CLEVELAND — After New York Jets head coach Adam Gase announced that quarterback Sam Darnold will miss Monday night's game against the Browns due to mono, Cleveland's chances of winning the contest appeared to go up.
And Las Vegas agrees.
Shortly after news of Darnold's absence was made public on Thursday morning, the line for the primetime matchup between the Browns and Jets -- in which Cleveland was initially favored by three points -- was taken off the board. Once it was reposted, the Browns' status as the favorite had only increased, with the Westgate Superbook now listing Cleveland as a 6.5-point favorite, per VegasInsider.com.
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That the line on the Browns-Jets game would increase so dramatically doesn't necessarily come as a surprise. With Darnold sidelined, Trevor Siemian will start at quarterback for the Jets, who blew a 16-0 lead to lose their season opener vs. the Buffalo Bills by a score of 17-16.
In three seasons with the Denver Broncos, Siemian appeared in 26 games (24 starts), completing 59.3 percent of his passes for 5,686 yards, 30 touchdowns and 24 interceptions. Earlier this year, he signed a $2 million deal with the Jets after not appearing in a single game for the Minnesota Vikings during the 2018 season.
In addition to Darnold, the Jets enter Week 2 with health concerns surrounding star running back Le'Veon Bell, who is set to get an MRI on his shoulder on Thursday. Linebacker C.J. Mosley has also missed practice time this week due to a groin injury, while wide receiver Quincy Enunwa has been ruled out for the remainder of the season with a neck injury.
Coming off a 43-13 loss to the Tennessee Titans in Week 1, the Browns are looking to avoid an 0-2 start to their highly anticipated 2019 season.