Bengals -7 (-105 on Caesars Sportsbook)
Cincinnati Bengals vs. Cleveland Browns Prediction
Bengals 23, Browns 13
This game should simply come down to the team with superior personnel on the field. That also happens to be the home squad, and with the likes of Browning, Chase, Boyd, Mixon and even Brown available, Cincinnati should be able to establish control and win going away by double digits over a Browns squad that will arguably have less motivation.
