CLEVELAND — Last season, the Cleveland Browns entered the 2019 season as arguably the NFL's most highly touted team.
But after they amassed a disappointing 6-10 record, oddsmakers are entering 2020 slightly less optimistic about the Browns.
On Wednesday, Sportsbetting.ag released its first over-under win totals for the 2020 NFL season. And when it came to Cleveland, the oddsmakers drew a line in the sand at a .500 season, setting the Browns' win total at an even eight games.
"Cleveland was the most overhyped team going into last season," Robert Cooper, sportsbook manager at SportsBetting.ag, told 3News. "But the given the way things transpired as well as the lingering question marks in the locker room, at the quarterback position and with the head coach, it has appropriately been downgraded for 2020."
As Cooper noted, the Browns will enter next season facing no shortage of questions following Baker Mayfield's underwhelming second season as the team's quarterback and Odell Beckham Jr.'s disappointing -- and distraction-filled -- first campaign in Cleveland. What's more is that the Browns will once again be relying on a first-time head coach, after replacing Freddie Kitchens with former Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski.
That's not to say the don't Browns possess a plethora of talent, as evidenced by their over-under win total sitting at two games higher than the number of games they won last season. But despite the team's popularity, Cooper doesn't think bettors will be in a rush to bet on Cleveland with the memory of last season's disappointment still fresh.
"This team certainly has the talent to surprise and win 10 games, but we're not expecting the betting community to drink the Browns' Kool-Aid again," Cooper said. "They were the most bet team to win the Super Bowl going into last season, but they won't crack the top 10 this year."