Cleveland Browns vs Cincinnati Bengals Prediction, Odds and Picks for Sunday, 01/04/26

These 2 teams want to follow very different game scripts. Cincinnati is an offense-led squad that wants to play fast and light up the scoreboard. Cleveland’s success — the little it has enjoyed — comes from the defense; low-scoring slogs are nothing out of the ordinary. Needless to say, the over correlates nicely with backing the Bengals either ATS or on the ML; the under would work best with hammering the Browns either ATS or on the ML. I’m siding with Cincy, so my other Browns vs Bengals pick is Over 44.5.

It’s not a play that involves a ton of confidence; going with the over in any game involving Cleveland is always a risky — just as backing the under in any matchup involving Cincinnati is a similarly difficult sell. The bottom line, though, is that Burrow has the offense rolling right now. The Bengals are averaging 41 points per game over the past 2 weeks. It is true that the Browns’ defense is stellar, but this is a team that has long since been eliminated from the postseason. Head coach Kevin Stefanski’s crew played inspired football in Week 17 when it had a chance to spoil Pittsburgh’s division-clinching ideas, but there are no such stakes involved in this Week 18 game. I’m not saying both defenses won’t play with fire, but urgency could be lacking. It’s a very slight lean toward the over for me.

Cleveland Browns vs Cincinnati Bengals prediction: Over 44.5 (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

Now you can bet any of our Browns vs Bengals predictions at FanDuel Sportsbook, which has a great new-customer offer to take advantage of. If you sign up for FanDuel right now, you earn a welcome bonus worth up to $300 if your first $5 bet wins! Use this link 🔗 to join FanDuel right now and learn more.