The San Francisco 49ers players are scattered far and wide this weekend as the team goes through its bye week. 49ers fans will likely still be watching football on Sunday, and the big game to watch is the Cleveland Browns vs. the New York Jets. The winless and Browns and two-win Jets are some of the notable competition for the top pick of the 2017 NFL Draft, and a Browns loss would further secure their spot atop the draft board.
This could be an interesting game, however. Browns head coach Hue Jackson announced that, “all signs are pointing to QB Josh McCown starting on Sunday.” The team could very well be playing mind games, and we’ll be left waiting to see what the final injury report and game day inactives tell us. But with Cody Kessler going through the concussion protocol, it makes sense the Browns would get McCown back on the field if his collarbone is in sufficiently healthy condition.
If McCown could not play a and Kevin Hogan had to get the start, I would fully expect the Jets to win. But if McCown can play, this offense is sufficiently intriguing that this could be anybody’s ballgame. The line is Jets by a field goal, but quite a few sites opened with the line north of four points, and have since brought it down. I could see even more money coming in on the Browns with McCown potentially starting.