The betting line for Sunday’s key AFC North matchup between the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers has gone up, down, left and every which way but loose this week.
After opening with the Browns as modest 6.5-point favorites at BetMGM early in the week, the line surged to as high as 10.5 when the Steelers officially announced QB Ben Roethlisberger would not play. But the odds snapped back wildly when the Browns caught another round of COVID-19 positive diagnoses. It fell back as low as 7.5 in favor of the Browns when two key players, Andrew Sendejo and Harrison Bryant, were placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list.
The line appears to have found its level at 8.5, the BetMGM line on Friday morning. The Browns lost CB Denzel Ward and LB Malcolm Smith to COVID-19, but the Steelers countered with the news that T.J. Watt, Maurkice Pouncey and Cam Heyward would all sit out.
The over/under figure has also steadily dropped. It now sits at 41.5, the lowest of any Browns game all season.
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